Anaerobic digesters that capture and burn manure methane can provide a renewable source of energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Paying producers for these emission reductions—either directly or through a carbon offset market—could substantially increase digester adoption. However, there is likely to be wide variation in the scale, location, and characteristics of adopters, so these policies could have long run structural implications for the livestock sector. Using a model of digester profits and data from a nationally-representative survey of dairy operations we estimate the likely distribution of digester adoption and profits under different carbon price scenarios.

This research examines whether mandatory price reporting (MPR) impacted price relationships among U.S. hog markets. Markets are cointegrated before and after MPR enactment, but not fully integrated in either period. Terminal markets adjust to shocks in the Iowa-Southern Minnesota market more quickly and Iowa-Southern Minnesota prices adjust to shocks in terminal markets more slowly following MPR enactment. Granger causality tests indicate a causal flow from terminal markets to Iowa-Southern Minnesota prices before MPR and a causal reversal after MPR enactment. These results likely reflect decreases in volume of negotiated sales, particularly in terminal markets, and greater reliance on mandatorily reported prices for market information.

It is well documented that “unanticipated” information contained in United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) crop reports induces large price reactions in corn and soybean markets. Thus, a natural question that arises from this literature is: To what extent are futures hedges able to remove or reduce increased price risk around report release dates? This paper addresses this question by simulating daily futures returns, daily cash returns, and daily hedged returns around report release dates for two storable commodities (corn and soybeans) in two market settings (North Central Illinois and Memphis, Tennessee). Various risk measures, including “Value at Risk,” are used to determine hedging effectiveness, and “Analysis of Variance” is used to uncover the underlying factors that contribute to hedging effectiveness.

This article examines food price volatility in Greece and how it is affected by short-run deviations between food prices and macroeconomic factors. The methodology follows the GARCH and GARCH-X models. The results show that there exists a positive effect between the deviations and food price volatility. The results are highly important for producers and consumers because higher volatility augments the uncertainty in the food markets. Once the participants receive a signal that the food market is volatile, this might lead them to ask for increased government intervention in the allocation of investment resources and this could reduce overall welfare.

This study offers insights on consumer acceptance and willingness to pay for three value-added blueberry products. A modified payment card approach was used. The analytical framework adopted allows the researcher to attach straightforward economic interpretation to the estimated impacts of willingness to pay factors. Results show consumer socio-economic characteristics are important determinants but play different roles depending on the products. Information on health benefits may also be important. However, it is found that outside information or consumer self-stated awareness of blueberries' health benefits have different impacts. These impacts may function as substitutes rather than complements to each other.

One source of phosphorous pollution in areas of high chicken production is runoff from fields using fertilizer from these operations. A potential solution is to feed chicken high available phosphorus (HAP) corn, reducing phosphorus in manure. This study examined consumer purchase likelihood of chickens fed HAP, created traditionally or through genetic modification, and other genetically modified (GM) corn including Bt and Roundup-ready. Survey results from the Delmarva Peninsula found considerable interest in non-GM HAP corn, although GM HAP corn was not typically viewed as more acceptable than other GM varieties. Overall, the marketplace appears open to products geared toward environmental benefits.

This article examines the effects of the application of panel data estimation methods on a system of equations with unbalanced panel data. We apply pooled, random-effects, and fixed-effects estimation in three data sets: small, medium, and large farms to examine the relationship between farm size and the elasticity of cotton supply with respect to cotton price. Our results indicate that the adoption of various estimation methods entails different estimated parameters both in terms of their absolute value and in terms of their statistical significance. Additionally, the elasticity of cotton supply with respect to price varies according to farm size.

U.S. cheese consumption has grown considerably over the last three decades. Using a censored demand model and Nielsen Homescan retail data, this study identifies price and non-price factors affecting the demand for differentiated cheese products. Own-price and expenditure elasticities for all of the cheese products are statistically significant and elastic. Results also reveal that a strong substitution relationship exists among all cheese products. Although demographic influences are generally smaller than those related to prices and expenditures, empirical findings show that household size, college educated female heads of household who are age 40 and older, residing in the South, Central, and Western regions of the United States, as well as Black heads of household, have positive statistically significant effects on consumers' cheese purchases.

Information about cigarettes can help smokers come to an informed decision about what cigarettes to purchase. Countermarketing information can help smokers make informed decisions, but little is known about the value of this information to smokers. In this article, we use data from experimental auctions to estimate the value of countermarketing information that counters industry claims about reduced-risk cigarettes. We find that this information has significant value to smokers who have been exposed to marketing information from tobacco companies touting reduced-risk cigarettes, but we find no evidence it provides value to smokers not exposed to this marketing information.

This study estimates the proportion of rice yield increase in University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture's (UofA) released rice cultivars that are attributable to genetic improvements through the University's breeding program. Test plot data from eight UofA experiment stations were used to quantify the yield increases and potential yield growth decreases over time. In addition to quantifying the yield and yield variance evolution at the UofA, this study also calculates the economic benefits of the UofA rice breeding program. Results indicated that by releasing modern rice cultivars, the UofA rice breeding program increased average producer yield by 0.68 bu/ac annually. During the last decade, 1997-2007, the average annual economic benefits were 34.3 million (2007) dollars. When accounting for the spillover of UofA rice varieties to neighboring states the average annual economic benefit of the breeding program increases to 46.7 million (2007) dollars.

Business establishment growth in the Appalachian region (2000-2007) was regressed on industry sector composition controlling for demographic, physical, and economic determinants. We test the hypothesis that local response to growth determinants is geographically heterogeneous using Smooth Transition spatial process models. This class of models exhibiting endogenous regime switching behavior provides another tool for exploring the spatially heterogeneous effects of local determinants on economic growth.

Panel data are used in almost all subfields of the agricultural economics profession. Furthermore, many research areas have an important spatial dimension. This article discusses some of the recent contributions made in the evolving theoretical and empirical literature on spatial econometric methods for panel data. We then illustrate some of these tools within a climate change application using a hedonic model of farmland values and panel data. Estimates for the model are provided across a range of nonspatial and spatial estimators, including spatial error and spatial lag models with fixed and random effects extensions. Given the importance of location and extensive use of panel data in many subfields of agricultural economics, these recently developed spatial panel methods hold great potential for applied researchers.

We tested agricultural productivity convergence in the United States using the state level total factor productivity data and utilizing new estimation and cluster identification methods to identify convergence in the data. The empirical investigation did not indicate any evidence of agricultural total factor productivity (TFP) convergence at the state level. However, we found the evidence of TFP convergence at the regional level for some regions/clusters.