EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Canadian beef industry has stated objectives of improving beef quality and consumer satisfaction while reducing unit costs of production. Suggested methods for achieving these goals include working towards value based marketing and improved information flows between...

This paper explores an optimal sharing contract between a grape grower and a winery, when a risk-averse grower allocates efforts among multiple activities that differe in measurability, while double-sided moral hazard is assumed to be present. The contract allows for asymmetric quality...

A farmer planning to use Net Present Value (NPV) analysis on machinery requires estimates of operating benefits over time, an estimate of terminal or salvage values and a risk-adjusted discount rate. Using financial market information and related Root Mean Square Errors on machinery value...

Financial principles of project investment analysis deal with the cost and benefit flows over time. Invariably, the correct future cash flows and exact risks are unknown. The agricultural academic literature devotes substantial energy to discussing the estimation of the cash flows but it is...

The provincial government of Alberta in Canada experiences significant annual revenue variability arising from changes in crude oil and natural gas prices. This research evaluated whether Alberta’s non-renewable revenue risk could be managed using a derivatives hedging program. Results from a...

This paper examines alternative risk management strategies in terms of their effectiveness for three representative Alberta farm operations. Stochastic dynamic simulation methods are used to model financial performance for these farms, and alternative risk management programs are compared in...

A new urgency is emerging around nuclear power development and this urgency is accentuated by the post-tsunami events at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. This urgency extends beyond these dramatic events in Japan, however, to many other regions of the world and situations...

Recent studies shows that marketing potential for BSE-tested and traceable beef might exist (Abidoye, et al. 2011, Bailey, et al. 2005, Dickinson and Bailey 2002, Dickinson and Bailey 2005, Loureiro and Umberger 2007). Although consumers’ willingness to pay for is a necessary condition for...

In this study the effect of consumers’ trust in agencies on risk perceptions, risk attitudes and selfreported responses to food safety events is assessed. The particular focus is on how trust has influenced self-reported reductions in consumption of beef in the U.S. and Canada, and pork in...