This research examines returns to cattle feeding operations that sort animals prior to marketing using ultrasound technology. The returns to sorting are between $11 and $25 per head depending on the number of groups the pens into which cattle can be sorted. Sorting faces declining returns. These...

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...

The importance of heterogenous land quality in determining slippage on corn production in North Carolina is quantitatively analyzed. Field-level analysis controls for the influence of land productivity from other factors to determine the significance of the land decisions on slippage. Results...

Field level distributions of land quality are used to explain diversion decisions under U.S. commodity programs. Regression results for North Carolina indicate that differences in the yield potential of soils may influence the opportunity costs of land diversions. These effects increase with...

This study examined the production structure of smallholder dairy farms in Kenya’s marginal zones, using duality theory in production and costs. The restricted translog cost function was used to derive a system of six input share equations, which were estimated simultaneously with the...

Natural resource management decisions are complicated by multiple property rights, management objectives, and stakeholders with varying degrees of influence over the decision making process. Underlying institutional factors will give certain stakeholders a greater level of influence over the...

The market for conservation easements provides a way to ensure the continued existence of open space amenities where rural communities face development pressure. The object of this research is to identify factors affecting land trust agents’ preferences for conservation easements and to...