This discussion paper will briefly examine the concepts of risk and uncertainty, and the relevance of risk to decision making about animal health programs. Various techniques for dealing with uncertain cash flows will then be discussed, with particular emphasis on three extensions to the...

Weather conditions are a primary source of dairy production risk. Hot and humid weather induces heat stress, which reduces lactation. Heat abatement, such as ventilation, directly affects the temperature and humidity. Abatement can increase expected profit, but cannot eliminate the lost revenue...

A dynamic dual model of investment under uncertainty is applied to a panel of Finnish hog farms. Stochastic dynamic programming is used to characterize duality relations. The model accommodates irreversibility and/or asymmetric adjustment costs. Results have important implications for Finland's...

The objective of this study was to provide empirical insight into dairy farmers' goals, relative risk attitude, sources of risk and risk management responses. The study also examines whether organic dairy farming, leads to important risk sources not experienced in conventional farming and, if...

The paper discusses the context of changing sanitary-phyto-sanitary (SPS) standards, concerns, questions and studies related to food standards and safety,strategic options for developing countries to deal with rising standards, results for case studies on compliance costs, benefits and...

There is lack of consensus in the literature on the impact of contract farming on the welfare of smallholder farmers. Some authors argue that contact farming improves access to markets hence income, while others view contract farming as an avenue by which large corporations exploit smallholder...

Marketing and production contracts covered 39 percent of the value of U.S. agricultural production in 2008, up from 36 percent in 2001, and a substantial increase over 28 percent in 1991 and 11 percent in 1969. However, aggregate contract use has stabilized in recent years and no longer suggests...