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  • Articles  (27)
  • Agricultural Technology  (27)
  • Oxford University Press  (27)
  • National Academy of Sciences
  • Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition  (27)
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  • Articles  (27)
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  • Oxford University Press  (27)
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  • Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition  (27)
  • Nature of Science, Research, Systems of Higher Education, Museum Science
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  • Economics  (27)
  • 1
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    Exploring the Role of Incentives in Agricultural Extension Programs (2015)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-08-11
    Description: While many governments subsidize extension programs, financial incentives for participation in extension programs are rare and little is known about such initiatives. This article assesses whether a financial incentive for an agricultural extension program for dairy farmers in Ireland has an impact on the type of farmer that participates in extension services. The findings reveal that financial incentives encourage participation, especially with cohorts of farmers that previously eschewed such programs. Several aspects of the overall economic effectiveness of the extension program are discussed and policy recommendations are outlined.
    Keywords: Q12 - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets, Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Agricultural Extension Services
    Print ISSN: 2040-5790
    Electronic ISSN: 2040-5804
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 2
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    Inelastic and Fragmented Farm Supply Response for Second-generation Bioenergy Feedstocks: Ex Ante Survey Evidence from Wisconsin (2015)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-05-12
    Description: Second-generation bioenergy feedstocks stand poised to become a key component of the nation's agricultural and energy sectors, yet few studies have examined farm supply response using survey information. We use contingent valuation data from farmers in southwestern Wisconsin to develop ex ante supply estimates for two prospective feedstocks—corn stover and switchgrass—in terms of farmers' extensive and intensive acreage decisions. Supply response is found to be price inelastic and spatially fragmented, making widespread production unlikely in the near-term. However, heterogeneity in farmer reservation prices suggests that agglomerations or "hot spots" of feedstock supply could arise at local or regional levels.
    Keywords: Q12 - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets, Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Agricultural Extension Services, Q42 - Alternative Energy Sources
    Print ISSN: 2040-5790
    Electronic ISSN: 2040-5804
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 3
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    Intellectual property in plant breeding: comparing different levels and forms of protection (2015)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-12-29
    Description: Welfare trade-offs between intellectual property (IP) protections provided by patents and by plant variety protection (PVP) are explored. PVP breeders’ exemption weakens IP protection, but may speed the transfer of research gains across firms. A model is developed assuming firms optimise research given existing IP protection. A baseline scenario supporting each system is used to perform welfare analysis, and study how the balance is altered between systems. Survey data suggest patents are more appropriate for longer-term, higher-risk research, whereas PVP is better suited for traditional breeding. A scenario where patents and licensing co-exist dominates PVP in all commercially relevant areas.
    Keywords: O31 - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives, O34 - Intellectual Property Rights, Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Agricultural Extension Services
    Print ISSN: 0165-1587
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 4
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    Irrigation Decisions for Major West Coast Crops: Water Scarcity and Climatic Determinants (2015)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-12-13
    Description: This article uses the 2007 Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey database developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to assess the impact of water scarcity and climate on irrigation decisions for producers of specialty crops, wheat, and forage crops. We estimate an irrigation management model for major crops in the West Coast (California, Oregon, and Washington), which includes a farm-level equation of irrigated share and crop-specific equations of technology adoption and water application rate (orchard/vineyard, vegetable, wheat, alfalfa, hay, and pasture). We find that economic and physical water scarcity, climate, and extreme weather, such as frost, extreme heat, and drought, significantly impact producers’ irrigation decisions. Producers use sprinkler technologies or additional water applications to mitigate risk of crop damage from extreme weather. Water application rates are least responsive to surface water cost or groundwater well depth for producers of orchard/vineyard. Water supply institutions influence producers’ irrigation decisions. Producers who receive water from federal agencies use higher water application rates and are less likely to adopt water-saving irrigation technologies for some crops. Institutional arrangements, including access to distinct water sources (surface or ground) and whether surface water cost is fee based, also affect the responsiveness of water application rates to changes in surface water cost. The analysis provides valuable information about how producers in irrigated agricultural production systems would respond and adapt to water pricing policies and climate change.
    Keywords: Q12 - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets, Q15 - Land Ownership and Tenure ; Land Reform ; Land Use ; Irrigation, Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Agricultural Extension Services, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy, Q54 - Climate ; Natural Disasters ; Global Warming
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 5
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    Extension and Matching Grants for Improved Management: An Evaluation of the Uruguayan Livestock Program (2015)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-12-13
    Description: Offering matching grants along with extension services is a common tool of agricultural development policy and has the potential to address some of the shortcomings of purely private or public extension. Yet the evidence for the effectiveness of programs that combine extension with matching grants is quite thin. We add to this evidence by evaluating the Uruguayan Livestock Program (ULP), a program that promoted the adoption of intensive management practices by small and medium-sized cattle producers by offering extension from private providers combined with matching grants for investments. Using inverse probability weighting as applied to an eight-year panel data set of cattle producers, we find that the ULP had large impacts on net sales and production of calves, but that program impacts on production and sales translated into modest net economic impacts overall. We examine the mechanisms that may have driven ULP impacts, and conclude that program impacts were likely caused by improved management practices rather than by loosening liquidity constraints on producers.
    Keywords: O13 - Agriculture ; Natural Resources ; Energy ; Environment ; Other Primary Products, O22 - Project Analysis, Q12 - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets, Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Agricultural Extension Services
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 6
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    The Yield of Plant Variety Protection (2015)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-04-18
    Description: The prospects for plant variety protection to deliver improved varieties of self-pollinating crops is assessed using the experience of the Australian wheat breeding sector as a natural experiment. The analysis is based on detailed new data on the agronomic performance of all wheat varieties released by Australian breeders between 1976 and 2011. The results indicate that plant variety protection, and associated reforms, led to a substantial fall in breeder output. Qualitative evidence indicates that this was caused by a combination of fewer research spillovers, lower release standards, and a possible fall in total investment in breeding.
    Keywords: O34 - Intellectual Property Rights, Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Agricultural Extension Services, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 7
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    Long-run and Global R&D Funding Trajectories: The U.S. Farm Bill in a Changing Context (2015)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-09-12
    Description: Domestically funded (and performed) research and development (R&D) has historically been a major source of productivity gains in U.S. agriculture, and a principal source of R&D spillovers to the rest of the world. In the waning decades of the 20th century, U.S. policymakers opted to ratchet down the rate of growth in public support for food and agricultural R&D. As the 21st century unfolds, slowing growth has given way to real cutbacks, reversing the accumulation of U.S.-sourced public R&D capital over most of the previous century and more. The 2014 Farm Bill did little to reverse these long-run research funding trajectories—politicians failed to heed the economic evidence about the still substantial social payoffs of that research and the consequent slowdown in U.S. agricultural productivity growth associated with the spending slowdown. Meanwhile, R&D spending by other countries has been moving in different directions. We present new evidence that today's middle-income countries—notably China, Brazil, and India— are not only growing in relative importance as producers of agricultural innovations through investments in public R&D, they are also gaining considerable ground in terms of their share of privately performed research of relevance for agriculture. The already substantive changes in global public and private R&D investment trajectories are accelerating. If history is any guide to the future, these changing R&D trajectories could have profound consequences for the competitiveness of U.S. agriculture in the decades ahead.
    Keywords: O38 - Government Policy, Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Agricultural Extension Services
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 8
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    Estimating Yield Gaps With Limited Data: An Application to United States Wheat (2015)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-09-12
    Description: The objective of this research is to estimate and analyze the gap between in-trial yield potential, on-farm yield potential, and actual on-farm wheat yields. Yield gaps are quantified by measuring how varietal mean yields have changed over time, due to productivity increases generated by public and private wheat breeding programs. Variety performance trial data for Kansas winter wheat are used to summarize the evolution of wheat yields over the time period 1985 to 2011. A measure of yield potential is compared to actual on-farm yields to derive implications for wheat industry stakeholders. Persistent and expanding yield gaps between potential yield and actual on-farm yield are measured and analyzed. Producers’ variety adoption decisions explain a relatively small portion of this gap, and producers have become more effective at identifying and adopting yield-enhancing varieties over time. The largest portion of these gaps was explained by on-farm production decisions.
    Keywords: O33 - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences ; Diffusion Processes, Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Agricultural Extension Services
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 9
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    Somatic cell counts in dairy marketing: quantile regression for count data (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-02-20
    Description: We study the determinants of somatic cell count (SCC) for farm milk among US dairies. We synthesise much of the work that has been done to model SCC determinants in order to identify the potential impacts of buyer-imposed penalties and incentives within the supply chain. Additionally, we estimate quantile regression for count data to measure impacts specifically for those operations with the highest SCC and to account for the statistical properties of the data. Premiums in particular have the potential to reduce SCC considerably where it is currently the highest. We draw implications for profitability in relation to SCC reduction.
    Keywords: C25 - Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models, Q12 - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets, Q13 - Agricultural Markets and Marketing ; Cooperatives ; Agribusiness, Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Agricultural Extension Services
    Print ISSN: 0165-1587
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 10
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    Bioenergy Supply and Environmental Impacts on Cropland: Insights from Multi-market Forecasts in a Great Lakes Subregional Bioeconomic Model (2015)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-11-06
    Description: Using subregional models of crop production choices in central Wisconsin and southwest Michigan, we predict biomass production, land use, and environmental impacts with details that are unavailable from national scale models. When biomass prices are raised exogenously, we find that the subregional models overestimate the supply, the land use, and the beneficial environmental aspects of perennial biomass crops. Multi-market price feedbacks tied to realistic policy parameters predict high threshold absolute prices for biomass to enter production, resulting in intensified production of biomass from annual grain crops with damaging environmental impacts. Multi-market feedbacks also predict regional specialization in energy biomass production in areas with lower yields of food crops. Policies promoting biofuels will not necessarily generate environmental benefits in the absence of environmental regulations.
    Keywords: Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Agricultural Extension Services, Q42 - Alternative Energy Sources, Q50 - General
    Print ISSN: 2040-5790
    Electronic ISSN: 2040-5804
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 11
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    Neural Activations Associated with Decision-time and Choice in a Milk Labeling Experiment (2015)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-12-13
    Description: The authors incorporate brain activation data in an analysis of decision time and choices for milk labeled as produced with growth hormone or cloning technologies, or labeled as conventional milk. Non-hypothetical choices and decision time are correlated with blood oxygenation level-dependent extractions in brain regions previously found to be involved in valuation. The significance of the activations related to price and production technology differs in models of decision time and choice. More areas influence the time it takes to make a decision. The final decision appears to be most correlated with localized areas in the medial prefrontal cortex, with a higher correlation when the choice is about growth hormones than cloning technology.
    Keywords: D87 - Neuroeconomics, Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Agricultural Extension Services
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 12
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    Neighbors and Extension Agents in Ethiopia: Who Matters More for Technology Adoption? (2014)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-01-22
    Description: The increased adoption of fertilizer and improved seeds are two key aspects to raising the level of land productivity in Ethiopian agriculture. However, the adoption and diffusion of such technologies has been slow. We use data from Ethiopia between 1999–2009 to examine the role of learning from extension agents versus learning from neighbors for both improved seeds and fertilizer adoption. We combine farmers' spatial networks with panel data to identify these influences, and find that while the initial impact of extension agents was high, the effect wore off after some time, in contrast to learning from neighbors.
    Keywords: C31 - Cross-Sectional Models ; Spatial Models ; Treatment Effect Models, Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Agricultural Extension Services
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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  • 13
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    The Evolving Institutional Structure of Public and Private Agricultural Research (2014)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-04-05
    Description: Over the past several decades, the private sector has assumed a larger role in developing improved technology for food and agriculture. Private companies fund nearly all food processing research and development (R&D) and perform a growing share of production-oriented R&D for agriculture. In addition, institutional partnerships for public–private research collaboration are growing in the United States and other countries. This article outlines the major forces driving these changes and offers an interpretive framework to explore some of the implications for the volume and nature of research performed by the public and private sectors. One of the critical issues is whether public agricultural research complements and thereby stimulates additional private agricultural R&D investments. Another important issue concerns the role and contribution of alternative public–private partnership arrangements. To date, changes in the institutional structure of public and private agricultural research have outpaced systematic investigation, and new theoretical and empirical research is needed to help guide policy and address key societal challenges, such as climate change, clean energy, water scarcity, food safety, and health.
    Keywords: O30 - General, Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Agricultural Extension Services
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 14
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    Institutions, exchange and firm growth: evidence from Bulgarian agriculture (2011)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2011-12-27
    Description: The transition from a centrally planned to a more market-oriented economy provides a natural experiment on the role of institutions and exchange in economic development, and more specifically on firm growth. This paper uses survey data from Bulgaria to analyse the impact of exchange problems and institutional innovations on farm growth. Late payments have a negative influence on farm growth, while contracting with interlinked programmes has a positive effect on farm growth.
    Keywords: O12 - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development, P31 - Socialist Enterprises and Their Transitions, Q12 - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets, Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Agricultural Extension Services
    Print ISSN: 0165-1587
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 15
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    Patents as options: path-dependency and patent value (2014)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-11-11
    Description: Despite the growing importance of licence revenue to cash-strapped universities and research institutions, there has been no formal attempt to develop pricing models for patent licences. We recognise that patents are options on the stream of future revenues, and apply option-valuation techniques to determine licence prices. We find that accounting for path-dependency in licence revenue streams generates prices that more nearly approximate observed patent prices. While non-path-dependent prices yield conventional sensitivities to volatility, mean-reversion and returns-growth, path-dependent prices show highly non-linear comparative statics. These results are important both for patent licensees and for licensors seeking to maximise licence revenue.
    Keywords: D45 - Rationing ; Licensing, G12 - Asset Pricing ; Trading volume ; Bond Interest Rates, L24 - Contracting Out ; Joint Ventures ; Technology Licensing, Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Agricultural Extension Services
    Print ISSN: 0165-1587
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 16
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    A Critical Assessment of RIN Price Behavior and the Implications for Corn, Ethanol, and Gasoline Price Relationships (2014)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-12-03
    Description: This study observationally and statistically assesses theories put forth regarding expected price behavior of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) using a dataset of daily RIN price observations from January 2009 through May 2013. RIN price behavior tends to follow theoretical expectations, but some notable exceptions occur, the causes of which remain uncertain. Information provided by RIN prices is used to test the implications of a binding renewable fuel standard (RFS) versus a nonbinding RFS on ethanol-gasoline and corn-gasoline price relationships. In certain cases, cointegration tests provide evidence that the relationships are weaker when the RFS mandates are believed to be binding.
    Keywords: C32 - Time-Series Models, Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Agricultural Extension Services, Q48 - Government Policy
    Print ISSN: 2040-5790
    Electronic ISSN: 2040-5804
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 17
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    The Effects and Value of a Resistant Perennial Variety: An Application to Pudricion del Cogollo Disease (2014)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-12-13
    Description: This article develops a forestry model to obtain the optimal control strategy and optimal rotation length after a disease attacks in a perennial variety. Three cases are considered: a benchmark consisting of a disease-free field, an identical field with the disease present but no resistant variety with which to replant, and an identical field with the disease present and a resistant variety with which to replant. We determine general decision rules and then apply the model to the case of Pudrición del Cogollo, a major disease threat to the Colombian oil palm industry. In the application, we compare the optimal rotation length between the three scenarios and determine the optimal level of control in each period for the disease scenarios. The singular solution involves complete control of the disease, and in the absence of a resistant variety, the presence of the disease increases the rotation length. With these solutions, we then determine the value of developing a resistant variety. This value depends heavily on the age distribution of the current trees and decreases as the average tree age decreases. The value further declines when the resistance variety has negative attributes such as higher replanting and maintenance costs than the original variety.
    Keywords: C61 - Optimization Techniques ; Programming Models ; Dynamic Analysis, Q12 - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets, Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Agricultural Extension Services, Q23 - Forestry
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 18
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    Re-examining the Reported Rates of Return to Food and Agricultural Research and Development (2014)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-09-02
    Description: At odds with a vast body of economic evidence reporting exceptionally high rates of return to investments in agricultural research and development (R&D), growth in public R&D spending for food and agriculture has slowed in numerous, especially rich, countries worldwide. The observed R&D spending behavior is consistent with a determination that the reported rates of return are perceived as implausible by policy makers. We examine this notion by scrutinizing 2,242 investment evaluations reported in 372 separate studies from 1958 to 2011. We find that the internal rate of return (IRR) is the predominant summary measure of investment performance used in the literature despite methodological criticisms dating back more than a half century. The reported IRRs imply rates of return that are implausibly high. We investigate the reasons for these implausibly high estimates by analytically comparing the IRR to the modified internal rate of return (MIRR). The MIRR addresses several methodological concerns with using the IRR, has the intuitive interpretation as the annual compounding interest rate paid by an investment, and is directly related to the benefit–cost ratio. To obtain more credible rate of return estimates, we then develop a novel method for recalibrating previously reported IRR estimates using the MIRR when there is limited information on an investment's stream of benefits and costs. Our recalibrated estimates of the rate of return are more modest (median of 9.8% versus 39% per year); however, they are still substantial enough to question the current scaling back of public agricultural R&D spending in many countries.
    Keywords: O22 - Project Analysis, Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Agricultural Extension Services, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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  • 19
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    Corn Area Response to Local Ethanol Markets in the United States: A Grid Cell Level Analysis (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-04-24
    Description: We measure corn and total agricultural area response to the biofuels boom in the United States from 2006 to 2010. Specifically, we use newly available micro-scale grid cell data to test whether a location's corn and total agricultural cultivation rose in response to the capacity of ethanol refineries in their vicinity. Based on these data, acreage in corn and overall agriculture not only grew in already-cultivated areas but also expanded into previously uncultivated areas. Acreage in corn and total agriculture also correlated with proximity to ethanol plants, though the relationship dampened over the time period. A formal estimation of the link between acreage and ethanol refineries, however, must account for the endogenous location decisions of ethanol plants and areas of corn supply. We present historical evidence to support the use of the US railroad network as a valid instrument for ethanol plant locations. Our estimates show that a location's neighborhood refining capacity exerts strong and significant effects on acreage planted in corn and total agricultural acreage. The largest impacts of ethanol plants were felt in locations where cultivation area was relatively low. This high-resolution evidence of ethanol impacts on local agricultural outcomes can inform researchers and policy-makers concerned with crop diversity, environmental sustainability, and rural economic development.
    Keywords: Q15 - Land Ownership and Tenure ; Land Reform ; Land Use ; Irrigation, Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Agricultural Extension Services
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 20
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    Bayesian Estimation of Possibly Similar Yield Densities: Implications for Rating Crop Insurance Contracts (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-03-31
    Description: The Agricultural Act of 2014 solidified insurance as the cornerstone of U.S. agricultural policy. The Congressional Budget Office (2014) estimates that this act will increase spending on agricultural insurance programs by $5.7 billion to a total of $89.8 billion over the next decade. In light of the sizable resources directed toward these programs, accurate rating of insurance contracts is of the utmost importance to producers, private insurance companies, and the federal government. Unlike most forms of insurance, agricultural insurance is plagued by a paucity of spatially correlated data. A novel interpretation of Bayesian Model Averaging is used to estimate a set of possibly similar densities that offers greater efficiency if the set of densities are similar while seemingly not losing any if the set of densities are dissimilar. Simulations indicate that finite sample performance—in particular small sample performance—is quite promising. The proposed approach does not require knowledge of the form or extent of any possible similarities, is relatively easy to implement, admits correlated data, and can be used with either parametric or nonparametric estimators. We use the proposed approach to estimate U.S. crop insurance premium rates for area-type programs and develop a test to evaluate its efficacy. An out-of-sample game between private insurance companies and the federal government highlights the policy implications for a variety of crop-state combinations. Consistent with the simulation results, the performance of the proposed approach with respect to rating area-type insurance—in particular small sample performance—remains quite promising.
    Keywords: Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Agricultural Extension Services, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 21
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    Big Constraints or Small Returns? Explaining Nonadoption of Hybrid Maize in Tanzania (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-02-10
    Description: New technologies are often not widely adopted by farmers in Africa. Several adoption constraints have been discussed in the literature, including limited access to information. Using data from maize farmers in Tanzania, we challenge the hypothesis that limited information is an important constraint for hybrid seed adoption. While we find an adoption gap from lack of hybrid awareness, this gap is sizeable only in regions where productivity gains of hybrids are small. Hence, awareness of a new technology may be a function of expected returns. Other constraints related to assets and credit are not significant. We conclude that not adopting a technology is not always a sign of constraints but may also indicate low benefits from its use.
    Keywords: O33 - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences ; Diffusion Processes, Q12 - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets, Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Agricultural Extension Services
    Print ISSN: 2040-5790
    Electronic ISSN: 2040-5804
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 22
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    New Uses of Old Tools? Greenhouse Gas Mitigation with Agriculture Sector Policies (2013)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-11-22
    Description: Following the failure of legislative proposals for a multi-sector greenhouse gas (GHG) cap-and-trade policy, the shift in focus to energy sector policies ignores the perhaps substantial potential for GHG mitigation from agriculture/forestry. We review estimates of the current U.S. agriculture sector contribution to GHG mitigation from a portfolio of existing sector policies in bioenergy, conservation, and research and development to compare accomplishments across programs. We then consider what opportunities and challenges may exist for increasing sector GHG mitigation by retargeting and/or expanding current programs—or for bioenergy-related mitigation, implementing proposed new programs—to serve as an alternative to cap-and-trade.
    Keywords: Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Agricultural Extension Services, Q42 - Alternative Energy Sources, Q54 - Climate ; Natural Disasters ; Global Warming, Q58 - Government Policy
    Print ISSN: 2040-5790
    Electronic ISSN: 2040-5804
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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    The Disadoption of rbST and Its Economic Impact: A Switching Regression Approach (2013)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-11-22
    Description: This paper focuses on the disadoption of rbST and addresses two key questions related to rbST use and its effects on dairy profitability. First, what are the determinants of the disadoption decision, and do they differ from those of the adoption decision? Second, do the earnings of disadopters differ from those of current adopters? Using a nationally representative dataset of U.S. dairies from 2010, a bivariate probit model with partial observability and an endogenous switching model is estimated. Consistent with other studies, the results show that rbST use does not have a statistically significant effect on dairy profitability. However, within the group of producers who have adopted rbST, I present some empirical evidence that disadopters are doing worse off than those who are still using rbST.
    Keywords: Q12 - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets, Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Agricultural Extension Services
    Print ISSN: 2040-5790
    Electronic ISSN: 2040-5804
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 24
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    Effects of U.S. Public Agricultural R&D on U.S. Obesity and its Social Costs (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-08-20
    Description: How much has food abundance, attributable to U.S. public agricultural R&D, contributed to high and rising U.S. obesity rates? In this paper we investigate the effects of public investment in agricultural R&D on food prices, per capita calorie consumption, adult body weight, obesity, public healthcare expenditures related to obesity, and consumer welfare. We find that a 10% increase in the stream of annual U.S. public investment in agricultural R&D in the latter half of the twentieth century would have caused a modest increase in the average daily calorie consumption of American adults, resulting in small increases in public healthcare expenditures related to obesity. On the other hand, such an increase in spending would have generated very substantial consumer benefits, and net national benefits, given the very large benefit-cost ratios for agricultural R&D. This implies that current policy objectives of revising agricultural R&D priorities to pursue obesity objectives are likely to be comparatively unproductive and socially wasteful. Moreover, R&D lags of decades mean that such an approach would be totally ineffective in the immediate horizon.
    Keywords: I18 - Government Policy ; Regulation ; Public Health, Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Agricultural Extension Services, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 2040-5790
    Electronic ISSN: 2040-5804
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 25
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    The Digital Divide in Farming: A Problem of Access or Engagement? (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-08-20
    Description: This article explores farmers’ use of computers for farm business purposes by analyzing the computer access and usage decisions of almost 900 Irish farmers. The findings reveal that computer ownership is influenced by a combination of farm business and household characteristics, but that farm business characteristics dominate if the computer is used for the business. More detailed findings suggest that computers are most likely to be used on larger dairy farms, while farmers who are living alone have limited access to computers. Public policy needs to support the adoption of information technologies, and the role of computers in tackling social isolation and providing farm information is critically discussed.
    Keywords: C35 - Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models, Q12 - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets, Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Agricultural Extension Services
    Print ISSN: 2040-5790
    Electronic ISSN: 2040-5804
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 26
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    The Effects of Agricultural Technological Progress on Deforestation: What Do We Really Know? (2014)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-05-16
    Description: Increasing agricultural yields seem an obvious way to satisfy increasing demands for food and fuel while minimizing expansion of agriculture into forest areas; however, an influential literature worries that promoting agricultural innovation could enhance agriculture's profitability thereby encouraging deforestation. Clarifying the effects of agricultural technological progress on deforestation is therefore crucial for designing effective policy responses to the challenges faced by global agriculture. In this article we review the empirical evidence on these effects and synthesize estimates of future global cropland expansion. Our main insights are that: (i) the empirical evidence on a positive link between regional technological progress and deforestation is much weaker than what seems generally accepted; (ii) at a global level, most analysts expect broad based technological progress to be land saving; however, composition effects are important as low-yield, land-abundant regions are likely to experience further land expansion. Toward the future, empirical work understanding how localized technological progress in agriculture transmits through international trade and commodity markets will help to bridge the gap between the findings of local, econometric, studies on the one hand and global, model based, studies on the other.
    Keywords: Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Agricultural Extension Services, Q23 - Forestry, Q55 - Technological Innovation
    Print ISSN: 2040-5790
    Electronic ISSN: 2040-5804
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 27
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    Integrated joint pest management strategies in the presence of control spillovers (2013)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-11-02
    Description: Integrated pest management has proved cost-effective in coping with crop pests. This article identifies characteristics of pests, controls and economic incentives that may make the development of an integrated joint pest management (IJPM) strategy – designed for simultaneous control of multiple pests – worthwhile. We demonstrate via a case study that an IJPM strategy may add considerable value for on-farm corn storage. Critical factors for an IJPM strategy are that the pests are affected by the same environmental variables, but with different thresholds and response functions; controls for one pest impact other pests; and the pests have similar economic importance.
    Keywords: Q12 - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets, Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Agricultural Extension Services
    Print ISSN: 0165-1587
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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