This study provides a framework to value investment strategies to mitigate possible agro-terrorism occurrences in the food supply chain and to determine where these investments would reduce the most risk. This framework is applied to two food sectors that could be at risk: milk and green onions....

A principal-agent problem was specified to define the equilibrium solution of a contracting strategy for a U.S. supplier exporting wheat to meet EU traceability requirements. The buyer (principal) offers a contract, the supplier (agent) accepts the contract, and then the supplier decides whether...

The Canadian grain handling and transportation system has undergone substantial change in recent years, particularly since the elimination of rail subsidies in 1995. Competitive pressures and branch line abandonment have forced many primary elevators to close, while scores of new high-throughput...

Grain hauling railroads began offering shipping alternatives in the late 1980s that have made transportation decisions more strategic. Shippers now confront alternatives ranging from nearby and unguaranteed ordering to various durations of forward and guaranteed shipment. A dynamic stochastic...

Malt barley is an important specialty crop in the Northern Plains and growers mitigate risk with federally subsidized crop insurance and production contracts. However, growers face considerable risk due to "coverage gaps" in crop insurance that result in uncertain indemnity payments due to...

Fusarium Head Blight (FHB), commonly known as scab, has been a severe problem for wheat and barley producers since 1993. This study provides an update of economic losses suffered by wheat and barley producers in scab-affected regions in the United States. Emphasis is placed on estimating direct...

Canola has become an important crop in the last decade in the U.S. Production of canola is risky and competes with other crops which have a range of risk reduction mechanisms. Alternative contracting strategies were evaluated by comparing returns to labor and management for growers and gross...