differences in farm-development strategies can be observed. The land market has been identified in the literature as crucial for farm growth. In various studies, developments are driven by assumptions about the effects of scale and the initial heterogeneity of farms. In contrast, the present...

This paper uses plant-level micro-data covering the 1987-2002 and a translog cost function to estimate long-run costs in the meat and poultry industry in order to evaluate the impact of the Pathogen Reduction Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point Rule on cattle, hog and chicken slaughter and...

U.S. agriculture is undergoing a tidal wave of change in its structure. A shift to supply chains and away from commodities and commodity markets is the hallmark of this new wave. The new agriculture of the 21st century will bring with it a new geography that may be nothing short of a revolution...

The distribution of commodity-related payments and Federal crop insurance indemnities to U.S. farmers has shifted to larger farms as more and more U.S. agricultural production is done on those farms. Since the operators of larger farms tend to have higher household incomes than other farm...

Firms in the agri-food industry are embedded in a system of institutions, regulations and policies that shape their economic environment and affect their conduct and performance. Changes in this system can propose new challenges for the firms that need to adequately and efficiently change and...

Analysis of changes in the industrial composition of economic activity (structural change) is important for informed policy making. Such analysis can best be undertaken using a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model. CGE models recognize links among industries arising from their roles as...

Processing plants in eight major food industries were highly productive before being acquired and they significantly improved their labor productivity afterward, Economic Research Service and U.S. Census Bureau researchers found in their analysis of Census data. The plant-level data on...

Marketing quota and price support programs for peanuts and tobacco were a longstanding feature of U.S. farm policy, from the 1930s until the Government enacted quota buyouts, in 2002 for peanuts and 2004 for tobacco. Quota owners were compensated with temporary payments, but elimination of the...

The grain/oilseed industry is undergoing considerable structural change in the form of mergers and the addition of new processing facilities to add value beyond commodity grade. The rapid structural changes in this industry call into question the relevance of previous research conducted in these...

The grain/oilseed industry is undergoing considerable structural change through mergers and new value-added businesses, which raises price-related questions. We analyze the level of price integration prior to and following a merger between two grain firms and the start-up of a producer-owned...