Bridges Structural Health Monitoring and Deterioration Detection Synthesis of Knowledge and Technology

INE/AUTC 10.0

Measuring Food Safety Control in U.S. Hog Farms Using a Composite Indicator

Consumer demand for reliable food product quality and safety is growing. This trend, together with increased public regulation and attention to the legal liability of food processors and retailers creates derived demand for food safety assurance in farm production. In consequence, farms have adopted different measures, voluntarily or compulsorily, in their production practice to ensure reduced food safety risks from the farm product. Multiple individual indicators exist which reflect different facets of food safety practice. In fact, it is likely that production of a safer product is a result of several factors. However, little is known about what practices effect greater food safety control at the farm level, or how farms that take greater food safety control fare in comparison to other farms. This study develops a composite food safety control indicator by aggregating data from a set of individual indicators of food safety control and investigates the variation in food safety practices across farms. Moreover, we show how some relevant variables may influence farm food safety control, thus provide empirical evidence for the design of food safety-enhancing agricultural policy measures.food safety control, hog farm, composite indicator, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Effects of Food Safety Information on Meat Demand: A Comparison of the United States and Canada

In addition to the traditional economic factors such as income level and prices, food safety has a potentially significant impact on consumers' meat preferences. Therefore, understanding the consumers' responses to food safety information is important to policy analysts and the meat industry. As the U.S. and Canada have both experienced cases of BSE, it is useful to compare U.S. and Canadian consumer responses to food safety events to better understand factors that influence consumer response. The objective of this study is to compare both own- and cross-commodity impacts of publicized food safety information on U.S. and Canadian meat demand by setting up individual food safety indices for each meat product including beef, pork, and poultry using monthly data. This study provides valuable information about the consumer responses to food safety events in both the U.S. and Canada. Its new contribution is through use of recent and monthly data, construction of unique food safety indices and the ability to compare consumer responses in the two countries.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Challenges for China's Agricultural Exports: Compliance with Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures

Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, International Relations/Trade, Q13, Q18,

OUTPUT SUPPLY AND INPUT DEMAND SYSTEM OF COMMERCIAL AND BACKYARD POULTRY PRODUCERS IN INDONESIA

Estimated Indonesian backyard and commercial broiler output supply and input demands from normalized quadratic function satisfy all theoretical properties (homogeneity, reciprocity, adding-up, symmetry, curvature). Elasticities have correct signs and are significant. Very inelastic supply explains strong border protection and casts doubt on long-term sustainability of import substitution policy.Demand and Price Analysis, Livestock Production/Industries,

Contract and Exit Decisions in Finisher Hog Production

Finisher hog production in North America has seen a shift toward larger production units and contract-organized production since circa 1990. Given the efficiency gains and conversion costs associated with contract production, growers may have to choose between long term commitment through investments and atrophy with intent to exit in the intermediate term. A model is developed to show that growers with any of three efficiency attributes (lower innate hazard of exit, variable costs, or fixed contract adoption costs) are not only more likely to contract but will also produce more and expend more on lowering business survival risks. Using the 2004 U.S. Agricultural Resource Management Survey for hogs, a recursive bivariate probit model is estimated in which exit is affected directly, and also indirectly through the contract decision. It is confirmed that contracting producers are less likely to exit. Greater specialization and regional effects are important in increasing the probability of contracting. More education, having non-farm income and older production facilities are significant in increasing the expected rate of exit. The findings suggest further exits by non-contract producers.agricultural industrialization, hog production, occupation choice, production contracts, recursive bivariate probit, relationship-specific investments, sector dynamics., Agricultural and Food Policy, Demand and Price Analysis, Production Economics, D23, Q12, J26, J43.,

Household Welfare Cost of the Indonesian Macroeconomic Crisis

A theoretically consistent incomplete demand system is estimated to quantify the cost of the 1997 microeconomic crisis. Welfare cost per person was $128, which translates to$26.12 billion total cost. This amount is equivalent to agriculture's GDP contribution, and sufficient to pay for Indonesia's total annual government budget.Consumer/Household Economics,

DO MACROECONOMIC SHOCKS IMPACT THE ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY OF SMALL FARMERS? THE CASE OF WETLAND RICE FARMERS IN INDONESIA

The economic efficiency of Indonesian rice farmers was lower and more variable during than before the macroeconomic crisis. Specifically, larger declines in technical efficiency were not offset by smaller improvements in allocative efficiency. Farm ownership, larger farm size, and higher education were associated with higher levels of efficiency.Farm Management,

Quality Dispersion Among Organic Milk Channels

The most widely used measure of milk hygiene is Somatic Cell Count (SCC), where low SCC values indicate more wholesome milk. Dirt, often associated with grazing, carry bacteria and these bacteria can cause mastitis. Milk from cows with mastitis generally has higher SCC levels and cows with mastitis are most readily treated with antibiotics. Milk with high SCC is penalized by distributers as it is difficult to process and is not considered as wholesome in fluid markets. Grazing cows is common for many organic farmers. However, regulators prohibit antibiotic use under organic production. Intensive management protocols, maintaining equipment, and closely managing the herd’s environment offer substitutes for antibiotics use. Organic milk carries with it a substantial premium but may be at higher risk of discounts or penalties if the milk is more likely to have higher SCC levels. There are two forces at play concerning the quality of organic milk relative to conventional milk. For one, required and proscribed production practices create significant problems when managing milk quality. Secondly, a large premium exists to produce organic milk of high quality. This research seeks to better understand these and other determinants of SCC for conventional milk and for organic milk.milk, organic, quality, quantile, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Livestock Production/Industries,