Factors Affecting the Seasonality of Marketing Manufacturing Milk in Eastern South Dakota

The problems involved in the marketing of milk are numerous and often complex. One problem facing both the South Dakota producer and processor is the seasonality in production and marketing of manufacturing milk. This has been a problem of long standing in the dairy industry. The fluid milk industry has made some progress in bringing about a more even flow of milk to the market through the various price incentive programs. Seasonal pricing has played a leading role. Little has been done, however, to alleviate the problem in the manufactured milk segment of the industry. . . . The specific objectives of this study are the following: (1) to determine factors affecting the seasonal pattern of marketing manufacturing milk; (2) to determine the necessary price incentives or the adjustments needed for increasing production during seasonally low months; (3) to identify significant obstacles causing the seasonal supply of manufacturing milk

A Model for the Ultrastructure of Bone Based on Electron Microscopy of Ion-Milled Sections

The relationship between the mineral component of bone and associated collagen has been a matter of continued dispute. We use transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of cryogenically ion milled sections of fully-mineralized cortical bone to study the spatial and topological relationship between mineral and collagen. We observe that hydroxyapatite (HA) occurs largely as elongated plate-like structures which are external to and oriented parallel to the collagen fibrils. Dark field images suggest that the structures (“mineral structures”) are polycrystalline. They are approximately 5 nm thick, 70 nm wide and several hundred nm long. Using energy-dispersive X-ray analysis we show that approximately 70% of the HA occurs as mineral structures external to the fibrils. The remainder is found constrained to the gap zones. Comparative studies of other species suggest that this structural motif is ubiquitous in all vertebrates

Per Capita Food Expenditures Declining Around the World

Abundant and relatively inexpensive food has contributed significantly to the high standard of living in the United States. Lower food costs enable Americans to spend less income on food and more on other goods and services or to save more. In 1989, Americans used a little under 10 percent of their total personal consumption expenditures (PCE) on food at home—the lowest share in the world. "Food's share of total personal consumption expenditures" is the value of food purchased by consumers for at-home consumption relative to the value of all purchases for personal consumption. This expenditure series is based on ERS data and national accounts data, which are provided by the United Nations for 44 economies (see box for a discussion of the data)

INFLUENCES ON U.S. DIRECT FOOD PURCHASE PROGRAM

The model presented here attempts to quantify the effects of selected economic and policy variables that influence the level of Government purchases of selected agricultural commodities through Section 32 (Act of Aug. 24, 1935, 7, U.S.C. 612c) funding. The act authorized USDA to purchase surplus agricultural commodities. Variables hypothesized to influence Government commodity purchases include farm price of the commodity and commodities that compete for Section 32 funds, lagged Government purchases, the budget of the direct purchase program of Section 32, the level of Government purchases of the commodity with Section 6 funds, and the population of school-age children. Data for this analysis were of the years 1969-81. For one-third of the commodities analyzed, the level of Government purchases was significantly and inversely related to the price of the commodity