While theoretically more efficient than starch-based ethanol production systems, conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol is not without major challenges. A multi-region, multi-period, mixed integer mathematical programming model encompassing alternative feedstocks, feedstock production,...

From 1986 to 1995 the Oklahoma five-year moving average wheat grain yield declined from 32.6 to 26.7 bu./ac. This study was conducted to determine why the state average wheat yield declined. Changes in government program provisions and changes in production practices were investigated. Changes...

While considerable research has estimated liquidity costs of futures trading, little comparable research is available about options markets. This study determines effective bid-ask spreads in options and futures markets for Kansas City Board of Trade (KCBT) wheat. Effective bid-ask spreads are...

We estimate the value of using information from genetic marker panels for seven economically relevant feedlot cattle traits. The values of using genetic information to sort cattle by optimal days-on-feed are less than $1/head for each of the traits evaluated. However, the values associated with...

Little research has been conducted on evaluating out-of sample forecasts of discrete dependent variables. This study describes the large and small sample properties of two forecast evaluation techniques for discrete dependent variables: receiver-operator curves and out-of-sample log-likelihood...

A Cox test with parametric bootstrap is developed to select between the linearized version of the First-Difference Almost Ideal Demand System (FDAIDS) and the Rotterdam model. A Cox test with parametric bootstrap has been shown to be more powerful than encompassing tests like those used in past...

The incentives researchers face depend directly upon what we as a profession value. The impacts of research can be either disciplinary by adding to economic knowledge or real world by being useful to economic agents. Various measures of research impact such as publications, citations, and...

The question addressed in this study is which length of historical moving average provides the best forecast of futures basis. Differences in observed forecast accuracy among the different moving averages are usually less than a cent per bushel, and most are not statistically significant....

Trends in the accuracy of USDA forecasts of beef and pork production and supply are evaluated for the period 1982-96. Findings of the study show that USDA forecasts underestimated production and supply in the 1980s, but this bias has now disappeared. The variance of forecasts also has declined....

Economists tend to focus on monetary incentives. In the model developed here, both sociological and economic incentives are used to diminish the apparent moral hazard problem existing in commodity grading. Training that promotes graders' response to sociological incentives is shown to increase...