A model was developed and used to determine the optimal slaughter weights of pigs with heterogeneous growth raised in a 1,000 head barn and marketed in truckload groups. Explicitly recognizing the heterogeneity of pig weights and marketing the herd over time in truckload batches can...

Limited data on the allocation of inputs to different activities has limited agricultural economists' attempts to measure sub-sector productivity growth in agriculture. However, recent developments have enabled us to estimate total factor productivity (TFP) growth for crops and livestock...

The objective of this paper is to provide insights on the welfare distributional impact on consumer and producer welfare resulting from the development and implementation of a credence certification program in the U.S. pork sector. The certification program can provide various levels of tracking...

Replaced with revised version of paper 08/16/05.

Previous studies of fresh market tomatoes in the U.S. have focused on the supply side and welfare effects of NAFTA. Very few studies have focused on the demand side, however, because fresh tomatoes do not have any close substitutes. In this study we draw on the fact that Mexican and Canadian...

Technical efficiency and its determinants among organic and conventional farms in Sweden are analyzed for time-period 2000-2002. In addition, we address the issues that arise when comparing performance measures among the two groups of producers (conventional and organic) due differences in their...