The passage of the 2002 Farm Bill and the removal of the peanut quota system revealed underlying fundamental problems in the Virginia peanut industry. Lower yields and high costs plague producers at the farm level, acreage levels continue to decline and it is doubtful that peanut production in...

The 1996 and 2002 Farm Bill changes in milk support price legislationderegulated the market and milk prices are more volatile than ever. The use of amechanism to reduce farmers' exposure to volatile milk prices has therefore becomeessential. This study evaluates the impact of two hedging...

Two very important benchmarks in the development of a marketing strategy are the variable and fixed costs of production. Every farmer has costs of production that are unique to their particular farm. Accurately identifying the costs of production or break even costs for the various crop...

Contracting has increased significantly in the U.S. livestock-meat sector. Over half of finished hogs and about a third of fed cattle are marketed under some form of contract. Contracting motives vary by type of contract, whether buyer or seller, and by commodity. Several motives for buyers and...

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