Current methods of formulating animal rations lead to excess nutrient excretion which can potentially lead to excess manure nutrients and an increase in economic costs. These methods do not recognize the impact of diminishing returns. The objective is to simultaneously optimize feed ration...

Regulatory changes by federal and state agencies portend a switch from nitrogen-based livestock manure disposal policies to phosphorus-based policies. This paper estimates the compliance costs of such a policy change for a hypothetical hog-grain farm in North Central Indiana. The farm includes...

Much of the increase use of vertical coordination in the U.S. swine industry has taken place through contract production. While the incidence of contracting is much higher in nontraditional hog production areas, a growing number of Midwestern producers are being faced with contract options. A...