http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/36174 Search the Channel search http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/simple-search http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/31488 Title: SOME IMPERATIVES OF THE GREEN REVOLUTION: TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY AND OWNERSHIP OF INPUTS IN INDIAN AGRICULTURE <br/> <br/>Authors: Jha, Raghbendra; Rhodes, Mark J. <br/> <br/>Abstract: This paper attempts to ascertain the requirements (in terms of ownership of factors of production) for successful adaptation to the Green Revolution in Indian agriculture. We estimate stochastic production frontiers for wheat in two Indian states: Haryana (which has been significantly affected by the Green Revolution) and Madhya Pradesh (where the Green Revolution has had much less effect). In Haryana, but not in Madhya Pradesh, larger farm size and ownership of land and machines positively influence technical efficiency. Thus, with the Green Revolution advancing, land consolidation and vesting of clear ownership rights of land and capital with farmers becomes important. http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/31489 Title: MULTIPLE AGENTS, AND AGRICULTURAL NONPOINT-SOURCE WATER POLLUTION CONTROL POLICIES <br/> <br/>Authors: Smith, Rodney B.W.; Tomasi, Theodore D. <br/> <br/>Abstract: Assuming asymmetric information over farmer profits and zero transaction costs, prior literature has suggested that when regulating nonpoint source water pollution, a tax on management practices (inputs) can implement full-information allocations and is superior to a tax on estimated runoff. Using mechanism design theory under asymmetric information, this paper show that under the same assumptions, management practice taxes and taxes on estimated runoff are equally efficient. http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/31490 Title: AGRICULTURAL LAND USE CHOICE: A DISCRETE CHOICE APPROACH <br/> <br/>Authors: Claassen, Roger; Tegene, Abebayehu <br/> <br/>Abstract: A discrete choice model and site-specific data are used to analyze land use choices between crop production and pasture in the Corn Belt. The results show that conversion probabilities depend on relative returns, land quality, and government policy. In general it is found that landowners are less inclined to remove land from crop production than to convert land to crop production. http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/31491 Title: EXAMINING PACKER CHOICE OF SLAUGHTER CATTLE PROCURMENT AND PRICING METHODS <br/> <br/>Authors: Capps, Oral, Jr.; Love, H. Alan; Williams, Gary W.; Adams, Wendi L. <br/> <br/>Abstract: Using daily fed cattle purchase transaction records collected by the Packers and Stockyards Programs over the period April 1992 to April 1993, we identify characteristics associated with the choices of fed cattle procurement and pricing methods. The methodology involves the use of a multinomial logit model. Regional concentration; processing capacity; number of head per lot; average weight per head; cattle type; yield grade, quarterly grade, seasonality, and distance from packing plants play a significant role in determining the methods of procurement and pricing chosen by packers. The method chosen by packers to procure fed cattle also affects the choice of a given pricing method. http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/31492 Title: END MATERIALS <br/> <br/>Abstract: Includes: Guidelines for Manuscript Submission; Back Cover http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/31493 Title: INCOME OF FARMERS WHO USE DIRECT MARKETING <br/> <br/>Authors: Govindasamy, Ramu; Hossain, Ferdaus; Adelaja, Adesoji <br/> <br/>Abstract: Policy makers are looking for ways to preserve farmlands, especially near urban areas. Farmers are also trying to find ways to increase their farm income by incorporating non-traditional activities into their farm routine. This paper attempts to quantify the contributions of selected nontraditional activities towards farmers' efforts to enhance their farm income. For farmers involved in direct marketing, a logit model is used to estimate the probability of attaining high income for each activity considered, selling of farm related value-added products, greenhouse operations and urban location of farm markets will increase the chance o attaining high income levels. http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/31494 Title: THE KYOTO PROTOCOL: ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF ENERGY PRICES ON NORTHERN PLAINS DRYLAND GRAIN PRODUCTION <br/> <br/>Authors: Antle, John M.; Capalbo, Susan M.; Johnson, James B.; Miljkovic, Dragan <br/> <br/>Abstract: This study examined possible economic impacts on Northern Plains grain producers of policies that could be undertaken by the United States to comply with the Kyoto Protocol. The paper begins with a discussion of the potential effects of the Kyoto Protocol on prices of energy and inputs used in agricultural production. The next section describes the data and econometric models that were used to develop a field-scale, stochastic simulation model of the crop production system typical of the Northern Plains. This model is based on econometric production models estimated with a spatially referenced, statistically representative sample of farmers in Montana. The simulation analysis shows that the impacts of higher energy prices would tend to discourage the use of fallow, raise variable costs of production by 3 to 13%, and reduce net returns above variable cost by 6 to 18% in the case of spring wheat grown on fallow, Under the higher cost scenarios assumed in an analysis conducted by the Farm Bureau, production costs for spring wheat on fallow would increase by 15 to 27% and net returns would decline by 15 to 24%. http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/31495 Title: TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION DECISIONS IN DAIRY PRODUCTION AND THE ROLE OF HERD EXPANSION <br/> <br/>Authors: El-Osta, Hisham S.; Morehart, Mitchell J. <br/> <br/>Abstract: Technology adoption in dairy production allows for higher milk yield and lower per-unit costs. The importance of herd expansion and other factors to adoption was examined using a multinomial logit model and data from the USDA's 1993 Farm Costs and Returns Survey. Predicted probabilities of adoption were used to simulate the effect of herd expansion on milk production. Results identified age, size, and specialization in dairy production as important in increasing the likelihood of adopting a capital-intense technology. Education and size of operation positively impacted the decision to adopt a management-intense technology. Age, education, credit reserves, size, and increased usage of hired labor positively influenced the decision to adopt a combined capital-and management-intense technology. http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/31496 Title: ECONOMIC INSIGHTS INTO THE SITING PROBLEM: AN APPLICATION OF THE EXPECTED UTILITY MODEL <br/> <br/>Authors: Halstead, John M.; Whitcomb, Joanna L.; Hamilton, Lawrence C. <br/> <br/>Abstract: Despite the generally recognized need for facilities such as power plants, landfills, prisons, and medical laboratories, finding host sites has become extremely difficult. This study uses the expected utility (EU) model to explain individiuals' preferences in the hypothetical case of siting a municipal solid waste composting facility. The three principal factors which EU theory prescribes would affect the decision process- benefits of the proposed facility, losses from the facility, and the (perceived) probability of various scenarios occurring- embodied by the variables in a multinomial logit model explain a substantial amount of the variation in siting decisions. http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/31497 Title: FACTORS INFLUENCING SUPPORT FOR RURAL LAND USE CONTROL: A CASE STUDY <br/> <br/>Authors: McLeod, Donald M.; Woirhaye, Jody; Menkhaus, Dale J. <br/> <br/>Abstract: Agricultural land is being converted into rural residences at an unprecedented rate in the Inter-mountain West. Survey data have been collected for Sublette County, Wyoming concerning preferences for private land use and land use control. Selected land use controls include zoning, purchase of development rights and cluster development. Local in-migration appears to be driven by the pursuit of open space and environment amenities. Logit models are estimated for public and private choice co-variates. Private concerns about land use are the chief determinants of land use control approval. http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/31498 Title: A MODEL FOR THE ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF PLANTATION BIOMASS PRODUCTION FOR CO-FIRING WITH COAL IN ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION <br/> <br/>Authors: Nienow, Sara; McNamara, Kevin T.; Gillespie, Andrew R.; Preckel, Paul V. <br/> <br/>Abstract: Public and private electric utilities are considering co-firing biomass with coal as a strategy to reduce the levels of CO2, SO2 and NO, in stack emissions, as well as a response to state legislative mandates requiring the use of renewable fuels. This analysis examines the conditions under which biomass co-firing is economically feasible for utilities and woody biomass producers and describes additional environmental and community benefits associated with biomass use. This paper presents a case study of woody biomass production and co-firing at the Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) Michigan City Unit No.12 power plant. A Salix (willow) production budget was created to assess the feasibility of plantation tree production to supply biomass to the utility for fuel lending. A GAMS model was developed to examine the optimal co-firing blend of coal and biomass while minimizing variable cost, including the cost of ash disposal and material procurement costs. The model is constrained by the levels of pollution produced. This model is used to examine situations where coal is the primary fuel and waste wood, willow trees, or both are available for fuel blending. Capital costs for co-firing were estimated outside of the model and are incorporated into the total cost of co-firing. The results indicate that under certain circumstances it is cost-effective for the power plant to co-fire biomass. Sensitivity analysis is used to test biomass price sensitivity and explores the effects of potential public policies on co-firing. http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/31499 Title: COVER AND CONTENTS PAGES <br/> <br/>Abstract: Includes: Front Cover Pages, Contents Page http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/31500 Title: ARE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION FACULTY SALARIES COMPETITIVELY OR MONOPSONISTICALLY DETERMINED? <br/> <br/>Authors: Barrett, Christopher B.; Bailey, Deevon <br/> <br/>Abstract: We examine the determinants of agricultural experiment station faculty salaries and find that productivity pays-as manifest by grantsmanship, publications, and the elicitation of competing offers-with no residual evidence of a negative seniority-salary relationship that could signal university monopsony power. This contrasts with findings in the previous literature on faculty salaries. Moreover, national market salary benchmarks, which may proxy for imperfectly observable productivity, correlate almost one-for-one with individual faculty salaries, with individual deviations from peers' salaries proving essentially random. This evidence is much more consistent with the hypothesis that experiment station faculty salaries are determined in a competitive labor market than with the prevailing wisdom that they are set monopsonistically. http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/31492 Title: END MATERIALS <br/> <br/>Abstract: Includes: Guidelines for Manuscript Submission; Back Cover http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/31499 Title: COVER AND CONTENTS PAGES <br/> <br/>Abstract: Includes: Front Cover Pages, Contents Page http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/31496 Title: ECONOMIC INSIGHTS INTO THE SITING PROBLEM: AN APPLICATION OF THE EXPECTED UTILITY MODEL <br/> <br/>Authors: Halstead, John M.; Whitcomb, Joanna L.; Hamilton, Lawrence C. <br/> <br/>Abstract: Despite the generally recognized need for facilities such as power plants, landfills, prisons, and medical laboratories, finding host sites has become extremely difficult. This study uses the expected utility (EU) model to explain individiuals' preferences in the hypothetical case of siting a municipal solid waste composting facility. The three principal factors which EU theory prescribes would affect the decision process- benefits of the proposed facility, losses from the facility, and the (perceived) probability of various scenarios occurring- embodied by the variables in a multinomial logit model explain a substantial amount of the variation in siting decisions. http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/31493 Title: INCOME OF FARMERS WHO USE DIRECT MARKETING <br/> <br/>Authors: Govindasamy, Ramu; Hossain, Ferdaus; Adelaja, Adesoji <br/> <br/>Abstract: Policy makers are looking for ways to preserve farmlands, especially near urban areas. Farmers are also trying to find ways to increase their farm income by incorporating non-traditional activities into their farm routine. This paper attempts to quantify the contributions of selected nontraditional activities towards farmers' efforts to enhance their farm income. For farmers involved in direct marketing, a logit model is used to estimate the probability of attaining high income for each activity considered, selling of farm related value-added products, greenhouse operations and urban location of farm markets will increase the chance o attaining high income levels. http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/31495 Title: TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION DECISIONS IN DAIRY PRODUCTION AND THE ROLE OF HERD EXPANSION <br/> <br/>Authors: El-Osta, Hisham S.; Morehart, Mitchell J. <br/> <br/>Abstract: Technology adoption in dairy production allows for higher milk yield and lower per-unit costs. The importance of herd expansion and other factors to adoption was examined using a multinomial logit model and data from the USDA's 1993 Farm Costs and Returns Survey. Predicted probabilities of adoption were used to simulate the effect of herd expansion on milk production. Results identified age, size, and specialization in dairy production as important in increasing the likelihood of adopting a capital-intense technology. Education and size of operation positively impacted the decision to adopt a management-intense technology. Age, education, credit reserves, size, and increased usage of hired labor positively influenced the decision to adopt a combined capital-and management-intense technology. http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/31494 Title: THE KYOTO PROTOCOL: ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF ENERGY PRICES ON NORTHERN PLAINS DRYLAND GRAIN PRODUCTION <br/> <br/>Authors: Antle, John M.; Capalbo, Susan M.; Johnson, James B.; Miljkovic, Dragan <br/> <br/>Abstract: This study examined possible economic impacts on Northern Plains grain producers of policies that could be undertaken by the United States to comply with the Kyoto Protocol. The paper begins with a discussion of the potential effects of the Kyoto Protocol on prices of energy and inputs used in agricultural production. The next section describes the data and econometric models that were used to develop a field-scale, stochastic simulation model of the crop production system typical of the Northern Plains. This model is based on econometric production models estimated with a spatially referenced, statistically representative sample of farmers in Montana. The simulation analysis shows that the impacts of higher energy prices would tend to discourage the use of fallow, raise variable costs of production by 3 to 13%, and reduce net returns above variable cost by 6 to 18% in the case of spring wheat grown on fallow, Under the higher cost scenarios assumed in an analysis conducted by the Farm Bureau, production costs for spring wheat on fallow would increase by 15 to 27% and net returns would decline by 15 to 24%. http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/31498 Title: A MODEL FOR THE ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF PLANTATION BIOMASS PRODUCTION FOR CO-FIRING WITH COAL IN ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION <br/> <br/>Authors: Nienow, Sara; McNamara, Kevin T.; Gillespie, Andrew R.; Preckel, Paul V. <br/> <br/>Abstract: Public and private electric utilities are considering co-firing biomass with coal as a strategy to reduce the levels of CO2, SO2 and NO, in stack emissions, as well as a response to state legislative mandates requiring the use of renewable fuels. This analysis examines the conditions under which biomass co-firing is economically feasible for utilities and woody biomass producers and describes additional environmental and community benefits associated with biomass use. This paper presents a case study of woody biomass production and co-firing at the Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) Michigan City Unit No.12 power plant. A Salix (willow) production budget was created to assess the feasibility of plantation tree production to supply biomass to the utility for fuel lending. A GAMS model was developed to examine the optimal co-firing blend of coal and biomass while minimizing variable cost, including the cost of ash disposal and material procurement costs. The model is constrained by the levels of pollution produced. This model is used to examine situations where coal is the primary fuel and waste wood, willow trees, or both are available for fuel blending. Capital costs for co-firing were estimated outside of the model and are incorporated into the total cost of co-firing. The results indicate that under certain circumstances it is cost-effective for the power plant to co-fire biomass. Sensitivity analysis is used to test biomass price sensitivity and explores the effects of potential public policies on co-firing.