STRATEGIC ALLIANCES IN THE LIVESTOCK SECTOR: INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVES AND OPINIONS

Livestock Production/Industries,

Cosmological Parameters from the Comparison of the 2MASS Gravity Field with Peculiar Velocity Surveys

We compare the peculiar velocity field within 65 $h^{-1}$ Mpc predicted from 2MASS photometry and public redshift data to three independent peculiar velocity surveys based on type Ia supernovae, surface brightness fluctuations in ellipticals, and Tully-Fisher distances to spirals. The three peculiar velocity samples are each in good agreement with the predicted velocities and produce consistent results for \beta_{K}=\Omega\sbr{m}^{0.6}/b_{K}. Taken together the best fit $\beta_{K} = 0.49 \pm 0.04$. We explore the effects of morphology on the determination of $\beta$ by splitting the 2MASS sample into E+S0 and S+Irr density fields and find both samples are equally good tracers of the underlying dark matter distribution, but that early-types are more clustered by a relative factor b\sbr{E}/b\sbr{S} \sim 1.6. The density fluctuations of 2MASS galaxies in $8 h^{-1}$ Mpc spheres in the local volume is found to be \sigma\sbr{8,K} = 0.9. From this result and our value of $\beta_{K}$, we find \sigma_8 (\Omega\sbr{m}/0.3)^{0.6} = 0.91\pm0.12. This is in excellent agreement with results from the IRAS redshift surveys, as well as other cosmological probes. Combining the 2MASS and IRAS peculiar velocity results yields \sigma_8 (\Omega\sbr{m}^/0.3)^{0.6} = 0.85\pm0.05.Comment: 11 pages, ApJ accepte

INCOME ELASTICITIES FOR BEEF, PORK, AND POULTRY: CHANGES AND IMPLICATIONS

Agribusiness,

FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE IN MEAT AND POULTRY MANUFACTURING AND WHOLESALING: AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

The financial performance of meat and poultry manufacturing and wholesaling firms is examined for the period from 1970 to 1986. Measures of liquidity, solvency, profitability, cash generation, and efficiency reported in the Robert Morris Associates Annual Statement Studies are used to examine relative performance across the different industries. The results suggest a similar performance in the wholesaling and manufacturing industries across the period in terms of liquidity. Profitability levels are similar for meat and poultry firms, although the poultry firms show a higher level of variability across the period. It appears that poultry firms leveraged themselves relatively more than did meat firms during the period. In terms of cash generation and efficiency the meat manufacturing industry performs slightly better than the other industries.Agricultural Finance,

THE PRICING EFFICIENCY OF AGRICULTURAL FUTURES MARKETS: AN ANALYSIS OF PREVIOUS RESEARCH RESULTS

The analysis examines quantitatively the findings of previous studies of the pricing efficiency of various agricultural markets using a logit framework. The findings provide insight into the importance of commodity characteristics, uncertainty, and testing procedures used on the results of past research of pricing efficiency. The study also identifies several areas for further research.Demand and Price Analysis,

LIVESTOCK FUTURES MARKETS AND RATIONAL PRICE FORMATION: EVIDENCE FOR LIVE CATTLE AND LIVE HOGS

The efficiency of livestock futures markets continues to receive attention, particularly with regard to their forward pricing or forecasting ability. The purpose of this paper is to present a more general theory that encompasses the forward pricing concept. It is argued that futures contract prices for competitively produced nonstorable commodities, such as live cattle and live hogs, follow a rational formation process. Futures contract prices reflect expected market conditions when contracts are sufficiently close to the delivery month that the supply of the underlying commodity cannot be changed. However, prior to the period when future supplies are relatively fixed, futures contract prices should adjust to reflect the competitive equilibrium, where output price equals average costs of production. Presented evidence suggests that live cattle and live hog futures markets support the rational price formation hypothesis: prices for distant contracts reflect average costs of feeding. Implications for risk management strategies are considered.Demand and Price Analysis, Livestock Production/Industries,

A Slight Excess of Large Scale Power from Moments of the Peculiar Velocity Field

The peculiar motions of galaxies can be used to infer the distribution of matter in the Universe. It has recently been shown that measurements of the peculiar velocity field indicates an anomalously high bulk flow of galaxies in our local volume. In this paper we find the implications of the high bulk flow for the power spectrum of density fluctuations. We find that analyzing only the dipole moment of the velocity field yields an average power spectrum amplitude which is indeed much higher than the LCDM value. However, by also including shear and octupole moments of the velocity field, and marginalizing over possible values for the growth rate, an average power spectrum amplitude which is consistent with LCDM is recovered. We attempt to infer the shape of the matter power spectrum from moments of the velocity field, and find a slight excess of power on scales ~ h-1 Gpc.Comment: 6 pages,6 figures, updated to match accepted versio

The Impacts of GM Seed Technology on Cotton: Cost of Production in Mississippi, 1996 - 2005

Genetically modified (GM) cotton varieties have changed many aspects of cotton production in the United States. The rapid adoption of GM cotton varieties in Mississippi has allowed producers to alter certain production practices because of added benefits gained from GM varieties. This study analyses some of the effects of certain changes in some of the most relevant components of cotton production on yield that stem from the adoption of GM varieties in Mississippi by comparing production functions from 1996 and 2005.Mississippi cotton production, Genetically Modified cotton varieties, structural change, production function., Crop Production/Industries,