A Pilot Program to Assist CAFOs in Using Weather Data to Minimize Manure Management Risk

This paper summarizes a pilot project to disseminate site specific weather information that has been processed to estimate field runoff potential of land applied manure. Preliminary feedback indicate the program has value but that additional information is needed to understand how farmers use weather information to make decisions within the regulatory constraints they face.Environmental Economics and Policy,

Evaluating the contract swine finishing opportunity

AGRICULTURALMU GuidePUBLISHED BY MU EXTENSION, UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-COLUMBIASwine ManagementIncreasing numbers of farmers, aspiring farmers and rural landowners are considering a contract hog finishing enterprise as a way to enter agriculture or to expand or diversify their current operation. This publication is in response to questions and issues raised by prospective producers and is intended to help with the decision process. Every person, opportunity and situation is different in one way or another, and the following discussion is more about helping you to ask the right questions than giving specific answers. Even if you have a substantial farming operation, the decision to enter contract production is one of the biggest decisions you will ever make. It involves a set of decisions related to farm business strategy, investment analysis and personal/family issues. Like any business venture, your satisfaction in the long run is more assured if you go in with both eyes open. The best possible situation for contracting firms and growers is that expectations conform to reality over the life of the contract and beyond.Christian R. Boessen (Crops and Swine Economist, Department of Agricultural Economics, Commercial Agriculture Program)Reviewed November 2018 -- websit

Creating Individualized Self-Scoring Assessments for Agricultural Economics Undergraduates

What is an individualized self-scoring assessment for an agricultural economics major? It is a homework assignment that is unique for each student in the class and provides immediate feedback to the student on the correctness of the work. The principle is to generate unique problems, whether it is as simple as the basic intercept and slope of supply and demand equations for an introductory economics class, the parameters of a production function for a production economics, or the interest rate for agricultural finance. One must be aware in constructing the generator algorithms for problem parameters that any necessary conditions will be satisfied a priori such as downward sloping demand, concavity or convexity for maximization or minimization. These assignments are created in an Excel spreadsheet format. Once the basic template is created, the process for self-scoring immediate feedback is relatively easy. Create a copy of the original uncompleted problem sheet in the same workbook and provide the correct formulae to serve as a key. Create a second copy to serve as a check page and replace the formulae with an IF statement comparing the value or formula in the original to the second. It is best to provide some tolerance in the comparison such as checking that the absolute difference in the original and second sheet is less than some critical value. This is especially true for optimization problems. By hiding the key worksheet and protecting the workbook structure, students can not access the correct formulae. However, if the correct formulae or number is entered in the problem sheet, the student can view the check worksheet to see if the answer is correct. A simple GETFORMULA add-in allows the worksheet to check model setups in optimization problems. The key advantage of this technique to the students is the immediate feedback. Also by generating unique assignments, students can cooperate and learn among themselves without being able to directly copy from their peers. Additionally, graphical representations of their problems can often be provided simultaneously. Lastly, the students find that their spreadsheet skills are greatly enhanced. From the instructor perspective, the assessments are already scored when submitted. Students will seek help prior to turning in the assignment. And there is little need to sacrifice complexity to create problems that work out to neat answers. Empirical evidence of improvement in student evaluations indicates the technique is successful.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Applying Transaction Cost Economics: A Note on Biomass Supply Chains

Agricultural supply chains, especially those from producer to first handler, are relatively mature institutions. While agricultural economists often observe the evolution of marketing structures in developing nations, it is a rare opportunity to research a developing market within North America. The emerging bioenergy industry—which relies on non-food crops such as straw—provides the potential to research and potentially impact the development of new supply chains. Here, we briefly review the literature related to biomass supply chains, pose a transaction cost approach to studying their development, and then discuss the procurement strategies of an industry leader: the Iogen Corporation.biomass supply chains, organization, transaction cost, Agribusiness, Demand and Price Analysis, Production Economics,

Production and Marketing Characteristics of U.S. Pork Producers – 2003

Livestock Production/Industries,

An Assessment of the India Soy Protein Market

This research is a first step in determining India's future need for soy-based protein products. The objective of this study is to determine India's protein demand over the next ten years. Then, using the per capita protein demand derived from this study, along with income, population, and dietary information, per capita soy protein consumption was estimated for the same time period. It was found that income growth has a large positive affect on protein consumption.Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Cross-Hedging Fishmeal: Exploring Corn and Soybean Meal Futures Contracts

During 2006 the fishmeal price nearly doubled from $500MT to over$900MT. The objective of this research is to determine the optimal cross-hedge ratio between fishmeal and soybean meal and corn, and corresponding hedging weight between corn and soybean. Results indicate all hedging weight should be placed on the corn futures contract. This is an interesting result since prior fishmeal cross-hedging research has not analyzed the corn futures contract as a risk management mechanism.Crop Production/Industries, Risk and Uncertainty,

Creating Individualized Self-Scoring Assessments for Agricultural Economics Undergraduates

What is an individualized self-scoring assessment for an agricultural economics major? It is a homework assignment that is unique for each student in the class and provides immediate feedback to the student on the correctness of the work. The principle is to generate unique problems, whether it is as simple as the basic intercept and slope of supply and demand equations for an introductory economics class, the parameters of a production function for a production economics, or the interest rate for agricultural finance. One must be aware in constructing the generator algorithms for problem parameters that any necessary conditions will be satisfied a priori such as downward sloping demand, concavity or convexity for maximization or minimization. These assignments are created in an Excel spreadsheet format. Once the basic template is created, the process for self-scoring immediate feedback is relatively easy. Create a copy of the original uncompleted problem sheet in the same workbook and provide the correct formulae to serve as a key. Create a second copy to serve as a check page and replace the formulae with an IF statement comparing the value or formula in the original to the second. It is best to provide some tolerance in the comparison such as checking that the absolute difference in the original and second sheet is less than some critical value. This is especially true for optimization problems. By hiding the key worksheet and protecting the workbook structure, students can not access the correct formulae. However, if the correct formulae or number is entered in the problem sheet, the student can view the check worksheet to see if the answer is correct. A simple GETFORMULA add-in allows the worksheet to check model setups in optimization problems. The key advantage of this technique to the students is the immediate feedback. Also by generating unique assignments, students can cooperate and learn among themselves without being able to directly copy from their peers. Additionally, graphical representations of their problems can often be provided simultaneously. Lastly, the students find that their spreadsheet skills are greatly enhanced. From the instructor perspective, the assessments are already scored when submitted. Students will seek help prior to turning in the assignment. And there is little need to sacrifice complexity to create problems that work out to neat answers. Empirical evidence of improvement in student evaluations indicates the technique is successful