AN INTERACTIVE ILLUSTRATION OF FARM PROGRAM PROVISIONS

Explaining the details and the impacts of government program provisions to agricultural producers can be a challenge for extension educators. This paper introduces a visual interactive tool that demonstrates the calculations of government payments established in the 2002 farm bill. Additionally, the paper explains how the tool is created in Microsoft® Excel and may be used in other areas.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Bounds on Lorentz and CPT Violation from the Earth-Ionosphere Cavity

Electromagnetic resonant cavities form the basis of many tests of Lorentz invariance involving photons. The effects of some forms of Lorentz violation scale with cavity size. We investigate possible signals of violations in the naturally occurring resonances formed in the Earth-ionosphere cavity. Comparison with observed resonances places the first terrestrial constraints on coefficients associated with dimension-three Lorentz-violating operators at the level of 10^{-20} GeV.Comment: 8 pages REVTe

Preliminary - Representative Farm Analysis of House of Representatives Draft Concept Paper for 2002 Farm Bill

Agricultural and Food Policy,

Representative Farm Analysis of the H.R. 2646 Farm Bill Proposal

Agricultural and Food Policy,

Representative Farms Economic Outlook for the November 2002 FAPRI/AFPC Baseline

The farm level economic impacts of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 on representative crop and livestock operations are projected in this report. The analysis was conducted over the 2001-2007 planning horizon using FLIPSIM, AFPC’s whole farm simulation model. Data to simulate farming operations in the nation’s major production regions came from two sources: - Producer panel cooperation to develop economic information to describe and simulate representative crop, livestock, and dairy farms. - Projected prices, policy variables, and input inflation rates from the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) November 2002 Baseline. The FLIPSIM policy simulation model incorporates the historical risk faced by farmers for prices and production. This report presents the results of the November 2002 Baseline in a risk context using selected simulated probabilities and ranges for annual net cash farm income values. The probability of a farm experiencing annual cash flow deficits and the probability of a farm losing real net worth are included as indicators of the cash flow and equity risks facing farms through the year 2007.Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries,

A change detection approach to flood mapping in urban areas using TerraSAR-X

Very high-resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar sensors represent an alternative to aerial photography for delineating floods in built-up environments where flood risk is highest. However, even with currently available SAR image resolutions of 3 m and higher, signal returns from man-made structures hamper the accurate mapping of flooded areas. Enhanced image processing algorithms and a better exploitation of image archives are required to facilitate the use of microwave remote sensing data for monitoring flood dynamics in urban areas. In this study a hybrid methodology combining radiometric thresholding, region growing and change detection is introduced as an approach enabling the automated, objective and reliable flood extent extraction from very high-resolution urban SAR images. The method is based on the calibration of a statistical distribution of “open water” backscatter values inferred from SAR images of floods. SAR images acquired during dry conditions enable the identification of areas i) that are not “visible” to the sensor (i.e. regions affected by ‘layover’ and ‘shadow’) and ii) that systematically behave as specular reflectors (e.g. smooth tarmac, permanent water bodies). Change detection with respect to a pre- or post flood reference image thereby reduces over-detection of inundated areas. A case study of the July 2007 Severn River flood (UK) observed by the very high-resolution SAR sensor on board TerraSAR-X as well as airborne photography highlights advantages and limitations of the proposed method. We conclude that even though the fully automated SAR-based flood mapping technique overcomes some limitations of previous methods, further technological and methodological improvements are necessary for SAR-based flood detection in urban areas to match the flood mapping capability of high quality aerial photography

Economic Outlook for Representative Cotton Farms Given the August 2003 FAPRI/AFPC Baseline

The farm level economic impacts of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 on representative cotton farms are projected in this report. The analysis was conducted over the 2001-2007 planning horizon using FLIPSIM, AFPC’s whole farm simulation model. Data to simulate farming operations in the nation’s major cotton production regions came from two sources: - Producer panel cooperation to develop economic information to describe and simulate representative cotton farms. - Projected prices, policy variables, and input inflation rates from the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) August 2003 Baseline. The primary objective of the analysis is to determine the farms’ economic viability by region through the life of the 2002 Farm Bill, given sector level conditions projected in the August 2003 FAPRI Baseline. The FLIPSIM policy simulation model incorporates the historical risk faced by cotton farmers for prices and production. This report presents the results of the August 2003 Baseline in a risk context using selected simulated probabilities and ranges for annual net cash farm income values. The probability of a farm experiencing annual cash flow deficits and the probability of a farm losing real net worth are included as indicators of the cash flow and equity risks facing farms through the year 2007. This report is organized into five sections. The first section summarizes the process used to develop the representative farms and the key assumptions utilized for the farm level analysis. The second section summarizes the FAPRI August 2003 Baseline and the policy and price assumptions used for the representative farm analyses. The third section presents the results of the simulation analyses for cotton farms. Two appendices constitute the final section of the report. Appendix A provides tables to summarize the physical and financial characteristics for each of the representative farms. Appendix B provides the names of producers, land grant faculty, and industry leaders who cooperated in the panel interview process to develop the representative cotton farms.Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries,

Representative Farms Economic Outlook for the January 2003 FAPRI/AFPC Baseline

The farm level economic impacts of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 on representative crop and livestock operations are projected in this report. The analysis was conducted over the 2001-2007 planning horizon using FLIPSIM, AFPC’s whole farm simulation model. Data to simulate farming operations in the nation’s major production regions came from two sources: - Producer panel cooperation to develop economic information to describe and simulate representative crop, livestock, and dairy farms. - Projected prices, policy variables, and input inflation rates from the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) January 2003 Baseline. The FLIPSIM policy simulation model incorporates the historical risk faced by farmers for prices and production. This report presents the results of the January 2003 Baseline in a risk context using selected simulated probabilities and ranges for annual net cash farm income values. The probability of a farm experiencing annual cash flow deficits and the probability of a farm losing real net worth are included as indicators of the cash flow and equity risks facing farms through the year 2007.Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries,

Labour Market and Social Policy in Italy: Challenges and Changes. Bertelsmann Policy Brief #2016/02

vEight years after the outbreak of the financial crisis, Italy has still to cope with and overcome a plethora of economic and social challenges. On top of this, it faces an unfavourable demographic structure and severe disparities between its northern and southern regions. Some promising reforms have recently been enacted, specifically targeting poverty and social exclusion. However, much more remains to be done on the way towards greater economic stability and widely shared prosperity

Representative Farms Economic Outlook for the January 2003 FAPRI/AFPC Baseline

The farm level economic impacts of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 on representative crop and livestock operations are projected in this report. The analysis was conducted over the 2001-2007 planning horizon using FLIPSIM, AFPC’s whole farm simulation model. Data to simulate farming operations in the nation’s major production regions came from two sources: - Producer panel cooperation to develop economic information to describe and simulate representative crop, livestock, and dairy farms. - Projected prices, policy variables, and input inflation rates from the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) January 2003 Baseline. The primary objective of the analysis is to determine the farms’ economic viability by region and commodity throughout the life of the 2002 Farm Bill. The FLIPSIM policy simulation model incorporates the historical risk faced by farmers for prices and production. This report presents the results of the January 2003 Baseline in a risk context using selected simulated probabilities and ranges for annual net cash farm income values. The probability of a farm experiencing annual cash flow deficits and the probability of a farm losing real net worth are included as indicators of the cash flow and equity risks facing farms through the year 2007. This report is organized into ten sections. The first section summarizes the process used to develop the representative farms and the key assumptions utilized for the farm level analysis. The second section summarizes the FAPRI January 2003 Baseline and the policy and price assumptions used for the representative farm analyses. The third through sixth sections present the results of the simulation analyses for feed grain, wheat, cotton, and rice farms. The seventh through ninth sections summarize simulation results for dairy, cattle and hog farms. Two appendices constitute the final section of the report. Appendix A provides tables to summarize the physical and financial characteristics for each of the representative farms. Appendix B provides the names of producers, land grant faculty, and industry leaders who cooperated in the panel interview process to develop the representative farms.Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries,