THINKING GLOBALLY -- FARMING GLOBALLY

The agriculture industry continues to adopt business practices based on strategic alliances. Generally these alliances emphasize vertical coordination wherein producers enter into long-term agreements with suppliers, processors, and businesses in other sectors of the food and fiber industry. Alternatively, producers should explore initiating horizontal linkages; that is, strategic alliances among producers. Sharing ownership of seasonal equipment, multi-year land rotations among specialized farm operations, and sharing ownership of several farm businesses are strategies that can offer production and marketing efficiencies, as well as risk management opportunities.Agribusiness,

PROFITS AND RISK: FITTING AN OLD FRAMEWORK TO A NEW AGRICULTURE

Textbooks in agricultural economics characterize resources used in production agriculture into four categories: land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurial ability. Profit is presented as earned by management. This traditional list of resources is respecified. Management is redefined as a specialized type of labor and two additional resources, information and risk bearing capacity, are added. Profits accrue not to management but to those able to bear the risk inherent in production agriculture. Equity diversification is a means for farmers to provide and manage this resource and, thus, earn economic profits. Producer education and the repeal or amendment of legislation restricting the ability of farmers to diversify their equity investment are needed.agriculture, equity diversification, farm management, information, resources, risk, Agricultural Finance,

UNDERSTANDING AGRICULTURE'S TRANSITION INTO THE 21ST CENTURY: CHALLENGES, OPPORTUNITIES, CONSEQUENCES AND ALTERNATIVES

Advances in production, communication and transportation technologies as well as expectations of consumers, taxpayers, business people and rural residents continue to cause changes in agriculture and rural areas. These changes pose challenges, such as increased competition, as well as offer opportunities to produce specialized products and reach new markets. The opportunities for production agriculture appear to be 1) low-cost, large-scale commodity production, 2) medium- or small-scale commodity production combined with non-farm sources of income, or 3) production and marketing of specialized products. Emerging opportunities for rural businesses appear to be in serving production agriculture and agribusinesses by meeting their unique needs. These firms also can use advancing communication technologies to reach distant markets. Many business managers are adopting strategies that will shift their firm away from perfect competition. Opportunities for rural communities lie in using technology to efficiently provide services to rural residents. The size and composition of rural communities also will be redefined by advances in communication and transportation technologies. The decision of how to pursue these opportunities require a thorough understanding of what is occurring and thoughtful deliberations.Agribusiness, Production Economics,

NORTH DAKOTA LAND VALUATION MODEL

North Dakota agricultural land is valued for property tax purposes as the capitalized value of the landowner's share of gross revenue. This paper describes the data sources, assumptions, and current issues relative to operating the model. Note: Machine readable file does not include the 4 appendix pages-- contact authors for more information.agricultural land, cropland, tax, assessed value, valuation, capitalization, land value Note, Land Economics/Use,

EXPORT ENHANCEMENT STRATEGIES FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM RURAL AND AGRICULTURAL FIRMS

Literature reports that small and medium firms face greater difficulty in obtaining the necessary export market information and in obtaining financing than do larger firms. Accordingly, the United States has many export promotion and enhancement services, but there is little documentation on the impacts of these services on small and medium rural and agricultural firms. The objectives of this project were to 1) analyze the export assistance needs of small and medium rural and agricultural firms operating in the Northern Plains region at different stages of the export or internationalization process, 2) identify available export assistance and promotion services offered at the federal and state levels to meet the needs of these firms, and 3) identify factors that may increase the effectiveness of export assistance programs. The primary assistance these firms wanted from the government was help in documenting their exports. The primary reasons firms did not seek government assistance were a lack of knowledge of the service and the service is not useful. The most often used non-government information sources were trade or industry associations and banks. Accordingly, policy makers should emphasize programs that complement efforts of private organizations and that target the needs and interests of the firms.export, rural, agriculture, export assistance, Northern Plains, government, Community/Rural/Urban Development, International Development,

NORTH DAKOTA LAND VALUATION MODEL

The North Dakota Land Valuation Model was created by the North Dakota Legislature in the early 1980s. This model is used to estimate the value of agricultural land based on productivity for purposes of real estate tax assessment. Prior to this change, agricultural real estate was assessed based on market values. This model is used to estimate the average value per acre of cropland and non-cropland, by county, based on the value of crops and livestock produced on these lands. An average value per acre for all agricultural land in each county is calculated by weighting the value of cropland and non-cropland. This paper describes how the model is constructed, how values are calculated, and what factors impact changes in land values.Land valuation, real estate assessment, agricultural land, capitalization rate, Land Economics/Use,

Analyzing your farm financial statements

EC-920; This circular provides examples that briefly illustrate the relationship between the balance sheet, cash flow statement and income statement

ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY OF THE CATTLE FEEDING INDUSTRY IN THE NORTHERN PLAINS AND WESTERN LAKES STATES - SUMMARY

The five-state study area of the Northern Plains and Western Lakes States, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, has adequate feed supplies and feeder cattle to markedly increase cattle feeding. Feed costs in these states have historically been lower than in the Southern Plains States. However, higher transportation costs appear to offset that advantage. Close access to slaughter plants in these states could offset that transportation disadvantage. Backgrounding of cattle appears to be quite profitable and cattle feeding, especially in larger sized feedlots, can be profitable. However, the cattle feeding industry has an increasing level of excess capacity. To be successful, new feedlots in the Northern Plains and Western Lakes States would need cost efficiencies to offset higher production costs, compared to Nebraska and Kansas, or would need to produce for a niche market unaffected by the lower operating costs of already established feedlots in the Central and Southern Plains States. Finally, a range of strategies are available in developing value-added cattle production in the Northern Plains and Western Lakes States. These strategies embody differing levels of capital investment, and involve different levels of risk and profitability.cattle feeding, Northern Plains, economies of scale, cooperative ownership, entrance strategies, Production Economics,

Economic Impact of North Dakota Laws that Permit Delayed or Partial Repayment of Agricultural Debt � July 1, 1986

Agricultural Finance,