DISCUSSION: THE SYSTEMS APPROACH -- RESEARCH OR RESEARCH MANAGEMENT

Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

The Evolving Ethanol Industry in the United States

This paper discusses the likely growth in the production of ethanol from grain in the United States over the next 4 to 5 years. It describes how the costs of production have changed and some of the major factors that are likely to impact profitability and rate of growth in the industry over this period. It discusses co-product production and utilization, and the impact of expanding ethanol production on land use. The final section briefly discusses recent progress in the production of liquid fuels from cellulose.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Agriculture's Role in Energy Production: Current Levels and Future Prospects

Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

AN INCOMPLETE CONTRACTS MODEL OF DAIRY ENTERPRISE ORGANIZATION

An empirical incomplete contracts approach is used to analyze optimal integration schemes in a Minnesota dairy farm supply chain that transfers feed and manure. The results show that the forage enterprise is the constraining factor. The preferred ownership structure is for a forage producer to own cropping and dairy assets.Industrial Organization, Livestock Production/Industries,

STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN MEAT PACKING AND PROCESSING: THE PORK SECTOR

Industrial Organization, Livestock Production/Industries,

LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY PRODUCTION RISK IN THE UNITED STATES

Livestock Production/Industries,

THE EFFECT OF RISK AND AUTONOMY ON INDEPENDENT HOG PRODUCERS' CONTRACTING DECISIONS

The introduction of vertical coordination in the hog industry has provided producers with new business arrangements for raising hogs. While some researchers have elicited utility functions for hog producers on the basis of income risk, none have addressed autonomy, a factor which appears to be important in business arrangement selection for independent family hog operations. In this study, a method is developed for eliciting a multi-attribute function with attributes of income and autonomy. Utility functions are elicited for a group of Minnesota farrow-to-finish hog producers. For these producers, autonomy dominated risk as the most important attribute in business arrangement selection.Livestock Production/Industries,

FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH SUCCESS OF FUEL ETHANOL PRODUCERS

Replaced with revised version of paper 08/24/04.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

THE BAYESIAN DECISION MODEL WITH MORE THAN ONE PREDICTOR--AN APPLICATION TO THE STOCKING RATE PROBLEM

Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

INTERTEMPORAL ALLOCATION OF GROUND WATER IN THE CENTRAL OGALLALA FORMATION: AN APPLICATION OF A MULTISTAGE SEQUENTIAL DECISION MODEL

Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,