Bengt Hyberg

The market valuation of wheat quality characteristics

Addresses whether the grain quality factors used by the Federal Grain Inspection Service of the US Department of Agriculture in determining the quality grades of wheat exported by the USA including test weight, dockage, moisture content, percentage of foreign material, percentage of shrunken and broken kernels, and protein content, are characteristics that influence the price of wheat for export. Using data on the transactions price for hard red winter wheat, hard red spring wheat, and soft white wheat and the associated quality characteristics, exported between January 1990 and October 1991 to 63 countries, finds that only the test weight and the protein content are characteristics consistently valued by the market.

The market valuation of the FGIS grain quality characteristics

The issue addressed in this paper is whether the grain quality factors used by the Federal Grain Inspection Service in determining the quality grades of wheat exported by the United States including test weight, dockage, moisture content, percentage of foreign material, percentage of shrunken and broken kernels, and protein content are characteristics that influence the price of wheat for export. Using shiplot data on the transactions price for hard red winter wheat, hard red spring wheat and soft white wheat and the associated quality characteristics covering the period January 1990 to October 1991 and exported to 63 countires, the results suggest that only the test weight and the protein content are characteristics consistently valued by the market.

The integration of the market for soybeans and soybean products

Abstract This article addresses the question of whether soybeans, soybean meal and soybean oil produced in the USA and exported were part of a single, world geographic market during the decade of the 1980s. An answer to this question is sought using an approach to defining a geographic market based on the notion of instantaneous causality. The empirical results, based on prices for soybeans, soybean meal and soybean oil for three spatially diffuse locations, suggest that there was but a single identifiable world market for these commodities over the period of study. This has implications for the continued presence of soybean production subsidies and discussions on international agreements designed to reduce or eliminate these subsidies.

Stream sediment loading and rainfall — a look at the issue

This paper investigates the issue of the nature of the relationship between stream loading and storm intensity and whether stream sediment loading can best be explained by storm intensity (rainfall) or whether a more general average rainfall measure is superior. Based on data covering the years 1947 — 1985 for the Iowa River watershed north of Iowa City, a nonlinear relationship between stream sediment loading and rainfall is indicated. Moreover, average monthly rainfall better explains sediment loading than do other measures of storm (rainfall) intensity. Finally, when the structural stability of the estimated relationships are explored, the indications are that the relationships are stable over the sample period.

The quality characteristics of Japanese soybean imports

Abstract This paper estimates the implicit prices of the physical and intrinsic characteristics of soybeans exported by the United States. The results provide some useful information. First, the US grades and standards assigned to a shipment either do not provide information valued by the market or the existence of US grades and standards has resulted in the definition of a standard of quality that is met by all exporters. Second, in Japan there are two identifiable soybean markets — a premium food bean market and a crushing market. The soybeans going into the food market for processing can be identified by their lower oil content, lower percentage of split and damaged beans, and a lower amount of foreign material, as well as smaller shipment sizes.

economic and environmental tradeoffs in agricultural sustainability: A Perspective

Concern for the economic and environmental impacts of production systems is at the heart of the debate on agricultural sustainability. Ideally, if a system is to be sustainable, it must also be economically viable, while not adversely affecting the environment. The appropriate balance between environmentally friendly systems and economic returns is not clear, as it depends on the period under consideration and hinges on the perspective used. Current evidence suggests that there are tradeoffs between achieving economic and environmental goals, at least in the short run, with given technology. Analysis suggests progress can be made by identifying agricultural systems and site-specific criteria associated with these systems, which eliminate the clearly unsustainable agricultural practices, rather than seeking a system that is defined as sustainable.

The price elasticity of export demand for soybeans and soybean products reconsidered

Abstract This paper addresses the question of whether the export demand for soybeans and soybean products has structurally changed over the 1950 to 1992 period as the US agriculture sector has become more integrated with the rest of the world economy. The export demand equation specification considered is one that has been used extensively in the empirical literature. The results of a structural change test suggest that the export demand for soybeans, soybean meal, and soybean oil did not destabilize over the sample period. Moreover, based on the model specification and the data available for estimating the requisite parameters, it is possible to infer conclusively that the long‐run soybean and soybean product export price elasticities are in the elastic range. The implications are that, among other things, for each 1 % reduction in the price of soybeans, soybean meal, and/or soybean oil brought about through a government program (e.g., the Export Enhancement Program applicable to soybean oil), exports wi...

The impact of the export enhancement programme on the soybean market in the United States

This study endeavours to understand the nature and extent of the market interrelationships between the price of soybeans, the price of soybean meal and oil and the crushing margin, in order to assess how processors benefit relative to farmers with regard to the Export Enhancement Programme as it applies to soybean oil. The results suggest that while both farmers and processors do benefit from the programme, processors benefit porportionately more than farmers, receiving nearly three times the relative return of farmers from the effects of the programme. This observed outcome is a function of the joint nature of the products being produced (soybean meal and oil) by processors and the relative less importance afforded to soybean oil in the production process. In an absolute sense, however, the returns to soybean farmers are substantially greater than those to processors, being a function of the magnitude of the price of soybeans relative to the crushing margin.

Planting flexibility: Implications for agricultural sustainability

There is a general belief that federal commodity programs restrict adoption of more sustainable production systems. In the 1990 farm legislation, Congress introduced limited planting flexibility to address these concerns and to reduce federal farm program costs. This program estimates the impact of planting flexibility on selected agricultural sustainability indicators and its policy implications. Results show that planting flexibility is a necessary but not sufficient condition for implementing more sustainable production systems. Other factors such as the availability of economically viable alternatives, macroeconomic conditions, and local resource and environmental concerns need to be considered. Policy reforms can help in achieving economic and environmental gains only in locations with economically viable alternatives. In other cases, increased research and development of new systems are needed to achieve desired results.

The market value of quality characteristics for US wheat exports

Abstract This study examines whether the grade determining and official criteria identified by the Federal Grain Inspection Service, including such things as test weight, moisture content, percentage of foreign material, percentage of shrunken and broken kernels, protein content, percentage of dockage, falling number, and the presence of insects influence the price of wheat for export and, in turn, the competitiveness of US wheat in the world market. Using shiplot data on the transactions price for hard red winter wheat, hard red spring wheat, and soft white wheat and the associated quality characteristics covering the period January 1990 to December 1991 and exported to 63 countries, the results suggest that the test weight, the percentage of shrunken and broken kernels, the protein content, the presence of aflatoxin, the presence of insects, and falling number are characteristics consistently valued by the market.