Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item Productivity of resources used in grade A milk production in Ravalli County, Montana(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1960) Rixe, Lloyd C.Item Milking cows before parturition(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1951) Smith, Ervin P.Item The feeding of mustard oil meal in the concentrate mixture to dairy calves(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1950) Huang, Wei-yipItem Effectiveness of selected methods for increasing the consumption of dairy products in Montana(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1959) Rehberg, Wallace A.Item Resale price controls and non-price competition in the fluid milk industry(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1983) Cummings, Thomas VanceItem Accounting for federal dairy program expenditures : a macroeconomic approach(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1988) Suydam, Stacey Lynn; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Ann L. Adair.Dairy products account for 13 percent of the total cash receipts from all farm commodities. In addition, fluid milk and dairy products represent about 15 percent of consumer expenditures for food. The U.S. dairy industry is subjected to more federal government regulation than any other agricultural industry and therefore, is highly affected by farm policy decisions. Although many studies have evaluated the effects of government intervention in the dairy sector, none have done so in a fully simultaneous, general equilibrium context. The objective of this study is to specify equations which capture the interaction between the government sector and the dairy sector. The equations needed to account for the direct and indirect linkages between the U.S. dairy sector and the federal government sector were specified according to economic theory and then estimated using the ordinary least squares estimation procedure. The estimated equations were then validated by simulating outside of the sample period and examining the root-mean-square percent error. In order to simulate the dairy sector model in a general equilibriun context, the equations were endogenized into an existing macroeconometric model (COMGEM). This provides a framework which allows the analysis of the impacts of changes in various policy variables on the dairy and government sectors, as well as the general economy. The study examines the effects of specifying the price support for milk an additional 25 cents per cwt lower than the levels established in the 1985 farm bill for 1988 and 1989. The analysis implies .that additional reductions in the price support for milk are needed in order to bring the current production/consumption imbalance back into line. The small reduction in this component of the farm program did not significantly affect macroeconomic level variables, but did reduce federal expenditures on the dairy program without significantly reducing net farm income. Alternative policy scenarios can be evaluated using this framework to assess the potential impacts of proposed policy changes on the farm sector and the cost to taxpayers of implementing the changes.Item A location analysis of milk processing in Montana(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1982) McArthur, John Robert, 1957-; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Myles Watts.A mixed integer linear programming model is used to determine the number, size, and location of milk processing plants in Montana that minimizes total assembly, distribution, and processing costs. The model selected accounts for economies of size in the objective function and is based on the Stollsteimer location model. The minimum cost solution contained four plants of varying size located one each in Great Falls, Missoula, Bozeman, and Billings. The minimum cost solution was contrasted to the estimated present situation which includes eleven relatively large plants. Total costs for the present situation were 4.9 cents per gallon of milk higher than the least cost solution. A total cost curve with respect to plant numbers was estimated. The curve exhibited a wide range of relative flatness which infers that adjustment to fewer and larger plants will be relatively slow.Item The effects of U.S. dairy regulations on herd improvement activities(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1987) Olson, Jeffrey Carl; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Jeffrey T. LaFrance.In order to assure an adequate supply of milk and increase dairy producers' incomes, the U.S. Government, through the Federal dairy regulations, has increased the price of milk received by farmers above that which would prevail under a competitive pricing system. In response to the higher price of milk, dairy producers have increased the total amount of milk they supply. Investigation of these responses and the factors causing them provides information about the impacts and effectiveness of the U.S. dairy regulations. This study examines two aspects of dairy producers' responses to the dairy regulations. These are: (1) What is the relationship between profit incentives created by the dairy program and farmers' decisions to improve the productivity of dairy herds through herd quality testing activities? and (2) Have the short run profits created by the dairy regulations been capitalized into the market prices of replacement dairy cattle? The results of the investigation suggest that there is no significant relationship between dairy profitability, as defined in the research, and the level of participation in Dairy Herd Improvement Association testing of dairy cattle. Further, the profitability created by the dairy program appears to be completely capitalized into the prices of dairy cattle implying that, in the long run, economic profits to dairy producers are zero. Consequently, the dairy regulations appear to have little impact on the adoption of herd improvement activities. However, the U.S. Government efforts to achieve the goals of the regulations are largely frustrated by the competitive nature of the production sector in the U.S. dairy industry.Item Producer's surplus and rents in the U.S. dairy industry(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1992) Cheng, Wen Li; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Ronald N. Johnson.The term "producer's surplus" is commonly used in the economics literature to refer to gains from trade to the suppliers of a particular good. While common, the term has been applied ambiguously and seldom is defined in a consistent manner. This study provides a consistent and workable definition of the term "producer's surplus." In the short-run, producer's surplus is the sum of profit and quasi-rent that belongs to the firm or factor owners, or both, depending on the contract. In the long-run, it is a measure of the rents to specialized factors used in the production of the industry output, and is captured by the owners of the specialized factors. An application, using the long run concept of producer's surplus, is provided. Rents in the U.S. dairy industry during 1950-1989 are estimated, and specialized factors receiving these rents identified. The estimated rents, in constant 1967 dollars, ranged from 2285.1 million in 1952 to 1596.6 million in 1988. Two empirical models are constructed to test the relationship between the estimated rents and possible specialized factors in the dairy industry: land and dairy cows. The empirical results support the hypothesis that dairy cows are a specialized factor in the dairy industry, but reject a significant relationship for land. It is also shown that, in the dairy industry, rent dissipation through competition in the political market and inventive activity are relatively insignificant.