NE- 165 Case Study : LEANER PORK: Can New Sector Linkages Be Formed?

A more demanding and evolving consumer is creating change in the market for pork and many working within the industry are predicting opportunities for leaner products. However, leaner pork enthusiasts also are frustrated by the established industry food chain that offers little incentive for modification. Modification would require change on the part of genetic suppliers, commercial producers, packers and processors, and retailers. However, many of these food chain participants traditionally have not collaborated with others in the sector. Yet the establishment of these new linkages may be key to the success of a leaner pork industry. This case study documents several of the activities currently occurring within the leaner pork industry and explores new linkages which may be critical in the future. Currently, genetic suppliers are struggling with short-term needs of producers, while attempting to look at the long-term demands of consumers. Hog producers have been profitable and lack incentives to alter practices which would produce leaner animals. Packers are interested in efficiently running large scale operations with large quantities of low cost meat. Retailers struggle with labeling inconsistencies and a low cost mentality that make it difficult to market leaner pork in the meatcase. Leaner pork enthusiasts are making strides to overcome the disadvantages found in the traditional system. Some genetic suppliers are now working with packers to determine animal quality beyond the producer's feedlot. Some packers are creating incentive programs that pay producers for leaner quality. These lean incentive programs may become more attractive for packers and producers if new technologies measuring lean become less prohibitive for larger operations. Many packers are moving into branded products, resulting in incentive programs for producers who supply animals with the desired quality. Overall, these efforts have remained a small portion of total pork industry activities.Agribusiness, Livestock Production/Industries,

ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY AND KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER

This paper reports on a specific project, employing new technological capabilities to better transfer expert knowledge. The specific project considered for the paper is the World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH), a Multi Organization Enterprise promoting the use of soy and soy products in humanitarian and development aid around the world. VisIT, which stands for Visualization of Information Technology, is a potentially powerful organizational tool. It is compared against the traditional technology in the WISHH setting. An evaluation experiment was conducted with undergraduate students enrolled in agriculture and consumer economics and management courses in January and February 2002. The paper provides the summary results of the effectiveness of the use of that technology to transfer expert knowledge.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

NE- 165 Case Study : CANOLA AS AN EMERGING INDUSTRY: A Processor and Producer Perspective

The canola industry in the United States has been very small with a limited canola oil demand being met through imports. However, an apparent increase in consumer demand for more healthful alternatives to traditional vegetable oils has sparked an interest among domestic processors desiring to be among the first entrants to a U.S. canola oil market. Processor interest has in turn led to some producer experimentation with the crop. This case study documents the early activities of U.S. Canola Processors (USCP), one of two companies processing the U.S. crop, and Ralph King, a Central Illinois canola producer. USCP, a joint venture of Central Soya and Calgene, describes their role in terms of "building an industry," according to General Manager Larry Horn. The company actively participated in amending the 1990 Farm Bill which permitted producers to plant some canola without risking their wheat or corn bases. Also, USCP is pursuing the establishment of U.S. grain inspection standards for canola. Company representatives are holding farmer meetings and elevator training as a means of promoting the crop. The goal for USCP is to establish an infrastructure that would permit the company to secure adequate supplies of canola for their processing needs. Ralph King, an Illinois farmer, had a positive experience with canola the first production season and plans to continue experimenting with the crop. Despite his positive production experience, other producers have been less enthusiastic about canola's production season, volunteer plant problems, questionable suitability of canola varieties to specific geographic areas, and a volatile market situation.Agribusiness, Crop Production/Industries,

DETERMINANTS OF LENDER RESPONSE TO SHORT-TERM CREDIT NEEDS OF SMALL COMMERCIAL FARMERS

Agricultural Finance,

SYSTEMS DESIGN PROCEDURES FOR FARM ACCOUNTING

This paper presents a conceptual framework, known as systems development, for designing, selecting, and evaluating information systems. Techniques are developed that aid farm managers in choosing an accounting system. Six farmers took part in case studies testing the selection techniques. The participating farmers exhibited great diversity in the preferred design of their accounting systems and the manner in which they desired reports to be presented. This diversity suggests that system selection is an important aspect of implementing an accounting system.Farm Management,

EFFECTS OF ALTERNATIVE FARM POLICIES ON FARM AND NONFARM SECTORS OF RURAL AMERICA

Agricultural and Food Policy,

Farmers of the Future: Market Segmentation and Buying Behavior

Dramatic structural changes are occurring in U.S. and world agriculture. These changes have important implications for the customer base and marketing strategy of input supply manufacturers, distributors and retailers. The framework and model presented can and is being used to understand structural change in production agriculture on a global basis.Structural change, Buying behavior, Marketing strategy, Farm size, Marketing,

ESTIMATING THE VALUE OF SEQUENTIAL UPDATING SOLUTIONS FOR INTRAYEAR CROP MANAGEMENT

Results of comparing updating versus nonupdating modeling assumptions call into question the use of models based on nonupdating strategies as valid representations of actual farmer actions. If farmers are sequential updaters, the results indicate that models assuming no updating are inaccurate. The degree of this inaccuracy ranges between 4% and 10% of profits for the study area. Further, the results indicate that updating appears to be important for both descriptive and prescriptive studies of farmer behavior.Crop Production/Industries,

A COEVOLUTIONARY APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING THE PARADOX OF SOCIAL PRESSURES VERSUS ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY ACROSS THE WORLD'S FOOD CHAINS

Institutional and Behavioral Economics,