The optimal switchgrass genotype from among 250 alternatives for producing biomass for use in an enzymatic hydrolysis conversion process to produce ethanol was determined. The consequences of the selected genotype, relative to the most common commercially available variety, on ethanol production...

Energy beets (Beta vulgaris L.) meet the requirements for advanced biofuel feedstocks under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. A mixed-integer programming model was constructed to determine the breakeven price of ethanol from energy beets, and to determine the optimal size and...

Agri-food markets are restructuring, characterised by an increased consolidation and concentration of the industry, as supermarkets continue to expand at an exponential rate throughout the region. Unlike the global phenomenon where the formal markets are replacing informal markets, this is not...

Reliable data on private sector agricultural research and development is globally scarce, particularly in developing countries. In South Africa, it has been observed that research performance by the public sector via the Agricultural Research Council has declined in recent years and...

This study was conducted to determine the value of two monensin supplementation strategies for steers and heifers pastured on fall/winter wheat relative to the value of a freechoice mineral supplement containing no monensin. A second objective was to determine the value of extending the...

The objective of this study was to determine production costs for both conventional tillage and no-till for continuous monoculture wheat production in the southern Great Plains. The reduction in the price of glyphosate after the original patent expired has improved the relative economics of...

Winter wheat can be managed to produce a substantial quantity of high quality fall-winter forage. Wheat producers may lease the grazing rights to livestock producers. This system generates income from both forage and grain, but results in a lower expected grain yield than wheat managed to...

Short-term contracts provide weak incentives for durable input investment if post-contract asset transfer is difficult. Our model shows that when both agents provide inputs, optimal contract length balances the weak incentives of one agent against the other's. This perspective broadens the...

This paper characterizes a set of Nash equilibria in a first-price sealed-bid auction with the right of first refusal using two bidders and asymmetric information regarding the bidders’ value distributions. The equilibria for multiple bidders and a more general value distribution are also...