We empirically investigate the effects of beef packer concentration and size efficiencies, packer procurement and pricing methods, and other market variables and quality characteristics on the prices paid by packers for slaughter cattle. We find that packers pay less for fed cattle in more...

This objective of this study is to update last year’s analysis of the effectiveness of the lamb advertising and promotion program of the American Lamb Board (ALB). The main conclusion is that the lamb checkoff program is still working effectively to increase lamb consumption and sales in the...

While projected milk prices are a primary determinant of the financial viability of the representative dairies, the prices of feed crops and cattle prices can also have an impact. Most of the dairies produce hay, silage, and other crops and are often net buyers. Commodity prices have a major...

Under the December 2006 Baseline, 25 of the 65 crop farms are considered in good liquidity condition (less than a 25 percent chance of negative ending cash in 2011). Five crop farms have between a 25 percent and a 50 percent likelihood of negative ending cash. The remaining 35 crop farms have...

USDA released the proposed rule for Federal Milk Marketing Order (EMMO) Consolidation and reform on January 23rd, 1998. The rule met the mandate of the 1996 farm bill to propose a plan to consolidate the number of federal orders. Class I differential and Basic Formula Price (BEP) reform was also...

The Agricultural and Food Policy Center (AFPC) at Texas A&M University develops and maintains data to simulate 100 representative crop, dairy, and livestock operations in major production areas in 28 states. The chief purpose of this analysis is to project those farms’ economic viability by...

Milk and dairy product prices have fallen to their lowest levels in 3 years following the record highs of 2004 and 2005. The large government stockpiles of non-fat dry milk are gone, but threaten to build again as non-fat dry milk and cheese prices decline nearer the support price level. A new...

The farm level economic impacts of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (2002 Farm Bill) on representative crop and livestock operations are projected in this report. The analysis was conducted over the 2004-2011 planning horizon using FLIPSIM, AFPC’s whole farm simulation model....