Buyers and sellers of agricultural commodities benefit from public provision of information in decision-making processes. The purpose of this study is to improve understanding of current preferences for public agricultural information. Results indicate preference for farm level reports by...

This paper explores the tradeoffs that agricultural economists accept for current levels of information contained in two U.S. Department of Agriculture livestock reports. Our analysis compares the components of a report to its value in improving understanding of market dynamics, expense,...

Relatively low crop prices over the past two years, as well as regional weather adversity, has been the catalyst for the passage of "ad hoc" emergency relief. This paper examines the economic and financial status of 41 representative panel farms over the 1999-2002 period. When forecasting...

Explaining the details and the impacts of government program provisions to agricultural producers can be a challenge for extension educators. This paper introduces a visual interactive tool that demonstrates the calculations of government payments established in the 2002 farm bill. Additionally,...

The marketing loan program associated with rice features benefits calculated using a USDA-announced World Market Price (WMP) rather than the posted county prices that are used for most other commodities. This results in reduced risk protection for producers relative to other crops, and greater...

Evaluating the performance of our current farm programs initially requires a specification of policy goals. In performing this exercise, we conclude that the goals have changed, much like the policies have changed. We then evaluate whether the current set of policies will fulfill the goals in a...