Flows of water pollutants from agricultural sources are, for all practical purposes, unobservable by direct monitoring. These flows can, however, be estimated using hydrological models. The analysis presented in this paper demonstrates that uncertainty on estimated flows is not neutral with respect to the optimal level and allocation of estimated abatement or with respect to the expected net benefits of alternative pollution control policy instruments. Policy implications are noted.

While historians believe that preserving a historic building in its original location is important to maintain its historic integrity, the general public's opinion is unknown. Survey data were gathered from local residents regarding a proposed relocation of a historic mill in rural West Virginia. Only a minority of the sample population supported preserving the mill at its original location. Willingness to pay for preservation was estimated at $8.45 for a one-time donation for the sample and $2.29 after adjusting for non-respondents using characteristics of the local population.

Federal agencies invest taxpayer dollars every year in conservation programs that are focused on improving a suite of ecosystem services produced on private lands. A better understanding of the public benefits generated by federal conservation programs could help improve governmental efficiency and economic welfare by providing science-based evidence for use in policy decision-making regarding targeting of federal conservation investments. Of specific concern here are conservation investments made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). While previous research has shown that efficiency gains are possible using cost-benefit analysis for targeting conservation investments, agency-wide implementation of this approach by policy makers has been constrained by the limited availability of location-specific information regarding conservation benefits. Cost-effective opportunities for integrating location-specific ecosystem service valuation research with USDA conservation decision-making include: (1) institutionalizing funding of comparable studies suitable for benefit transfer, (2) utilizing non-traditional data sources for research complementing benefit transfer, and (3) creating a state-of-the-art program for developing and communicating research in ecosystem service valuation exemplifying the highest standards of scientific conduct.

Human fertility can affect agricultural production through its effect on supply of agricultural labor. Using the fact that in traditional, patriarchal societies, sons are generally preferred to daughters, we isolate exogenous variation in the number of children born to a mother and relate it to the agricultural labor supply and production in Uganda, which has a dominant agricultural sector and high fertility. We find that fertility has a sizable negative effect on household labor allocation to subsistence agriculture. Households with lower fertility devote significantly more time to land preparation and weeding; larger households grow less matooke and sweet potatoes. We find no significant effect on agricultural productivity in terms of yield per land area.

Given the relatively small industry scale of cow-calf operations in New York to other regions of the country, little is known about differences in determinant values for feeder cattle. Using auction prices and quality characteristics over 7 years, differences in market, lot, and quality parameters suggest opportunities for improved marketing performance. A delta profit model is constructed to inform timing of marketing decisions for producers. The results indicate a relatively high potential for producers to increase farm returns by delaying sales of lighter-weight feeder cattle from the fall to spring auction months, given sufficient rates of gain and reasonable overwintering costs.

We estimate the relationship between farm animal welfare (FAW) efforts taken by beef farmers and the economic performance of beef farms by using farm accounting data from the Swedish Farm Economic Survey matched with survey data on farm management practices. To this end, we perform a two-step analysis. First, an item response theory (IRT) model estimates the latent FAW effort on farms. FAW effort likely depends on a host of complementary FAW-improving strategies, and the IRT model combines the considered strategies into a unidimensional scale. We take this to represent on-farm FAW effort. Second, we use instrumental variable regressions to estimate the relationship between FAW effort and multiple measures of farm economic performance. We find that higher FAW effort scores have no effect on margins and costs. However, higher FAW effort scores are associated with lower farm sales. Findings suggest that policies (such as targeted label for high FAW) that increase farm revenue as well as incentivize the uptake of FAW-improvement practices may be able to compensate farmers for their FAW effort.

Quality of the environment is measured and evaluated by some criteria, such as composition, and by performance. However, quality, in terms of composition and/or performance, as a factor in environment has no meaning except as it relates to some use of the environment and scale of health, happiness and aspirations of man. For example, an environment is regarded as having a lower quality than 15 years ago because of an increase in the phosphorus contained in surface water and/or a change in the species of fish present in surface waters. In terms of performance, a particular environment (watershed) is not producing enough because the soil and phosphorus losses are twice the acceptable rate. Furthermore, the composition and performance of an environment are related. Measurement of the nitrogen and phosphorus content of water helps to determine if a given water resource can be used (perform) in a particular way.

The use of hedging with commodity futures markets to reduce the price risk in corn production is examined. Both intra-year and inter-year risk are evaluated with different hedging strategies. Strategies involve no hedge, hedge and hold, controlled hedge placement and hold, and in and out hedging. Both technical and forecasting criteria are used to place hedges in the more active strategies. Substantial risk reduction is possible, often without a reduction in price received. Considerable basis risk diminishes the risk reducing properties of a hedge and hold strategy.

Considerable attention has been given to the proper measurement, estimation, and analysis of the technological structure of aggregate U.S. agriculture (Binswanger, Brown, Ray, and Antle). During the last decade, duality theory-motivated studies have also analyzed regional farm production (Saez, and Shumway). Except for the Saez study, no attempt has been made to analyze the farm production structure of the Northeast region.1

The effects of rail deregulation on feed transportation in the Northeast are examined through construction of a spatial equilibrium model of the Northeastern feed industry. Short-run and long-run effects of deregulation are analyzed through incorporation of rail rate structures for 1981 and 1984, respectively, into model simulations and comparison with pre-deregulation base year results (1980). The results show that the Northeast feed economy has generally benefited from rail deregulation which has led to lower transportation costs, lower feed costs and an enhanced competitive position relative to the Southeastern U.S.

Two topics dominate discussions of public elementary and secondary education. The first is declining enrollments and the second is fiscal problems, especially those problems associated with such catch words as equity, taxpayer revolt, and tax reform. In this paper, we analyze the relationship between these two topics by examining enrollment change and fiscal characteristics in 504 Pennsylvania school districts. Our purpose is to provide a descriptive base for further research on the fiscal problems raised by changing school enrollments.

Three major problems appear common to recent research efforts aimed at measurement and assessment of the adequacy of community services. These include:

1. (i) difficulties and inconsistencies which relate to the definition and interpretation of utilization behavior,

2. (ii) econometric misspecification—e.g., omission of critical variables affecting needs or use—, and

3. (iii) choice of inappropriate estimation technique when the dependent variable (e.g., use or non-use of the service) is dichotomous.

The use of emergency, disaster, and other ad hoc sources of income support to American farmers escalated dramatically between 1991 and 2002, increasing year-to-year uncertainty about the magnitude and distribution of farm program benefits. Ad hoc payment mechanisms, while meeting needs now apparently unsatisfied by other farm programs, have the potential to substitute for or conflict with agri-environmental and conservation program goals. Federal budget constraints likely make continued growth in ad hoc payment schemes unsustainable, raising questions about what will take their place. There is ample room for new research on how alternative farm program approaches and program combinations interact to affect stewardship behavior and associated agri-environmental outcomes.

Canada and the United States are the world's largest trading partners. The total volume of two-way merchandise trade in 1985 was $165 billion Canadian ($124 billion U.S.). Canadian dependence on U.S. markets has grown to the point that nearly 80% of our exports are destined for our southern neighbor. By the same token, more than 70% of Canada's imports originate in the U.S. That volume represents 20% of total exports from the U.S., the largest proportion going to any individual country. Obviously, trade relations between Canada and the U.S. are very important to both countries. Indeed, given their combined role in total world trade, the importance of trade relations between them goes beyond whatever it might be to those two countries alone.

Assessments of the NJARE and other agricultural economic journals by faculty in the Northeast Region were contrasted to those made by faculty in other regions. Faculty in the Northeast judged the NJARE to be of high professional quality and personal usefulness and felt that the NJARE had made substantial quality improvements. A strong regional character in the NJARE was evidenced by low journal participation rates by faculty in other regions. Impacts of recent changes in the Journal and the need for future assessments were discussed.

Adoption of advanced breeding technologies and management practices (BTMP) in U.S. meat goat production and their impact were examined. Adopters generally had larger-scale operations, used rotational grazing and/or dry lot systems, and sold larger percentages of animals for breeding and show purposes. Farmer demographics and farm variables also influenced adoption. Complementarity of adoption was found—adopters of one BTMP tended to adopt other BTMPs. Measures of productivity and profitability were not affected by adoption. Goat breed, farmer experience, production system used, and specialization influenced productivity, and farm size had the greatest influence on enterprise profitability.

On most Northeastern dairy farms bull calves are considered a superfluous output and are sent to auction markets as soon as possible after they are born. The excess supply situation in the United States dairy industry combined with other obstacles to dairy herd expansion has resulted in dairy producers seeking expansion options other than increased dairy herd size. Several alternatives for expanding the dairy farm business that utilize bull calves as a resource are possible. Dairy beef systems that are most complementary to the ongoing dairy business should be particularly attractive.

The presence of allocatable fixed inputs may cause truly joint technologies to appear nonjoint in the short run as well as truly nonjoint technologies to appear joint. This paper demonstrates theoretically why this can happen and then documents that it actually occurs in a significant way in aggregate U.S. agricultural production. A simple testing procedure is used that requires no data on input allocations. The important finding is that failure to reject true (apparent) nonjointness does not justify modeling short-run (long-run) supply independent of alternative output prices.

The inshore lobster fishery is one of the more important ones in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, accounting for approximately 14 percent of the total landed value of all species in Massachusetts in 1971. Until recent years this fishery accounted for virtually all the pot landings in the state. Despite numerous attempts at conservation such as gear regulation, size restrictions, and prohibitions on harvesting egg-bearing females, the fishery has been subject to rapidly increasing effort and virtually constant landings. In the past decade it has become obvious to many fishery biologists and economists that conservation of fish stocks is a necessary but not sufficient criterion for fisheries management. Resource managers have become increasingly aware of the interdependence between economic factors and the intensity, location and composition of fishing effort.