This research examines returns to cattle feeding operations that sort animals prior to marketing using ultrasound technology. The returns to sorting are between $11 and $25 per head depending on the number of groups the pens into which cattle can be sorted. Sorting faces declining returns. These...

This paper addresses the economic impacts of swine growth variability. Different economic penalties are determined to be associated with over-finishing versus under-finishing an animal. Marketing decisions based on the pen average are determined to be insignificantly less than optimal for a case...

As policy makers strive to maintain competitiveness in agricultural markets, the impacts of altering market information sets must be evaluated. An experiment was designed to assess the price and production impacts of forward contract information. Results suggest that this information reduced...

This paper addresses the economic impacts of growth variability on market timing decisions in an all-in, all-out production system. Marketing decisions based on the pen average are determined to be different than those based on the entire distribution of output levels. A case study data set of...

Data on weekly summaries of slaughter lamb sales in 1996 were analyzed to determine price differences for factors affecting lamb prices. Models were compared with a 1991 study and across regions. Demand and supply variables were found important as well as marketing methods, sale lot sizes,...

Producers, researchers, and policy makers have an interest in market effects from meatpacking plant closings and openings. This paper presents results from a study taking a dual approach to determining impacts from an anticipated hog slaughtering plant opening and an unexpected fed cattle...

Carcass discounts are an important component of grid pricing of fed cattle. Yet, little effort has been made to model the behavior of the primary carcass discounts that vary over time. This paper presents alternative models of the Choice-Select and yield grade 3-4/5 discounts. Besides noting the...