This study presents recent results on the impact of adopting Bt corn on farm profits, yields, and seed and insecticide use. The study employs an econometric model that corrects for self-selection and simultaneity and uses farm-level survey data for 2010. Results confirm previous findings that Bt...

This paper presents findings on the use of HT corn and quality-adjusted herbicide use for 12 key corn producing states using a panel data set for 1986-2008. Our preliminary findings indicate an insignificant impact of HT corn on herbicide use, conditioning or accounting for HT corn with other...

This paper presents the first part of an ongoing project whose objective is to present a long term relationship between conservation tillage, adoption of GE crops and pesticide use for major crops in the United States. In addition, the project aims to provide some innovative tests on causality...

Pesticide use has changed considerably over the past five decades. Rapid growth characterized the first 20 years, ending in 1981. The total quantity of pesticides applied to the 21 crops analyzed grew from 196 million pounds of pesticide active ingredients in 1960 to 632 million pounds in 1981....

We estimate the cost of offsets tied to reductions in the use of nitrogen on U.S. cornfields under the proposed American Clean Energy and Security Act.

This paper presents an econometric estimate of the effect of adopting organic tomatoes on yields, revenues, and farm profits. The model accounts for self-selection, simultaneity, and is theoretically consistent. Data are obtained from USDA=s 1998 survey, which for the first time provides data on...

While the growing importance of off-farm earnings suggests large benefits accrue to farmers from efforts to expand off-farm income opportunities, survival still depends on greater efficiency. To comprehensively gauge the economic health of farm operator households we interpret off-farm income as...

This paper estimates returns to scale and technical efficiency of corn farms following an input distance function approach and compares the relative performance of farm operator households with and without off-farm wages and salaries. We use 1995-2003 USDA data. The input distance function...

This paper develops an econometric model to analyze the onfarm impact of adoption of genetically engineered (GE) crops on pesticide use and yields after controlling for other factors. The model, which corrects for self-selection and simultaneity and is consistent with profit maximization, is...

The paper presents a model developed to examine the effects of industry concentration on market power and cost efficiency in the seed industry. In addition, the paper presents preliminary measures of the relative strengths of these effects for the case of the U.S. corn seed industry over the...