The impact of wheat diversity on the productivity of wheat in China is examined using total factor productivity (TFP) and an instrumental variable approach. TFP in seven key wheat-producing provinces in China shows significant, though variable, growth for all provinces during the period...

Predaceous and parasitic insects provide control of important citrus pests. However, many pesticides are toxic to these beneficials. Using California citrus grower survey data, this article tests whether landscape-level use of pesticides affects the presence of and reliance on Aphytis melinus,...

This study evaluates the potential economic impacts of ten novel traits in canola by employing a stochastic economic surplus model. Nitrogen use efficiency, water use efficiency, flea-beetle resistance, cold/freeze tolerance, and drought tolerance traits would have the largest economic impacts....

Using 23 years of data (1978-2000), this study examines seven vertically integrated sugar beet plants representing three different companies in the United States. The objective of this research is to identify the marginal costs of producing sugar beets for vertically integrated sugar beet...

Production uncertainty is commonly believed to be an impediment to the adoption of less pesticide-intensive methods in agriculture such as integrated pest management (IPM). To investigate the effects of pest control inputs on yields and yield variability, data from a cross-section of San Joaquin...

This study deals with modeling of production risk by means of a two-step procedure. In contrast to earlier studies of production risk, we do not immediately adopt restrictive functional forms for the risky production technology. We first test for the presence of production risk. If production...

Aggregate dual models are specified to examine multiple-output production relationships in each of four major, geographically dispersed, agricultural states (California, Iowa, Texas, and Florida). Three locally-flexible functional forms (translog, generalized Leontief, and normalized quadratic)...

Deregulation of the Australian dairy industry could affect the utilization of resources by milk producers and the profitability of dairy production. In this study we examine the feed mix that dairy producers use, both pastures and supplements, under partial and total deregulation. We are...

By using a stochastic frontier framework, the mutual effect of input use on production risk and inefficiency is investigated. Disentangling this mutual effect proves important for empirical reasons, at least when applied to west Tennessee cotton systems grown after various cover crops. The most...

Although mass-produced beers still represent the vast majority of U.S. beer sales, there has been a significant growth trend in the craft beer segment. This study analyzes the demand for beer as a differentiated product and estimates own-price, cross-price, and income elasticities for beer by...