A sample of Kansas farms was used to examine the impact of risk and specialization on mean financial performance. Mean financial performance was hypothesized to be influenced by risk, age of the operator, percentage of acres owned, financial efficiency, leverage, specialization, and farm size....

Parametric, non-parametric, and semi-parametric approaches are commonly used for modeling correlated distributions. Semi-parametric and non-parametric approaches are used to examine the risk situation for Kansas agriculture. Results from the model indicate that 2000 will be another difficult...

This study evaluates the economic competitiveness of a sample of Kansas farrow-to-finish operations by estimating relative firm efficiency using nonparametric mathematical programming techniques. Measures of technical, allocative, scale, economic, and overall efficiency are then related to farm...

This paper examines productivity of a sample of grain marketing and farm supply cooperatives from 1990 to 1998. The cooperative industry’s productivity or growth was mainly due to improvement in technology rather than improvement in pure efficiency or scale. The cooperative...

There has been much hype around online education creating a revolution in education. Studies analyzing the use of distance education at the graduate level have been limited. This article uses Kansas State University's Master of Agribusiness program as a case study. Educational theory related to...

Competitive pressures in the cow-calf sector increased in 1995 because of a decline of 27% in calf prices. Technical, allocative, and scale efficiency measures were used to examine the competitiveness of a sample of Kansas beef cow farms. On average, the farms were 78% technically efficient, 81%...

This study evaluates the attitudes of U.S. (Kansas) farmers regarding "free-trade" and "free-market" policy environments. In contrast to earlier studies, non-specific policy attitudes are evaluated. A direct measure of farm program benefits is also included. Attitudes vary significantly with...

We review the implications of the 2007 Farm Bill for the risk management dimensions of U.S. agriculture and policy. Legislative proposals suggest significant changes in risk management policy, including the introduction of state or national revenue insurance. We also pursue an empirical analysis...

The US pork sector has experienced many significant structural changes in recent years. Such changes may have influenced price dynamics and transmission of shocks through marketing channels. We investigate linkages among farm, wholesale, and retail markets using weekly price data for the period...

Cattle feeding enterprises operate amid variability originating in prices and production. This research explicitly models yield risks related to cattle feeding by relating the mean and variance of yield performance factors to observable conditioning variables. The results demonstrate that pen...