A bivariate probit model was used to determine public and private food assistance participation among the population below 125 percent poverty level, using the Current Population Survey data. Food stamp use and food pantry use were complements. Household income, food insecurity status, household...

Critical factors affecting risk and profitability for cattle owners under contract grazing include cattle weight at purchase and time spent on pasture and feedlot. Buying lighter animals and placing them in pastures before sending them to feedlot is the most profitable as well as least risky...

In the South, turfgrass-sod has been a profitable alternative to row crops for many years. With depressed housing markets and higher crop prices, the current economic competitiveness of turfgrass-sod depends critically on the ability to harvest the crop as soon as it matures, and on input and...

Switchgrass (panicum virgatum L.), a viable option for second-generation renewable fuels, has an extended harvest window with optimal harvest affected by yield, storage losses and nutrient uptake. This research shows that optimal harvest occurs later than maximum yield for Haskell, OK and...

A spreadsheet-based tool that tracks cow-calf producer net returns (NR) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions was used to determine the impact of calving season for three typical farm sizes and four fertilization strategies in Arkansas. Economic and environmental changes were examined for spring,...

Concern over GHG emissions has producers analyzing cattle production alternatives. One way producers can modify emissions is by changing herd sire genetics. The ‘Bull Estimator’, part of a recently developed cow-calf profitability and GHG spreadsheet tool, shows that genetic change can...

U.S. agriculture has seen a decrease in of producers under the age of 35 entering agriculture for the past thirty years. This paper will explore the design and possible implementation of an innovative loan program designed give qualifying new young and beginning producers concessionary interest...

Simulation of production budgets were used to compare net discounted returns and the distribution of returns under alternative risk-mitigation scenarios. Results indicate that the combination of freeze protection and crop insurance increases expected net discounted 20-year returns while...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has determined that agricultural irrigation in Arkansas’ Delta is unsustainable with significant negative economic repercussions on producers net returns affected by the Alluvial aquifer. This study examines how irrigation restrictions in that region would...

With the Waxman-Markey Bill passing the House and the Obama administration’s push to reduce carbon emissions, the likelihood of the implementation of some form of a carbon policy is increasing. This study estimates the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the six largest crops produced in...