Multidisciplinary research and extension involving agricultural economics and sister agricultural disciplines entail several tensions arising out of differences in perspective and methodology. Recognition of these differences is essential to the achievement of effective and productive working...

The environmental effects of various 'quality' and 'eco-labeling' programs in the Midi-Pyrenees region of the south of France are analyzed, using factor analysis, analysis of variance, and qualitative analysis. Implications for agri-environmental policies on both sides of the Atlantic are discussed.

U.S. farm legislation is due to be updated in 2007, to become effective with the 2008 crop year. Major questions surround the role of environmental or conservation provisions in the new Federal farm bill. In this paper, I first present some background on the evolution of U.S....

As part of the sustainable agriculture research program in the Economics Department at South Dakota State University (SDSU), ‘organic’ and ‘conventional’ crop prices have been compared for nearly a decade. This pamphlet serves as an update of price comparisons through 2003 and a final...

The potential of the USDA’s new Conservation Security Program (CSP) for inducing farmers to adopt more ecologically diverse crop rotations in the Western Corn Belt is examined. Simulations are conducted for a representative farm model in southeastern South Dakota, using different assumptions...

The potential of the USDA's new Conservation Security Program (CSP) for inducing farmers to adopt more ecologically diverse crop rotations in the Western Corn Belt is examined. Simulations are conducted for a representative farm model in southeastern South Dakota, using different assumptions...

Small-scale alcohol plants will have difficulty in supplying fuel that is competitive in cost with petroleum-based fuels. This is based upon economic findings form interdisciplinary research with a pilot fuel alcohol plant. Results of economic-engineering cost analyses and of fuel and feed...