U.S. participation in trade liberalization agreements with Canada and Mexico through the Canada–U.S. Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has generated intense debates in agricultural sectors about the benefits and costs of those agreements. The CFTA...

Changes in health care policies, demographics, and technology have presented new opportunities for the delivery of medical care services and information to rural communities. Telemedicinethe use of electronic information and communications technologies to provide and support health care when...

Agricultural industries, producers, and producer organizations are often counseled to develop strategies or strategic alliances to address changing market and political environments. Over the next twenty years, production agriculture will experience fundamental changes, which, because of its...

U.S. live cattle and beef trade has increased substantially since the mid-1980s. Total beef imports (cattle and beef, dressed weight) increased from 2.51 billion pounds in 1985 to 3.89 billion pounds in 1998. Total beef exports (cattle and beef, dressed weight) increased from 0.42 billion pounds...

Substantial changes have taken place recently in the regulation of agricultural trade in North America. The effect of these changes on trade in agricultural commodities is of particular interest to producers and policymakers in the Northern Plains and Rockies region. In this paper, we discuss...

The Uruguay Round trade negotiations completed in April 1994 reduced beef trade barriers. Trade barriers for beef products have historically been significant. The Uruguay Round essentially converts many nontariff barriers (quotas) to tariffs (tariffication), includes safeguards for import...

Grain transportation is one of the most important economic issues for grain producers in the Northern Plains. The reliance on export markets and the long distances to port position means that transportation costs have a significant effect on the price received by farmers. In the prairie region...

The live cattle and beef markets of Canada and the United States are well integrated and highly interdependent, but in an unequal fashion. This paper assesses the role of trade agreements and domestic policies in increasing market integration and analyses the impact of remaining barriers to...

The 1996 Farm Bill, now known as the FAIR (Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform) Act of 1996, has been portrayed as reforming U.S. agricultural policy. Gone are set aside and base acreage controls over farm planting decisions. Gone, too, are deficiency payment programs that provided...