Agriculture’s strong financial performance is projected to ease in 2012, with declines for all three measures of sector earnings. •Net farm income is forecast to fall to $91.7 billion in 2012, down 6.5 percent from the 2011 forecast, but still the second highest nominal value on record....

Timely adoption of new varieties is critical to profitable peach production, and peach quality is a primary factor driving adoption. An adoption model for peach varieties is estimated, incorporating grower evaluations of peach quality. The model identifies the impact of farm characteristics such...

We evaluate agricultural bank management performance, focusing on the impacts of interstate banking laws on productivity change. The generalized Malmquist productivity index decomposes productivity change into technological change, technical efficiency change, and change in scale economies....

Responses from a national survey of U.S. organic farmers indicated substantial dissatisfaction with the extension service. An ordered probit model was used to identify the factors influencing effectiveness ratings of extension advisors by farmers. This study showed that part time, higher income...

Coastal coral reefs, especially in the Florida Keys, are declining at a disturbing rate. Marine ecologists and reef scientists have emphasized the importance of establishing nonmarket values of coral reefs to assess the cost effectiveness of coral reef management and remediation programs. The...

Farmer's willingness to voluntarily reduce insecticide use is not considered when regulatory approaches to environmental protection are proposed. Regulations that require behavior that would voluntarily be undertaken are excessive and economically inefficient. Using survey data from a contingent...