A Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier function is estimated for the cow-calf enterprises in the Texas Rolling Plains using Standardized Performance Analysis (SPA) data. We find that factors promoting higher herd productivity include machinery investment, pasture-quality improvement, and protein...

This paper considers the economic and environmental implications of regulating water and air nitrogen emissions under single and multi-environmental media policies in the U.S. hog industry. We examine tradeoffs from policies designed to correct an externality in one medium, when there are...

Dairy policy often becomes a contentious topic during U.S. farm bill negotiations. The dairy subtitle of the 2012 farm bill has been debated and discussed since 2009. This research uses best-worst scenario methods to analyze dairy farmer preferences for policy options, including eliminating...

Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court considered whether the mandatory fees imposed by the beef checkoff violates the First Amendment. As a precaution, many states began forming voluntary beef checkoffs, where funds would be raised through voluntary contributions. This study conducted a survey of...

Proponents of the U.S. mandatory country-of-origin labeling (MCOOL) law have argued that consumers prefer domestic meat and value labels confirming domestic origin. Following legislation enacted in March 2009, an ex post analysis of demand is possible to evaluate relative costs and benefits of...

Value-added management practices for cow-calf producers have become prevalent as feeders have recognized the value of calves raised with certified health and weaning programs. Export markets requiring age and source verification or non-hormone treated cattle and advancement of markets for...

Past value-added research employs hedonic pricing models to estimate premiums associated with value-added feeder cattle characteristics. However, hedonic pricing models require restrictive assumptions and impose a functional form. Producers also self-select into a treatment group, potentially...

Many value-added practices cannot be observed by feeder cattle buyers. Third-party verification can decrease market inefficiency associated with this asymmetric information. We evaluate the effectiveness of a verification program, the Oklahoma Quality Beef Network, in increasing received prices....

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...

A hypothetical choice experiment was conducted to determine consumers’ willingness to pay for three verified production practice attributes (pasture access, antibiotic use, and individual crates/stalls) in smoked ham and ham lunchmeat. These attributes were verified by the USDA Process...