Scholarship & Research
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Item Economic determinants of the variation in average carcass weight for United States slaughter cattle(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2016) Vogstad, Amanda Rae; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Randal R. RuckerOver the past century, average carcass weights of slaughter cattle have demonstrated a substantial upward trend, as well as year-to-year volatility. Since the mid-1970s however, increasing average carcass weights have coincided with high levels of beef production but with diminishing beef cow herds. Increased beef production with fewer cow numbers is likely explained by technological advancements throughout the beef industry. Annual variability in average carcass weight, on the other hand, is hypothesized to arise because of the dynamics of fed cattle production arising from changes in input and output prices. To identify the economic factors responsible for the variation in average carcass weight theoretical and empirical models are developed. Based on the theoretical model, cattle feeders choose the levels of corn and labor that yield optimal carcass weights by equating each factor's value marginal product to the marginal cost. Theoretical predictions are then tested using 85 years of aggregate annual data in a distributed lag model. Overall, we find coefficient estimates on the input and output prices consistent in sign with our theoretical predictions. Of importance is the finding that the manufacturing wage accounts for an estimated 61 percent of the total input and output price induced variation in average carcass weight. A trend for technological change in the beef industry accounts for a yearly increase in average carcass weight of 3.6 pounds.Item An economic survey of Beaverhead and Madison counties, Montana(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1937) Young, Dudley E.Item An analysis of interdependence in the Montana economy : an input-output study(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1969) Hoff, Theodore AustinItem An updated input-output study of Montana(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1971) Mitchell, Donald OrvilleItem Evaluation of Crop Insurance Yield Guarantees and Producer Welfare with Upward Trending Yields(2012-12) Adhikari, Subodh; Knight, T. O.; Belasco, Eric J.Actual Production History (APH) yields play a critical role in determining the coverage offered to producers by the Risk Management Agency’s yield-based crop insurance products. Using both county and individual insured unit data, we examine the impact of APH yield trends for Texas cotton and Illinois corn. Our findings indicate that biases due to using simple average APH yields when yields are trending upward reduce the expected indemnity and actuarially fair premium rate. The estimated welfare effect also varies significantly with different commonly used detrending approaches. This study demonstrates that producer welfare can be enhanced through proper treatment of yield trends in crop insurance programs.Item Yield Guarantee Determination and the Producer Welfare Benefits of Crop Insurance(2013) Adhikari, Subodh; Knight, T. O.; Belasco, Eric J.Farm-level crop insurance guarantees are based on a small sample of historical yields. Two measures enacted by Congress, yield substitution and yield floors, are intended to mitigate the erratic nature of small samples in determining yield guarantees. We examine the impact of small samples and related policy provisions on the producer welfare benefits of individual-level yield insurance. Our findings indicate that sampling variability in Actual Production History (APH) yields has the potential to reduce producer welfare and that the magnitude of this effect differs substantially across crops. The yield substitution and yield floor provisions mitigate the negative impact of sampling error but also bias guarantees upward, increasing government cost of the insurance programs.