The projections for feed and milk prices have changed over the last year. This study looks at how the changes affect the dairy industry. The high feed prices have been trumped by higher milk prices and the economic viability of the dairy industry has improved across the board.

The resurgence of interest in ethanol production has also prompted interest in Texas. Projected net present values for ethanol plant investment are well below zero for corn based ethanol plants, but are positive for sorghum. Sensitivity analysis indicates relatively small increases in ethanol...

The increased contribution of decoupled government payments on rice base acreage has led to a major change in land tenure agreements for rice-producing tenants and landlords in the Texas Coastal Bend. This paper reviews how Extension programming provides information and decision support aids to...

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) beef grading system plays an important role in marketing and promoting of beef. USDA graders inspect beef carcasses and determine quality grade within a few seconds. Although the graders are well-trained, the nature of this grading process may...

Agricultural producers have used futures markets to manage price risk, confident that 1) cash and futures prices move together over time, 2) cash and futures prices converge as the contract approaches expiration, and 3) funds held in margin accounts as a performance bond were secure in...

Explaining the details and the impacts of government program provisions to agricultural producers can be a challenge for extension educators. This paper introduces a visual interactive tool that demonstrates the calculations of government payments established in the 2002 farm bill. Additionally,...

The 1996 and 2002 farm bills moved government support toward decoupled tools rather than support coupled to production and/or prices. This paper analyzes whether areas with more production risk would prefer decoupled or coupled support. The results indicate areas with more yield risk would...

The sensitivity of net cash farm income to changes in selected production variables, output prices, and input costs varies significantly across representative U.S. dairies. Different regions of the country were impacted differently by changes to production and prices.

Historically, U.S. dairymen have been thought to move to a new location to seek better economic opportunities or to leave an area that has become disadvantaged due to regulation or economics. Recently, there again have been major shifts in dairy production across the United States.