The speed of shipping cotton from warehouses has become an important issue for the cotton industry. This paper examines issues relating to costs and benefits of an increased cotton shipping standard. The value chain model is used to identify improvements in incentives, information flow and...

This is a comparison of machinery ownership costs for individuals and cooperatives. By looking at various complements of equipment we can see the potential for cost savings through machinery cooperatives. Specifically these savings can be seen in farming operations that require higher capital...

Fertilizer price volatility has increased dramatically. This research examines cash purchase and warehouse strategies. Seventeen years of Oklahoma fertilizer prices are examined. The results indicate that mechanical cash purchase strategies can be used to reduce the average cost or variance for...

In 2011, communicating the cooperative value package to member-owners was identified as the most critical challenge among U.S. agricultural cooperatives. Rural cooperatives in three states were surveyed to identify current communications methods and to elicit the effectiveness of communicating...

Grain/fertilizer volumes are major risks for grain/supply cooperatives followed by fertilizer and fuel margins. Operating losses force stock write downs (22% probability) and negative cashflow (15% probability). Decisions on cash and stock patronage, infrastructure investment, and equity...

Fewer small meat processing plants combined with increased demand for locally-grown and process-verified meat products in recent years have spurred interest in the construction of producer-owned processing facilities. To help producers and Extension specialists develop preliminary feasibility...

Country elevators competed chiefly through increased efficiency in grain handling and transportation. The development by the railroads of more favorable rates for multi-car shipments (unit train) has led grain cooperatives and other agribusiness firms to invest in high speed rail load out...

Characteristics and potential loan volume growth of different borrower types is assessed relative to the opinions of Oklahoma Farm Credit senior officials and loan officers. Senior officials are more positive relative to the characteristics of non-traditional borrowers; however, both agree these...

Drought impact both producers and agribusinesses. This study investigates the impacts of the 2004-2007 droughts on Oklahoma grain handling and fertilizer supply firms. The results indicated an average decline in firm revenues of 30%. Individual firms had single year revenue declines of 85% and...

This research forecasts peak call volume to allow a centralized call center to minimize staffing costs. A Gaussian copula is used to capture the dependence among nonnormal distributions. Peak call volume can be easily and more accurately predicted using the marginal probability distribution with...