Conventional agricultural practices such as the use of the moldboard plough are no longer sustainable due to their extensive soil degradation effects. As a panacea, several Conservation Agriculture (CA) technologies have been promoted to improve soil structure and water conservation. However,...

Abstract Hoop house plasticulture has been promoted as a production technology that allows fruit and vegetable crops to be grown in the cool season months in early spring and late fall. At this time little information regarding the economics of hoop house plasticulture is available. Two fruit...

Every year hundreds of food recalls are made due to contamination. The main focus of this paper is to examine the effects of specific food events on consumers’ confidence in food safety as well as their preparedness regarding the United States food system. The food events studied in this are...

This study investigates the effects of the current recession on foreign direct investment (FDI) in the food sectors of developing countries. The study tests the hypothesis that the economic recession adversely affects FDI flows in the food sector. The specific objectives are: to identify...

Over 265 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa face malnutrition, chronic hunger, and poverty. One of the technologies that could help alleviate the perpetuating cycle of chronic hunger is biotechnology. Genetic modification (GM) has the potential to enhance agricultural productivity and improve...

Replaced with revised version of paper 02/22/11.

The stock management of irrigation and drainage facilities was macro-economically evaluated. The recursive-dynamic CGE model was developed and used for policy simulation. Results demonstrated that effects of activity spread to other industries and total benefit calculated by the consumers’...

Swinburne University (Langworthy, Howard, Fiona & Mawson, 2006), agri-tourism is a growing phenomenon in Australia, often most strongly associated with wine regions. Recommendations to improve include creation of tourism regions & cooperatives, cooperation between sectors (CVBs, restaurants),...

With the 2009 milk prices still fresh on everyone’s mind, there has been increased interest in ways to limit milk price volatility. Using SERF, this paper determined some dairies are willing to pay for limited milk price volatility and found a value they are willing to pay using risk premiums.

We theoretically examine a farmer’s coverage demand with area and individual insurance plans as either separate or integrated options. The individual and area losses are assumed to be imperfectly and positively correlated. With actuarially fair rates, the farmer will fully insure with the...