Finisher hog production in North America has shifted toward larger units and contract format since 1990. Exit among independent growers has been high. We develop a model showing that growers with any of three efficiency attributes (lower innate hazard of exit, variable costs, or contract...

 Finisher hog production in North America has seen a shift toward larger production units and contract-organized production since around 1990. Given the efficiency gains and conversion costs associated with contract production, growers may have to choose between long-term commitment through...

Finisher hog production in North America has seen a shift toward larger production units and contract-organized production since circa 1990. Given the efficiency gains and conversion costs associated with contract production, growers may have to choose between long term commitment through...

The most widely used measure of milk hygiene is Somatic Cell Count (SCC), where low SCC values indicate more wholesome milk. Dirt, often associated with grazing, carry bacteria and these bacteria can cause mastitis. Milk from cows with mastitis generally has higher SCC levels and cows with...

The U.S. dairy industry has seen major restructuring in the last few decades. The number of U.S. dairy farms has declined significantly and the decline has been concentrated among smaller farms. In the meantime, average dairy herd size increased from 19 cows in 1970 to 175 in 2010 and milk yield...

Imports of agricultural products into the United States represent a significant share of many foods consumed in the United States today. Inadequacy and problems of sanitation and hygiene deficiencies in exporting countries can lead to contamination in imported foods and pose a food safety risk....

In addition to the traditional economic factors such as income level and prices, food safety has a potentially significant impact on consumers' meat preferences. Therefore, understanding the consumers' responses to food safety information is important to policy analysts and the meat industry. As...

China's bilateral trade in food and agricultural products has grown dramatically following entry into the WTO, but the country faces significant problems related to sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) compliance. The authors summarize current SPS conditions, the food safety regulatory system,...