Agricultural Policy and Financial Stress

Many farmers are currently facing severe financial stress resulting in asset liquidations, problems in obtaining credit, and even bankruptcy. An important question in policy analysis is the applicability of traditional farm policy approaches to the problem of financial stress in agriculture. This is a particularly relevant question given that the 1983 PIK program was one of the most expensive and largest government transfer programs for agriculture in recent history, and yet many farms are still facing severe financial problems. In this discussion the causes of current financial stress in agriculture and the role of past price and income support, credit and tax policies in mitigating or contributing to this stress will be assessed. Then alternative policy options to relieve the stress will be identified and evaluated. Selected options will be quantitatively analyzed using micro and macro econometric simulation models. Finally, conclusions will be drawn

Private Agricultural Land Base by Producing Areas for Year 2000

A prime resource in the production of agriculture commodities is land. Individuals throughout the United States have become increasingly concerned over the loss of agricultural land to nonagricultural purposes such as urban sprawl, roads and airports facilities and mining etc. Reduction in the agricultural land base due to urban expansion and other nonagricultural uses could result in less agricultural production unless the reduced land base is compensated by other resources in production. Over time, two viewpoints on this issue have surfaced, one group feels the reduction of agricultural land will be a definite threat to agriculture in the future Because once a piece of land is converted for urban build-up or any other use; chances of reclaiming that land to agricultural production are slim. Another group feels that the conversion rate of agricultural land to other uses is not significant enough to affect future agricultural production With increasing research on crop genetics and resource substitutions, compensation for the loss of land can occur. Few studies have been carried out at regional or at national levels that determine the extent of loss of land and its effect on agricultural production. The objective of this study is to estimate the loss of agricultural land in years ahead. These estimates will be incorporated in the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development linear programming models or right-hand-sides. They will serve as production restraints on the agricultural system

Efficient deletion of microRNAs using CRISPR/Cas9 with dual guide RNAs

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNAs that play crucial roles in gene regulation, exerting post-transcriptional silencing, thereby influencing cellular function, development, and disease. Traditional loss-of-function methods for studying miRNA functions, such as miRNA inhibitors and sponges, present limitations in terms of specificity, transient effects, and off-target effects. Similarly, CRISPR/Cas9-based editing of miRNAs using single guide RNAs (sgRNAs) also has limitations in terms of design space for generating effective gRNAs. In this study, we introduce a novel approach that utilizes CRISPR/Cas9 with dual guide RNAs (dgRNAs) for the rapid and efficient generation of short deletions within miRNA genomic regions. Through the expression of dgRNAs through single-copy lentiviral integration, this approach achieves over a 90% downregulation of targeted miRNAs within a week. We conducted a comprehensive analysis of various parameters influencing efficient deletion formation. In addition, we employed doxycycline (Dox)-inducible expression of Cas9 from the AAVS1 locus, enabling homogeneous, temporal, and stage-specific editing during cellular differentiation. Compared to miRNA inhibitory methods, the dgRNA-based approach offers higher specificity, allowing for the deletion of individual miRNAs with similar seed sequences, without affecting other miRNAs. Due to the increased design space, the dgRNA-based approach provides greater flexibility in gRNA design compared to the sgRNA-based approach. We successfully applied this approach in two human cell lines, demonstrating its applicability for studying the mechanisms of human erythropoiesis and pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) biology and differentiation. Efficient deletion of miR-451 and miR-144 resulted in blockage of erythroid differentiation, and the deletion of miR-23a and miR-27a significantly affected iPSC survival. We have validated the highly efficient deletion of genomic regions by editing protein-coding genes, resulting in a significant impact on protein expression. This protocol has the potential to be extended to delete multiple miRNAs within miRNA clusters, allowing for future investigations into the cooperative effects of the cluster members on cellular functions. The protocol utilizing dgRNAs for miRNA deletion can be employed to generate efficient pooled libraries for high-throughput comprehensive analysis of miRNAs involved in different biological processes

An econometric model for analyzing regional source and use of funds in U.S. agriculture: an application of random coefficients technique

The purpose of this study is to develop a regional econometric model for analyzing the source and the use of funds in U.S. agriculture. To accomplish this task, a set of behavioral functions for the source and the use of funds are specified and estimated using a random coefficient technique. For the time being, the source of funds equations are estimated through a time trend. Once the model is merged with the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD)--national econometric model, the source of funds will be determined endogenously from other sectors of the national model. Fixed expenditures, production expenditures, household expenditures, and land transfers are the major categories of the use of funds. Various disaggregation of the use of funds are considered for each category of the use of funds. Further, the random coefficient technique is used in the functional forms to capture the ongoing structural changes in U.S. agriculture;The results reveal farm size, user cost of capital, and crop price index are significant variables in fixed expenditure functions; planted acres, prices paid indexes are significant variables in production expenditure equations; net farm income is a significant variable in land price equations;A simulation model for the 11 regions is developed from the estimated functions and tested for its validity. The model is found to be a valid one. Based on policy simulation, a 25 percent increase in price paid indexes has a more significant negative impact in the fixed expenses than in the production expenses. On a similar note, a 50 percent increase in prices received indexes will boost the fixed expenses more than the production expenses. But, a 10 percent reduction in crop planted acres significantly reduces the production expenditures. Further, regional variation in the simulation results are observed. The U.S. agriculture sector can withstand some adverse financial crisis for a considerable time period, and the Corn Belt and the Northern Plains have a higher leverage against the financial crisis.</p

An Econometric Simulation Model for Analyzing the Use of Funds in Corn Belt Agriculture: An Application of Pure Random Coefficient Technique

The purpose of this study is to develop an econometric simulation model for analyzing the use of funds in Corn Belt agriculture. The Corn Belt Region, one of the major regions in U.S. agriculture, constitutes states such as Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, and Ohio. A set of behavioral functions of the use funds in the region are specified to accomplish this task. Fixed expenditures, production expenditures, and land transfers are the major categories of the use of funds. Further, the behavioral equations are specified by a pure random coefficient technique and estimated by following Zellner's seemingly unrelated technique. Based on the estimated behavioral functions and accounting identities, a simulation system of the use of funds is developed and an ex-post simulation is performed to test the validity of the model. To test its effectiveness, the model analyzes several farm policy alternatives on the use of funds, such as a 25 percent increase in prices paid indexes, a 50 percent increase in prices received indexes, and a 10 percent reduction in crop planted acres over the normal trend of these variables. An ex-ant simulation to the year 1995 is performed under the policy alternatives. Various farm financial indicators, such as production expenditures, fixed expenditures, farm debt, and credit demand are studies under these policy alternatives.</p

Agricultural Policy and Financial Stress

Many farmers are currently facing severe financial stress resulting in asset liquidations, problems in obtaining credit, and even bankruptcy. An important question in policy analysis is the applicability of traditional farm policy approaches to the problem of financial stress in agriculture. This is a particularly relevant question given that the 1983 PIK program was one of the most expensive and largest government transfer programs for agriculture in recent history, and yet many farms are still facing severe financial problems. In this discussion the causes of current financial stress in agriculture and the role of past price and income support, credit and tax policies in mitigating or contributing to this stress will be assessed. Then alternative policy options to relieve the stress will be identified and evaluated. Selected options will be quantitatively analyzed using micro and macro econometric simulation models. Finally, conclusions will be drawn.</p

Private Agricultural Land Base by Producing Areas for Year 2000

A prime resource in the production of agriculture commodities is land. Individuals throughout the United States have become increasingly concerned over the loss of agricultural land to nonagricultural purposes such as urban sprawl, roads and airports facilities and mining etc. Reduction in the agricultural land base due to urban expansion and other nonagricultural uses could result in less agricultural production unless the reduced land base is compensated by other resources in production. Over time, two viewpoints on this issue have surfaced, one group feels the reduction of agricultural land will be a definite threat to agriculture in the future Because once a piece of land is converted for urban build-up or any other use; chances of reclaiming that land to agricultural production are slim. Another group feels that the conversion rate of agricultural land to other uses is not significant enough to affect future agricultural production With increasing research on crop genetics and resource substitutions, compensation for the loss of land can occur. Few studies have been carried out at regional or at national levels that determine the extent of loss of land and its effect on agricultural production. The objective of this study is to estimate the loss of agricultural land in years ahead. These estimates will be incorporated in the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development linear programming models or right-hand-sides. They will serve as production restraints on the agricultural system.</p

Agricultural Policy and Financial Stress

Many farmers are currently facing severe financial stress resulting in asset liquidations, problems in obtaining credit, and even bankruptcy. An important question in policy analysis is the applicability of traditional farm policy approaches to the problem of financial stress in agriculture. This is a particularly relevant question given that the 1983 PIK program was one of the most expensive and largest government transfer programs for agriculture in recent history, and yet many farms are still facing severe financial problems. In this discussion the causes of current financial stress in agriculture and the role of past price and income support, credit and tax policies in mitigating or contributing to this stress will be assessed. Then alternative policy options to relieve the stress will be identified and evaluated. Selected options will be quantitatively analyzed using micro and macro econometric simulation models. Finally, conclusions will be drawn.