This study sets out to empirically estimate the optimum annual replacement rate and age of cocoa trees in order to maximize the net present value of four common cocoa production systems. The study examines the costs and returns of four common cocoa production systems in Ghana associated with...

This poster describes the integration of life cycle costing capabilities into a life cycle assessment model of greenhouse gas emissions for US swine production. Combining both tools allows for a sustainable analysis of a process to identify potential production practices which are...

Our analysis found that agriculture is responsible for approximately 17% of jobs, labor income and value added in the state. More than half of the contributions accrue in nonagricultural sectors. Continued strength of agriculture is of paramount importance to maintain the social and economic...

This paper addresses the economic impacts of growth variability on market timing decisions in an all-in, all-out production system. Marketing decisions based on the pen average are determined to be different than those based on the entire distribution of output levels. A case study data set of...

This paper analyzes the rice production technology in Korea in the context of multi-output framework. The estimation uses a set of national farm-level panel data within the primal approach. The particular focus of the study is to analyze the existence of heterogeneous technologies for different...

This study was conducted to determine risk efficient production strategies for crop and livestock producers who have the opportunity to produce wheat as a dual-purpose forage and grain crop. Empirical data obtained from field trials were incorporated into an integrated crop and livestock...

This paper examines the Multi-Product Asymptotically Ideal Production Model as an alternative to the translog and normalized quadratic functional forms using farm level data. Factors such as ease of estimation, imposition of regularity conditions, and quantitative differences in empirical...

The study uses a partial equilibrium model to determine the benefits that would accrue to smallholder dairy producers and consumers from improved efficiency of Tanzania’s informal dairy value chain. Two sources of technical efficiency are analyzed, namely, cost efficiency and scale efficiency....

This study takes the standard acreage response model that stems from an expected utility framework, accounting for both price and yield variability, and nests it within a flexible semi-nonparametric (SNP) model consistent with farm-level decision models for computationally tractable results. We...

The current debate surrounding the 2012 Farm Act stresses cutting costs while maintaining, or even strengthening, farmers’ “safety net.” One way to cut costs is to reduce or eliminate potential overlap of farm program payments. Using simulations, we explore the interaction between the...