This paper describes some key developments to USAGE, a dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of the US economy, aimed at enhancing its utility in agricultural and bio-fuels/bio-energy analysis. The USAGE model is a large-scale dynamic CGE model of the US economy developed by the...

In this paper we analyze the Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) effects of ethanol production expansion in Brazil through the use of an inter-regional, bottom-up, dynamic general equilibrium model calibrated with the 2005 Brazilian I-O table. A new methodology to deal with ILUC effects is...

TERM-H2O, a dynamic, multi-regional model has become a useful tool for analysing water policy issues in the Murray-Darling basin. Available data indicate that farm factor mobility has been an important avenue of adjustment to sharply reduced water availability during drought. The regional...

Infrastructure upgrades appear superficially to be a politically acceptable way of increasing environmental flows in the Murray-Darling Basin. From an economic perspective, their costs and benefits should be compared with other policy instruments. We do so using TERM-H2O, a dynamic regional CGE...

A new era of water scarcity has changed past patterns of feeding dairy cows in northern Victoria. This paper derives a model for estimating least-cost feeding of dairy cows under a range of assumptions regarding prices for irrigation water, hay and feed grain. The cost-minimisation is subject to...

Conditions for the dairy industry in northern Victoria over the past decade have been tough. High prices for feed inputs, especially when combined with low farmgate milk prices, have seen situations where dairy farmers are losing money feeding cows. In this environment, it is natural to consider...

Agriculture area and production has expanded greatly in Brazil during the last 40 years. The area of annual crops almost doubled, while the area planted for pastures and forestry tripled. However, the rate of deforestation has considerably reduced since 2004. In this paper we analyze the effect...