Simulation methods are used to measure the expected differentials between the Mean Square Errors of the forecasts from models based on temporally disaggregated versus aggregated data. This allows for novel comparisons including long-order ARMA models, such as those expected with weekly data,...

Agricultural production is highly dependent on inorganic substances including fertilizers. High-yielding crop varieties, such as corn, require large amounts of primary nutrients including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Farmers often add a surplus of nutrients to crops to maximize yields....

This briefing paper reviews the role that the proposed Conservation Security Act plays in improving US competitiveness in global markets for organic agriculture products. The European Union provides direct payments to organic farmers through an agri-environmental program that is considered a...

A side agreement to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) enables Mexico to ship more duty-free sugar to the United States than under the pre-1994 restrictive country-specific, tariff-rate quota (TRQ) policy. But U.S. and Mexican negotiators disagree over the issue of exactly how much...

This paper describes important markets for organic foods in Europe, Japan, and North America. The effects on demand of price premiums, distribution channels, consumer characteristics, and key consumer issues (price-quality trade off, country of origin, GMO content, and social process) are discussed.

Research on rollover hedging for agricultural commodities has focused on the consequences of using existing contracts to substitute for missing long-term contracts. It appears that some grains are candidates for rollover hedging while livestock is not. Cotton was analyzed to evaluate the...

A system of nine censored Engel curve equations was estimated for Hispanic households in the U.S.: grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, meat, legumes, fats, sugar, and beverages. Income and household size elasticities, with their respective confidence intervals, are reported and the results...

This compilation of papers for principal papers session PP-03 at the AAEA 1998 Annual Meeting assesses the current status of the organic agriculture industry in the United States. Paper topics address production, market and certification issues faced by the industry, research challenges and...

Given that existing food eco-labels are still not well defined in consumers' experience, there is potential for new labels to generate more confusion. Consumers incur fixed costs to learn about a label's meaning. Market shares for existing certifications may be eroded by perceptions that new...