Consistency of functional characteristics in wheat is a concern confronting buyers and sellers. This research analyzes the cost and risk of different procurement strategies for importers. A stochastic simulation model is used to determine the probability of functional characteristics being...

StarLink corn, a variety not approved for human use, disrupted the marketing system in 2000 because of inadvertent commingling. This paper provides an overview of the economics of testing grain for biotech content. What are the risks facing buyers and sellers, and how are these influenced by...

Suppose a farmer had to apply a herbicide pre-emergence or not at all. The advent of a herbicide-tolerance trait innovation then provides the option to wait for more information before making a state-contingent post-emergence application. This option to wait can increase or decrease average...

Few farmers utilize futures and options markets to price their crops despite significant educational efforts. This study seeks to analyze producer hedging behavior within the framework of the overall marketing behavior. Producer marketing behavior is modeled as a simultaneous choice between cash...

A growth accounting method is used to analyze the sources of growth in China's rice, wheat, corn and soybeans, the four most important crops in China's grain sector, during 1978-97. A large TFP contribution to growth in grain production is found in the period immediately following China's rural...

This paper develops a model of optimal allocation of GM and non-GM crops under contamination risk. The model is used to compare the producer optimal crop allocation at equilibrium to the social efficient crop allocation. From the socially optimum conditions, the paper identifies production...

This paper presents preliminary evidence on the effect of crop insurance on fertilizer and chemical inputs in agriculture. Our estimates are based on two sources of identification that emerge from a policy change concerning insurance subsidies that approximately doubled total premiums and the...