This report examines optimum supply formula (OSF) in the tart cherry industry. The OSF is a tool for stabilizing market prices as authorized by a federal market order (FMO). The current OSF sets the optimum supply volume (OSV), or free sales of tart cherries in a given harvest year equal to the...

An analytical model is developed to examine product quality labeling. Prior to labeling all consumers are willing to pay a premium for the quality characteristic but product quality cannot be observed directly. If production costs are increasing, the total quantity produced may contain a mix of...

Replaced with revised version of paper 08/06/10.

Certified labeling for credence attributes is examined using the concepts of pooled and separating equilibria. The analysis addresses a latent credence good demand that differs from a conventional good demand by willingness to pay for the credence characteristic. Third-party certified labeling...

We analyze price and quality information at the procurement level in the specialty coffee supply chain using data from small and large volume e-auctions. Hedonic price equations reveal that the Cup of Excellence auction is a more differentiated market disclosing more information about coffee...

The multifunctional set of services provided by farmland complicates the task of identifying which farmland should be preserved. For this reason many states and local governments establish criteria to rank and select parcels of farmland for protection. This study examines whether criteria...