Beef industry data suggest that carcass yield and quality grades have shown little improvement over the last six years. Trend analysis of grid market share and carcass quality suggests that grid pricing has not made sufficient progress in achieving the goals envisioned for it as a value based...

As part of the sustainable agriculture research program in the Economics Department at South Dakota State University (SDSU), ‘organic’ and ‘conventional’ crop prices have been compared for nearly a decade. This pamphlet serves as an update of price comparisons through 2003 and a final...

The ability of the former federal voluntary price reporting system to facilitate market efficiency in the cash markets for U.S. livestock was questioned by producer groups and academic researchers prior to implementation of federal mandatory price reporting regulations. In the cash market for...

This paper suggests how a particular vertical arrangement, Top of the Market Pricing (TOMP), can have horizontal anti-competitive effects. The theory is also applicable to other vertical arrangements in use in the fed cattle market. The theory changes the theoretical backdrop for examining...

A seven year comparative study of grid pricing versus average pricing of slaughter cattle was conducted to evaluate carcass quality market signals. The primary objective of the study is to determine if market signals sent through the grid pricing system are encouraging producers to market on a...

Higher prices for major crops (e.g., corn, soybeans and wheat) have received considerable attention by analysts, researchers, and producers. A common perception is that acres can be readily bid away from other crops to quickly return to equilibrium price levels. Seldom mentioned are crops that...

South Dakota dairy industry has shifted toward large operations to offset declining numbers of dairy cows and milk production stemming from rapid exodus of smaller (100-cow) dairy farms. This study examines the regional and state level economic impacts of expansion by large and medium size...

The information value of the former USDA voluntary price reporting system is investigated for dressed weight slaughter steers. The ability of the former system to promote market transparency and price discovery in the cash market is evaluated with state level mandatory price reporting data...

The relationship between publicly reported weekly grid premiums and discounts for specific carcass characteristics and the percentage of those characteristics reflected in total weekly slaughter volume (i.e., proportional slaughter volume) is investigated. Granger Causality and multi-lag VAR...

Between 1995 and 2005, a drastic increase in ethanol production in the United States led to increased production of corn and substantially increased shares of corn destined for ethanol plants. The objectives of this paper are to investigate/identify: 1) the changes in the volume of grain handled...