Consulta: creatorFacets:"Key,   Nigel D."
Registros recuperados: 50
Data/hora: 09/06/2024 14:59:43

AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT POLICY IN LATIN AMERICA: NEW DIRECTIONS AND NEW CHALLENGES
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: de Janvry,   Alain; Key,   Nigel D.; Sadoulet,   Elisabeth.
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Agricultural and Food Policy; Community/Rural/Urban Development.
Ano: 1997
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/25096

Sub-therapeutic Antibiotics and Productivity in U.S. Hog Production
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: McBride,   William D.; Key,   Nigel D.; Mathews,   Kenneth H., Jr.
Antimicrobial drugs are fed to hogs at sub-therapeutic levels to prevent disease and promote growth.  However, there is concern that the presence of antimicrobial drugs in hog feed is a factor promoting the development of antimicrobial drug-resistant bacteria.  This study uses a sample-selection model to examine the impact that use has on the productivity of U.S. hog operations.  The analysis did not find a relationship between productivity and sub-therapeutic antibiotics fed during finishing, but productivity was significantly improved when fed to nursery pigs.  Restrictions on feeding antimicrobial drugs during the nursery phase would likely impose significant economic costs on U.S. hog producers.
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Livestock Production/Industries.
Ano: 2006
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/21148

Government Payments and Farmland Concentration
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Roberts,   Michael J.; Key,   Nigel D.
Over the last twenty five years commodity crop farms have steadily declined in number and grown in average size, and production has shifted to larger operations.  During the same period, the share of agricultural payments going to large farms has increased, in large part because payments are tied to actual or historical crop production.  This study evaluates whether payments from federal farm programs may have contributed to the concentration of farmland.  Using zip code-level data constructed from the micro files of the 1987-2002 Agriculture Censuses the study estimates the association between government payments per acre and subsequent growth in weighted median farmland area.  A semi-parametric generalized additive model controls for location and initial...
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Agricultural and Food Policy.
Ano: 2006
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/21097

Hog Operations Increasingly Large, More Specialized
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: McBride,   William D.; Key,   Nigel D.
Tipo: Article
Palavras-chave: Livestock Production/Industries.
Ano: 2008
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/124007

THE IMPORTANCE OF INCOME RISK IN LABOR ALLOCATION DECISIONS
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.; Roberts,   Michael J.; O'Donoghue,   Erik J.
Previous research has found that on-farm income variability helps determine off-farm labor supply.  However, unobserved heterogeneity of farms or regions may have biased earlier results. In this study, we use an exogenous increase in Federal crop insurance subsidies as a natural experiment to identify the importance of risk in off-farm labor supply. The subsidy increases induced greater participation in crop insurance programs and thereby reduced farmers' financial risks. By merging county-level crop insurance participation data with farm-level Agricultural Census data from 1992 and 1997 we can compare the off-farm labor decisions of individual farms before and after the subsidy and thereby control for unobserved heterogeneity. Unlike previous studies, we...
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Labor and Human Capital.
Ano: 2003
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/22175

Decomposition of Total Factor Productivity Change in the U.S. Hog Industry
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.; McBride,   William D.; Mosheim,   Roberto.
The U.S. hog industry has experienced dramatic structural changes and rapid increases in farm productivity. A stochastic frontier analysis is used to measure hog enterprise total factor productivity (TFP) growth between 1992 and 2004 and to decompose this growth into technical change and changes in technical efficiency, scale efficiency, and allocative efficiency. Productivity gains over the 12-year period are found to be explained almost entirely by technical progress and by improvements in scale efficiency. Differences in TFP growth rates in the Southeast and Heartland regions were found to be explained primarily by differences in farm size growth rates.
Tipo: Journal Article
Palavras-chave: Hog production; Scale efficiency; Stochastic frontier; Technical change; Total factor productivity growth; Livestock Production/Industries; Production Economics; D24; Q12.
Ano: 2008
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/45512

HOW MUCH DO FARMERS VALUE THEIR INDEPENDENCE? ESTIMATING THE RISK AND AUTONOMY PREMIA ASSOCIATED WITH PRODUCTION CONTRACTS
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.
A farmer's decision to contract or produce independently depends on the distribution of income under both arrangements, and on attributes associated with both business arrangements.  Risk-averse farmers should be willing to pay a risk premium for the reduction in price risk provided by a contract.  Farmers with a preference for "autonomy" should be willing to pay a premium for certain attributes associated with independent production, such as the right to make management decisions and own the commodity they produce. The benefits to growers from contracting (such as risk reduction) may be over-estimated if the non-pecuniary benefits enjoyed by independent producers are not accounted for. This study uses national survey data to estimate the risk premium, the...
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Agricultural contracts; Autonomy; Nonpecuniary benefits; Risk; Farm Management.
Ano: 2002
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/19688

Production Contracts and the Spot Market Price of Hogs
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.
The increasing use of production contracts in the hog sector has reduced the number of spot market transactions, raised concerns about price manipulation and helped to spur legislation requiring price reporting by packers.  Using data from the 2002 and 2007 Censuses of Agriculture, this study looks for evidence of market manipulation by examining whether the local prevalence of contracting affects the average price received by independent producers.  The empirical approach uses a fixed-effects model to examine whether the change in the prevalence of contracting is correlated with the change in the spot market price received by individual farmers. This approach controls for unobservable time-invariant individual and county characteristics, such as product...
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Production contracts; Alternative marketing arrangements; Market power; Spot market price; Hogs; Agribusiness; Agricultural and Food Policy; Farm Management; Industrial Organization; Livestock Production/Industries; Marketing; Production Economics.
Ano: 2010
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/61020

Commodity Payments, Farm Business Survival, and Farm Size Growth
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.; Roberts,   Michael J.
In the last 25 years, U.S. crop farms have steadily declined in number and grown in average size, as production has shifted to larger operations. Larger farms tend to receive more commodity program payments because most payments are tied to a farm’s current or historical production, but whether payments have contributed to farm growth is uncertain. This study uses farm-level data from the census of agriculture to determine whether there is a statistical relationship between farm commodity program payments and greater concentration in production. The analysis indicates that, at the regional level, higher commodity program payments per acre are associated with subsequent farm growth. Also, higher payments per acre are associated with higher rates of farm...
Tipo: Report
Palavras-chave: Agricultural payments; Farm size; Farm survival; Concentration; Consolidation; Government payments; Commodity programs.; Agribusiness; Agricultural and Food Policy; Community/Rural/Urban Development; Crop Production/Industries; Farm Management.
Ano: 2007
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/55968

Do Production Contracts Raise Farm Productivity? An Instrumental Variables Approach
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.; McBride,   William D.
Estimating how the use of production contracts affects farm productivity is difficult when unobservable factors are correlated with both the decision to contract and productivity. To account for potential selection bias, this study uses the local availability of production contracts as an instrument for whether a farm uses a contract in order to estimate the impact of contract use on total factor productivity. Results indicate that use of a production contract is associated with a large increase in productivity for feeder-to-finish hog farms in the United States. The instrumental variable method makes it credible to assert that the observed association is a causal relationship rather than simply a correlation.
Tipo: Journal Article
Palavras-chave: Productivity; Production contracts; Instrumental variables; Sample selection; Productivity Analysis.
Ano: 2008
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/45659

Local Monopsony Power in the Market for Broilers - Evidence from a Farm Survey
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.; MacDonald,   James M.
The exercise of monopsony power by broiler processing firms is plausible because production occurs within localized complexes, which limits the number of integrators with whom growers can contract.  In addition, growers face distinct hold-up risks as broiler production requires a substantial investment in specific assets and most production contracts do not involve long-term purchasing commitments by integrators. This paper provides an initial exploration of the links between the local concentration of broiler integrators and grower compensation under production contracts using data from the 2006 broiler version of USDA’s Agricultural Resource Management Survey.  Results of this preliminary study, which accounts for characteristics of the operation and...
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Poultry; Broilers; Market power; Monopsony; Production contracts; Livestock Production/Industries; Marketing.
Ano: 2008
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/6073

PRODUCTION CONTRACTS AND FARM PRODUCTIVITY: EXAMINING THE LINK USING INSTRUMENTAL VARIABLES
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.; McBride,   William D.
Estimating how production contracts affect farm productivity is difficult because the decision to use a contract is endogenous to other decisions affecting productivity.  This study uses the local availability of production contracts as an instrument for whether a farm uses a contract in order to estimate the impact of contract use on total factor productivity.  Results indicate that use of a production contract is associated with a large increase in productivity for feeder-to-finish hog farms in the U.S. The instrumental variable method makes it credible to assert that the observed association is a causal relationship rather than simply a correlation.
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Productivity; Production contracts; Instrumental variables; Sample selection; Farm Management; Productivity Analysis.
Ano: 2007
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/9716

Farm Size Behind Regional Differences in Hog Output and Productivity
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.; McBride,   William D.
Tipo: Article
Palavras-chave: Livestock Production/Industries; Productivity Analysis.
Ano: 2008
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/122966

The 1996 Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act: Correcting a Distortion?
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.; Lubowski,   Ruben N.; Roberts,   Michael J.
This study makes use of farm-level data from the Agricultural Census to evaluate the effects of the 1996 Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform (FAIR) Act, which intended to “"decouple"” commodity payments from production decisions.  Prior to this Act, agricultural support payments were linked to production decisions via prices and a complex set of restrictions that acted to control the supply of agricultural commodities.  We compare farm-level 1992-to-1997 changes in commodity crop plantings of farms that participated in government programs with farms that did not participate.  We find that the growth rate of program-crop acreage of non-participants was 19 percentage points below that of participants. This estimated difference remains unchanged after...
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Agricultural and Food Policy.
Ano: 2004
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/20128

Sub-therapeutic Antibiotics and Impacts on U.S. Hog Farms
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: McBride,   William D.; Key,   Nigel D.; Mathews,   Kenneth H., Jr.
Antimicrobial drugs are fed to hogs at sub-therapeutic levels to prevent disease and promote growth. However, there is concern that the presence of antimicrobial drugs in hog feed is a factor promoting the development of antimicrobial drug-resistant bacteria. This study describes the extent to which antibiotics are used in hog production and how this changed between 2004 and 2009. This study also uses a sample-selection model to examine the impact that use has on the productivity of U.S. hog operations. Using hog producer data from 2004, the analysis did not find a relationship between productivity and sub-therapeutic antibiotics fed during finishing, but productivity was significantly improved when fed to nursery pigs. These results are being evaluated...
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Antibiotics; Hogs; Sample selection; Farm Management; Production Economics.
Ano: 2011
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/103232

Do Decoupled Payments Stimulate Production? Estimating the Effect on Program Crop Acreage Using Matching
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.; Roberts,   Robert J.
This study uses matching to evaluate the effect of decoupled payments on the acreage response of Iowa farmers who were in business in 1997 and 2002. Using farm-level panel data from the U.S. Agricultural Census, we examine whether farmers receiving high levels of 1997 agricultural payments per acre had a greater increase in program crop acreage between 1997 and 2002 than farmers receiving low levels of payments. The panel data set allows for conditioning current acreage on past individual acreage and operator characteristics. The large and exhaustive sample allows for comparisons across similar farms. The matching methodology avoids distributional and functional form assumptions about the relationship between the treatment and outcome. Results are...
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Decoupled payments; Supply response; Government payments; Program crops; Trade policy; Agricultural and Food Policy; Crop Production/Industries; Production Economics.
Ano: 2008
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/6072

Technology, Larger Farm Size Increased Productivity on U.S. Hog Farms
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.; McBride,   William D.
Tipo: Article
Palavras-chave: Farm Management; Livestock Production/Industries; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies.
Ano: 2008
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/123214

Does Crop Insurance Affect Crop Yields?
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Roberts,   Michael J.; O'Donoghue,   Erik J.; Key,   Nigel D.
We use administrative data from the Federal crop insurance program to examine how yield distributions change as farmers cycle into and out of the program.  We are able to do this by linking many years of crop insurance data by individual farm conditioning observed yields on the particular county and year in which they are observed. Armed with millions of observations, we examine many states and five major crops: corn, soybeans, wheat, rice and cotton.  We find little evidence that yield distributions are affected by insurance.  An exception is rice in Arkansas, where insurance shifts the distribution markedly downward.
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Crop Production/Industries; Risk and Uncertainty.
Ano: 2007
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/9828

Multiple Environmental Externalities and Manure Management Policy
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.; Kaplan,   Jonathan D.
This paper considers the economic and environmental implications of regulating water and air nitrogen emissions under single and multi-environmental media policies in the U.S. hog industry. We examine tradeoffs from policies designed to correct an externality in one medium, when there are multiple environmental externalities. We separately and jointly analyze: (a) nitrogen land application restrictions consistent with recently adopted EPA requirements under the Clean Water Act, and (b) hypothetical air quality restrictions under the Clean Air Act, both with and without EQIP payments available to mitigate the costs of complying with nutrient application regulations.
Tipo: Journal Article
Palavras-chave: Ammonia emission; Livestock waste; Mathematical programming; Multiple externalities; Nutrient management; Environmental Economics and Policy; Livestock Production/Industries.
Ano: 2007
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/8601

RISK AND STRUCTURAL CHANGE IN AGRICULTURE: HOW INCOME SHOCKS INFLUENCE FARM SIZE
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Roberts,   Michael J.; Key,   Nigel D.
Farm-level Census data and county-level income shock data reveal that past unexpected income shocks affect the rate of change in average farm size. Average farm size increases more quickly in counties experiencing negative income shocks as compared to counties experiencing positive income shocks. This result cannot be explained by perfect-market models, which predict farm size should adjust according to changes in the relative prices of labor and capital. We posit a model wherein cash flows affect liquidity, which in turn affects farm borrowing and capital costs.  In the model, farms that do not face liquidity constraints benefit from negative income shocks because they reduce land values, so these farms expand while liquidity-constrained farms contract....
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Farm size; Farm structure; Income shocks; Liquidity constraint; Risk; Agricultural Finance; Industrial Organization.
Ano: 2002
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/19661

How Much Do Decoupled Payments Affect Production? An Instrumental Variable Approach with Panel Data
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Weber,   Jeremy G.; Key,   Nigel D.
Agricultural support payments that cause no or minimal production distortions are exempt from World Trade Organization restrictions. If and how much decoupled payments, such as direct payments in the U.S., affect agricultural production remains an open empirical question with implications for policy. We use multiple years of the Census of Agriculture to estimate the aggregate supply response to changes in direct payments. To identify an exogenous source of variation in payments we exploit a provision of the 2002 Farm Act that departed from previous policy by making oilseeds eligible for direct payments, thus increasing payments to areas that historically produced more oilseeds. Using a sample of ZIP codes that accounts for more than eighty percent of the...
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Decoupled payments; Supply response; Government payments; Program crops; Trade policy; Agricultural and Food Policy; Crop Production/Industries; International Relations/Trade.
Ano: 2011
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/103455

Do Government Payments Influence Farm Size and Survival?
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.; Roberts,   Michael J.
Using farm-level data from the 1987, 1992, and 1997 Census of Agriculture, this study estimates what effect agricultural payments have had on the likelihood of farm business survival and on farm size. The unique panel data set permits conditioning current farm size on past farm size, which removes much of the individual heterogeneity of farms that could be spuriously correlated with payment levels. Results indicate that between consecutive censuses, past per acre payments have a significant positive effect on farm business survival and a small yet significant influence on the size of continuing farms.
Tipo: Journal Article
Palavras-chave: Agricultural payments; Exit rate; Farm size; Growth; Payment limits; Survival; Agricultural and Food Policy; Agricultural Finance; Farm Management.
Ano: 2007
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/8645

FACTORS AFFECTING CONTRACTOR AND GROWER SUCCESS IN HOG CONTRACTING
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: McBride,   William D.; Key,   Nigel D.
This study analyzes a national survey of U.S. hog producers within a principal-agent framework in order to examine factors affecting contractor and grower success in hog contracting. Several factors had differential impacts on contractor and grower returns. Results suggest that there may be a role for public policy in ensuring that contract arrangements are conducted fairly.
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Livestock Production/Industries.
Ano: 2001
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/20552

The Potential Effects of Climate Change on the Productivity, Costs, and Returns of U.S. Dairy Production
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.; Sneeringer,   Stacy E.
Climate change could affect the costs and returns of livestock production by altering the thermal environment of animals thereby affecting animal health, reproduction, and the efficiency by which livestock convert feed into retained products (especially meat and milk).  In the United States, concentrated livestock operations are located in a variety of climatic regions, suggesting that the industry could adapt to future changes in temperature and weather patterns resulting from global warming.   However, this adaption could be costly.  We use nationally representative data on dairy producers coupled with finely-scaled climate data to empirically examine how producers’ costs, returns, and production systems vary across U.S. regions as a function of the...
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Climate change; Dairy; Temperature humidity index; Economics; Agricultural and Food Policy; Environmental Economics and Policy; Livestock Production/Industries; Production Economics; Q5.
Ano: 2011
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/103461

GOVERNMENT PAYMENTS AND STRUCTURAL CHANGE IN AGRICULTURE
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.; Roberts,   Michael J.
Economic theory suggests several possible mechanisms through which direct government farm payments might influence the pattern of structural change in agriculture. This study estimates what effect farm payments have had on farm structure using farm-level panel data from the 1987, 1992, and 1997 Agricultural Censuses.  Results suggest that the size of per-acre payments received in the past are associated with a small and weakly positive change in farm size between consecutive censuses, but that payments are significantly correlated with an increased likelihood of farm survival between consecutive periods.
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Agricultural and Food Policy.
Ano: 2003
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/22106

Contracts, Markets, and Prices: Organizing the Production and Use of Agricultural Commodities
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: MacDonald,   James M.; Perry,   Janet E.; Ahearn,   Mary Clare; Banker,   David E.; Chambers,   William; Dimitri,   Carolyn; Key,   Nigel D.; Nelson,   Kenneth E.; Southard,   Leland W.
Production and marketing contracts govern 36 percent of the value of U.S. agricultural production, up from 12 percent in 1969. Contracts are now the primary method of handling sales of many livestock commodities, including milk, hogs, and broilers, and of major crops such as sugar beets, fruit, and processing tomatoes. Use of contracts is closely related to farm size; farms with $1 million or more in sales have nearly half their production under contract. For producers, contracting can reduce income risks of price and production variability, ensure market access, and provide higher returns for differentiated farm products. For processors and other buyers, vertical coordination through contracting is a way to ensure the flow of products and to obtain...
Tipo: Report
Palavras-chave: Marketing; Production Economics.
Ano: 2004
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/34013

DOES CONTRACTING RAISE FARM PRODUCTIVITY? THE IMPACT OF PRODUCTION CONTRACTS ON HOG FARM PERFORMANCE
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.; McBride,   William D.
The costs and benefits of policies designed to regulate the use of production contracts will depend in part on the impact of these contracts on farm productivity.  In this paper we measure the impact of contracting on 1) partial and total factor productivity and 2) the production technology for 479 US hog operations. A sample selection model accounts for the fact that unobservable variables may be correlated with both the decision to contract and farm productivity. Results also identify determinants of farmers' decisions to contract and factors influencing farm productivity.
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Livestock Production/Industries; Productivity Analysis.
Ano: 2001
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/20721

Production Contracts and Farm Business Growth and Survival
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.
In recent decades there has been a substantial increase in the scale of production and the use of production contracts in the hog sector. This paper explores empirically whether these two phenomena are related by examining whether the use of production contracts has allowed finish hog operations to expand in scale. The study takes advantage of recently collected information from the Census of Agriculture that permits a comparisons of individual independent and contract hog producers over time.  The study first examines whether operations that used a contract grew at a faster rate or had lower exit rates over the subsequent five-year period than did operations that produced independently, controlling for observable factors. The study then examines how the...
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Production contracts; Farm structure; Farm business exit rate; Instrumental variables; Hogs; Agribusiness; Agricultural and Food Policy; Community/Rural/Urban Development; Farm Management; Industrial Organization; Livestock Production/Industries; Marketing; Production Economics.
Ano: 2010
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/61022

Multiple Environmental Externalities and Manure Management Policy
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.; Kaplan,   Jonathan D.
Livestock waste pollutes multiple environmental media along multiple dimensions. This study explores the economic and environmental implications of single-medium and coordinated multi-media policies for reducing manure-related externalities, with particular attention paid to tradeoffs that occur when policies designed to correct an externality in one medium ignore externalities in other media.
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Environmental Economics and Policy.
Ano: 2004
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/20393

Carbon Markets and Methane Digesters:  Potential Implications for the Dairy Sector
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.; Sneeringer,   Stacy E.
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.
Tipo: Journal Article
Palavras-chave: Anaerobic digester; Carbon offsets; Climate change; Distribution; Livestock; Methane; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q12; Q16; Q42; Q54; Q58.
Ano: 2011
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/117952

Does risk matter for farm businesses?  The effect of crop insurance on production and diversification.
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: O'Donoghue,   Erik J.; Key,   Nigel D.; Roberts,   Michael J.
We use a large increase in Federal crop insurance subsidies as a natural experiment to identify the impact of risk on acreage and diversification decisions.  Subsidy increases induced greater crop insurance coverage, which reduced farmers' financial risks.  Did this change in the risk environment alter production decisions?  We merged crop insurance participation data with farm-level Agricultural Census data from 1992 and 1997 to examine how harvested acreage and diversification changed in response to the policy-induced change in insurance coverage.  The difference in differences empirical approach controls for unobservable heterogeneity and our results are robust across multiple definitions of our key variables and various fixed effects.  We find that...
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Risk and Uncertainty.
Ano: 2005
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/19397

Agricultural Contracting and the Scale of Production
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.
This study presents evidence that contracting is positively associated with the scale of production for six major U.S. agricultural commodities. Specifically, contract producers tend to operate at a larger scale than do independent producers, and the likelihood of an operation contracting increases with its scale. This relationship is strongest in the cattle and hog sectors, where it persists even among large commercial operations. Six theoretical explanations for the observed correlation between scale and contracting are proposed, including imperfect capital markets, contractor transaction costs, input leverage, grower risk aversion, asset specificity, and technological change. Information from five annual national surveys is used to examine the validity...
Tipo: Journal Article
Palavras-chave: Production Economics.
Ano: 2004
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/31273

The Changing Economics of U.S. Hog Production
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.; McBride,   William D.
The increasing size and specialization of hog operations reflect structural change in U.S. swine production during the past 15 years. The number of farms with hogs has declined by over 70 percent, as hog enterprises have grown larger. Large operations that specialize in a single phase of production have replaced farrow-to-finish operations that performed all phases of production. The use of production contracts has increased. Operations producing under contract are larger than independent operations and are more likely to specialize in a single phase of production. These structural changes have coincided with substantial gains in efficiency for hog farms and lower production costs. Most of these productivity gains are attributable to increases in the scale...
Tipo: Report
Palavras-chave: Hogs; Farm productivity; Production contracts; Pork prices; Scale of production; Farm structure; Total factor productivity; Farm Management; Institutional and Behavioral Economics; Livestock Production/Industries; Productivity Analysis.
Ano: 2007
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/6389

Manure Application Standards and EQIP Payments: The Distribution of Economic and Environmental Costs and Benefits across US Hog Farms
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.
Implementation of new CAFO regulations and EQIP payments could have important implications for the structure of the hog sector. This study uses a farm-level positive mathematical programming model to estimate the distribution of the economic and environmental effects of these new policies across regional and scale typologies.
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Environmental Economics and Policy.
Ano: 2004
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/19937

Do Government Payments Influence Farm Business Survival?
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.; Roberts,   Michael J.
Using a unique farm-level panel data set derived from three U.S. Agricultural Censuses, we estimate a Cox proportional hazard model to examine the effect of direct government payments on the survival of farm businesses, paying particular attention to the differential effect of payments across farm size categories. For identification the study exploits variation in payments resulting from historical differences in '‘base acreage'’ in otherwise similar farms. We find an increase in government payments has a small but statistically significant positive effect on the rate of farm survival, and the magnitude of this effect increases with farm size.
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Agricultural and Food Policy.
Ano: 2005
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/19248

NONPECUNIARY BENEFITS TO FARMING AND DECOUPLED PAYMENTS
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.; Roberts,   Michael J.
The first part of this paper presents a simple labor supply and production model wherein farmers with diminishing marginal utility of income derive nonpecuniary benefits from farming.  We use the model to show how lump-sum or “decoupled” government payments could have positive and substantial effects on the supply of agricultural products.  The result is simple and intuitive:  payments allow those who enjoy farming to continue farming while maintaining a reasonably high living standard.  Without payments, a lower living standard leads to higher marginal utility of income, making higher off-farm wages more desirable than lower on-farm wages plus non-pecuniary benefits from farming.  Farmers respond to a reduction in payments by shifting their labor off-farm...
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Decoupled payments; Government payments; Nonpecuniary benefits; Labor supply; Trade; Agricultural and Food Policy.
Ano: 2007
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/9831

Decomposition of Total Factor Productivity Change in the U.S. Hog Industry, 1992-2004
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.; McBride,   William D.; Mosheim,   Roberto.
There have been dramatic structural changes in the U.S. hog industry in the last two decades that have coincided with substantial increases in farm productivity.  This study used a stochastic frontier analysis to measure TFP growth between 1992 and 2004 and to decompose the TFP growth into four components: technical change and changes in technical efficiency, scale efficiency, and allocative efficiency.  The study finds that productivity gains in the twelve year study period are explained almost entirely by technical progress and by improvements in scale efficiency.  The study also disaggregates TFP growth in the Southeast and Heartland to better understand the implications of large spatial shifts in production.  Results indicate that regional differences...
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Livestock Production/Industries.
Ano: 2006
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/21323

ECONOMIC AND STRUCTURAL RELATIONSHIPS IN U.S. HOG PRODUCTION
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: McBride,   William D.; Key,   Nigel D.
Rapid change in the size and ownership structure of U.S. hog production has created new and varied challenges for the industry. This report describes an industry becoming increasingly concentrated among fewer and larger farms, and becoming more economically efficient. These changes have not come without problems. The increasing market control and power concentrated among packers and large hog operations, and the manure management problem posed by an increasing concentration of hog manure on fewer operations, are paramount concerns. Addressing these concerns through regulations would likely impose economic costs that could be passed on to consumers. In addition, the relative mobility of the hog industry means that regulations could result in significant...
Tipo: Report
Palavras-chave: Hog production; Industry structure; Structural change; Production costs; Contract production; Manure management; Livestock Production/Industries.
Ano: 2003
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/33971

Climate Change Policy and the Adoption of Methane Digesters on Livestock Operations
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.; Sneeringer,   Stacy E.
Methane digesters—biogas recovery systems that use methane from manure to generate electricity—have not been widely adopted in the United States because costs have exceeded benefits to operators. Burning methane in a digester reduces greenhouse gas emissions from manure management. A policy or program that pays producers for these emission reductions—through a carbon offset market or directly with payments—could increase the number of livestock producers who would profit from adopting a methane digester. We developed an economic model that illustrates how dairy and hog operation size, location, and manure management methods, along with electricity and carbon prices, could influence methane digester profits. The model shows that a relatively moderate...
Tipo: Report
Palavras-chave: Methane; Methane digesters; Manure; Livestock; Climate change; Greenhouse gases; Carbon offset; Environmental Economics and Policy; Financial Economics; Livestock Production/Industries; Resource /Energy Economics and Policy.
Ano: 2011
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/102758

CHEMICAL AND FERTILIZER APPLICATIONS IN RESPONSE TO CROP INSURANCE: EVIDENCE FROM CENSUS MICRO DATA
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Roberts,   Michael J.; O'Donoghue,   Erik J.; Key,   Nigel D.
This paper presents preliminary evidence on the effect of crop insurance on fertilizer and chemical inputs in agriculture.  Our estimates are based on two sources of identification that emerge from a policy change concerning insurance subsidies that approximately doubled total premiums and the share of acres insured.  First, we compare per-acre applications on these inputs from the same farms before and after the policy change.  Second, we compare farm-level changes in input applications to differential changes in coverage growth induced by the policy change.  We are able to make this second comparison because farms in some regions were more heavily insured than others before the policy change so they were not required to increase coverage in order to...
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Crop Production/Industries; Risk and Uncertainty.
Ano: 2003
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/21895

Higher Carbon Prices Could Spur Adoption of Methane Digesters
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.; Sneeringer,   Stacy E.
A market price for carbon emission reductions would allow livestock producers with methane digesters to earn additional revenue from trapping and burning methane from manure. Greater income from reducing methane emissions could substantially increase the number of livestock producers who would find it profitable to install methane digesters. Large-scale hog and dairy operations with lagoon manure management systems are likely to benefit most from a higher carbon price, which could have longrun structural implications for the livestock sector.
Tipo: Article
Palavras-chave: Resource /Energy Economics and Policy.
Ano: 2011
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/121241

Production Effects of Decoupled Commodity Program Payments: An Instrumental Variables Approach
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.; Kirwan,   Barrett E.; Roberts,   Michael J.
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Instrumental Variables; IV; Policy; Agriculture; Subsidies; Production; Agribusiness; Agricultural and Food Policy; Farm Management; Land Economics/Use; Production Economics; Q1; Q12; Q15; Q18.
Ano: 2009
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/49201

Effects of Clean Water Act Regulations on Firm-Level Decisions in Agriculture
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Sneeringer,   Stacy E.; Key,   Nigel D.
U.S. environmental regulations often vary by the size of the operation, with larger operations facing more regulatory stringency.  When the size distribution of firms is heavily skewed, regulation size thresholds can reduce transaction costs for regulatory agencies while bringing most production within a regulatory framework.  However, size-based regulation may have unintended consequences if operations downsize, slow their growth, or enter at a smaller size in order to avoid regulation.  These unintended consequences from regulation may include less pollution abatement and diminished economic efficiency.  In this study we examine recently revised Clean Water Act (CWA) regulations targeting large-scale livestock operations to identify and quantify farm...
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Livestock; Clean Water Act; Growth; Regulation; Agricultural and Food Policy; Environmental Economics and Policy; Farm Management; Q5.
Ano: 2010
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/61461

Characteristics and Production Costs of U.S. Hog Farms, 2004
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: McBride,   William D.; Key,   Nigel D.
Hog production in 2004 was characterized by wide variation in the types, sizes, and economic performance of operations. Operations specializing in a single production phase generated more than three times the product value, on average, of those using the traditional farrow-to-finish approach. Low-cost operations tended to be larger, located in the Heartland, and operated by farmers whose primary occupation was farming. Small and medium operations far outnumbered large and very large operations, but large and very large operations accounted for most of the production. Average production costs declined as the size of the hog operation increased, a result of reduced capital costs and more efficient input use. Hog production was highly concentrated in the...
Tipo: Report
Palavras-chave: Agriculture; Swine; Hogs; Hog production; Hog operations; Agricultural Resource Management Survey; Production costs; Economies of size; Industrial Organization; Livestock Production/Industries; Production Economics; Productivity Analysis.
Ano: 2007
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/6385

Changes in Manure Management in the Hog Sector
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.; McBride,   William D.; Ribaudo,   Marc.
In recent years, structural changes in the hog sector, including increasing farm size and regional shifts in production, have altered manure management practices. Over the same period, changes to the Clean Water Act, new state regulations, and increasing local conflicts over odor have influenced manure management decisions. This study uses data from two national surveys of hog farmers to examine how hog manure management practices vary with the scale of production and how these practices evolved between 1998 and 2004.  The findings provide insights into the effects of structural changes and recent policies on manure management technologies and practices, the use of nutrient management plans, and manure application rates.
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Hog production; Manure management; Structural change; Environmental regulation; Livestock Production/Industries.
Ano: 2008
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/6071

MANAGING MANURE TO IMPROVE AIR AND WATER QUALITY
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Aillery,   Marcel P.; Gollehon,   Noel R.; Johansson,   Robert C.; Kaplan,   Jonathan D.; Key,   Nigel D.; Ribaudo,   Marc.
Animal waste from confined animal feeding operations is a potential source of air and water quality degradation from evaporation of gases, runoff to surface water, and leaching to ground water. This report assesses the potential economic and environmental tradeoffs between water quality policies and air quality policies that require the animal agriculture sector to take potentially costly measures to abate pollution. A farm-level analysis of hog farms estimates the economic and environmental tradeoffs that occur when policies are designed to address pollutant flows to one environmental medium without considering flows to another medium. A national analysis addresses the broader impacts of coordinated (water and air) policies, including long-term structural...
Tipo: Report
Palavras-chave: Animal waste; Nitrogen; Ammonia; Water quality; Nutrient management plan; Manure management costs; Price and quantity adjustments; CAFO; Environmental Economics and Policy; Livestock Production/Industries.
Ano: 2005
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/33593

Did the Baby Boom Cause the Farm-Size Boom?
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Roberts,   Michael J.; Key,   Nigel D.
Growing farm size has generally been explained by technological advances that have allowed farmers to substitute capital for labor.  Another possible factor in explaining recent farm size is the demographic shift: the age distribution of farmers has shifted to the right and older farmers generally operate larger farms than younger farmers.  This paper uses data from the 1982, 1987, 1992, 1997, and 2002 Agricultural Censuses to examine the relative importance of the demographic shift versus technological factors in explaining overall farm size growth.  Results indicate that farm sizes tend to increase with age and that, holding age constant, the typical farm-size has increased over time for all ages, presumably due to technological change.  The...
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Farm structure; Demographic shift; Age distribution; Farm size distribution; Farm Management; Industrial Organization; Labor and Human Capital.
Ano: 2008
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/6087

Use of Conservation-Compatible Manure Management Practices Increases on U.S. Hog Farms
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.
Tipo: Article
Palavras-chave: Farm Management; Livestock Production/Industries.
Ano: 2011
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/120829

Carbon Emissions, Renewable Electricity and Profits:   Comparing Alternative Policies to Promote Anaerobic Digesters on Dairies
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.; Sneeringer,   Stacy E.
Biogas recovery systems that use methane from manure to generate electricity have not been widely adopted in U.S. mainly because the costs of constructing and maintaining these systems have exceeded the value of the benefits provided.  Climate change mitigation and renewable energy policies could increase profits for the operators of such systems thereby making digester adoption more widespread.  For the U.S. Dairy sector, we examine digester adoption rates, emissions reductions, net returns, electricity generation, and program costs under different policy scenarios.  We find that 3% or fewer dairies would need to adopt digesters to meet the policy goals of reducing 25% of greenhouse gas emissions from dairy manure or generating one million megawatt hours...
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Anaerobic digester; Methane; Dairy; Renewable electricity; Subsidy; Carbon offsets; Climate change; Environmental Economics and Policy; Livestock Production/Industries; Q5.
Ano: 2011
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/103440

Subsidies, production structure and technical change – A cross-country comparison
Provedor de dados: Research in Agricultural & Applied Economics (AgEcon Searh)
Autores: Key,   Nigel D.; Latruffe,   Laure; Sauer,   Johannes.
The effect of subsidies on production and technical change of crop farms in France and the United Kingdom (UK) during 1980-2006 is investigated. Subsidies were not neutral on production decisions, in terms of production intensity and type. Crop farms in both countries have experienced technical progress during the period studied, higher in France. Technical progress has favoured labour and chemicals in both countries, land in France, capital in the UK, while it has disfavoured land in the UK and capital in France. Technical change has been slowed down by crop area subsidies but increased by agri-environmental subsidies in both countries.
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Technical change; Subsidies; Input bias; Crop farms; Agricultural and Food Policy; Farm Management; Land Economics/Use.
Ano: 2010
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/61109