Simulations of the U.S. dairy industry under a variety of conditions indicate that milk price variability would be considerably greater in the absence of price supports. Milk production would also be more variable, but significantly less than would milk prices. Summary statistics for the 1955-78...

Optimal hedging level, minimum-risk hedging level, and hedging effectiveness are defined in a manner consistent with portfolio theory and used to analyze hedging potential in cattle feeding. Estimated upper limits on optimal hedging levels ranged from 0.56 to 0.88 unit of short futures per unit...

The dairy industry is based on the production of a raw product that is nearly homogeneous— whole milk—on farms geographically scattered, and the disposal of this raw product in alternative forms—fluid milk, cream, manufactured products—and to alternative metropolitan...

The poultry� and egg�sector submodel of USDA's Food and Agricultural Policy Simulator (FAPSIM) endogenously estimates supply, production, ending stocks, retail and wholesale prices, civilian consumption of chicken, turkey, and eggs, the number of layers on farms, the consumer price...

In 1969, formula feed manufacturers utilized 23.1 percent of all the feed grains and wheat fed to livestock. Estimates of aggregate demand by the mixed feed ind.:-stry for corn, oats, barley, grain sorghum, and wheat are presented. As expected, all of the feed grains have elastic demands. Grain...

A stochastic computer simulation model is used to estimate disaster payments under the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973. The model uses a random yield generator and actuarial techniques. Simulated payments under 1976 program parameters and stochastic yields are estimated at $300...

Opinions differ among economists as to how effective statistical analyses using time series data can be in identifying factors affecting demand and in measuring their influences. Although this presentation may not materially modify these opinions, it should at least succeed in making even the...

Costs of seven methods of handling beef by retail firms are explored, considering number and size of stores per firm and distance from the packer. The least costly method is centralized cutting into retail cuts by retail firms. Larger store size reduced per unit costs significantly for all...

There are a number of estimation methods available to the econometrician. They range in complexity from least squares, which takes only a few minutes with pencil and paper for a simple problem, to full information maximum likelihood, which requires a large-capacity electronic computer for...