Increases in agricultural productivity contribute to national economic development and income growth in two major ways: they release labor resources for nonagricultural sectors and they supply an economic output above that consumed or used for further production in the agricultural sector-an...

The first issue of Agricultural Economics Research appeared in January 1949. The original purpose of the new journal was to provide the Bureau of Agricultural Economics with a "medium for the publication of technical articles." Following the abolition of the Bureau in late 1953, the journal...

Production and cost functions have long been recognized as vital components of economic analyses relating to the individual firm. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, beginning with the pioneering work of T V. J. Spillman, has been a continuing participant in their empiric and theoretical...

Current concepts and procedures used by the U S Department of Agriculture (USDA) to estimate farm enterprise costs of production are Inadequate for describing economic conditions of various producer groups The 1981 Agriculture and Food Act gives USDA greater flexibility In estimating production...

Computer applications are the most recent advance in the manmachine relationship in agriculture. In the past decade, these applications have grown phenomenally, especially in the areas of research, development, and experimentation. The use of the computer has led to a corresponding growth in the...

A method for taking uncertainty into account when formulating aggregate agricultural policies is applied to the feed grain program. The impact of alternative feed grain programs on net farm income, Government payments, and feed grain production in the Southeastern Coastal Plains is shown. A...

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...

Changes in productivity are usually associated With technology At the firm level, this is a natural way to think about productivity. However, in aggregate analysis, measures of productivity can change even when technology does not The measures change when the proportions of farms in stable...

This paper modifies and employs a model previously developed for empirical evaluation of the impact of commodity price-support programs on corn acreage. (See J. P. Houck and M. E. Ryan, "Supply Analysis for Corn in the United States ... ," Amer. Jour. Agr. Econ. 54: May 1972; and J. P. Houck and A....