Information on prices and price risk differences across marketing arrangements aids fed cattle producers in making choices about marketing methods. As part of the congressionally mandated Livestock and Meat Marketing Study, we investigated fed cattle price and price risk differences across...

Based on an econometric analysis of the data obtained from a survey of meat plants( ) in Iowa in summer 2007, this paper identifies the factors impacting the meatplants’ voluntary adoption of forward and backward traceability activities. The resultssuggest that the ownership type (corporate...

A 2007 survey of US pork producers indicated that nearly two-thirds of US hogs are produced by less than 200 firms marketing 50,000 or more hogs per year. We estimate that 27 operations marketing at least 500,000 hogs a year sold 43% of US hogs in 2006. The next 164 operations marketing between...

After controlling a variety of feeder cattle characteristics and market and sale conditions, weestimate the price premiums for preconditioning (vaccinations and minimum 30 days weaning)claims with and without third-party certification (TPC) as $6.15/cwt and $3.40/cwt, respectively,in Iowa feeder...

Year round grazing systems that utilize stockpiled forage and/or crop residue are oftenpromoted as a way for Northern and Western cow-calf producers to reduce winterfeeding costs and improve overall profitability. This study compared the profitability of aconventional spring calving/summer...

Worldwide, a segment of consumers can afford to pay substantial price premiums for very high quality agricultural products with attributes those consumers value. At the same time, many U.S. farmers are producing these high-quality products but are not using market mechanisms that allow them to...

Australia and New Zealand are major beef producing countries and major beef exporters. Unlike the case in the United States, where less than 10 percent of beef is exported, approximately 60 percent of Australia's and 85 percent of New Zealand's beef production is exported. Because of their...

Worldwide, a segment of consumers can afford to pay substantial price premiums for very high quality agricultural products with attributes those consumers value. At the same time, many U.S. farmers are producing these high-quality products but are not using market mechanisms that allow them to...

The declining share of beef in total U.S. meat consumption has motivated industry-­wide efforts to improve average beef quality through more effective coordination among the various market participants. Increased use of explicit "grid" pricing mechanisms over the last decade represents...