Brian K. Herbst

Evaluation of new farming technologies in Ethiopia using the Integrated Decision Support System (IDSS)

Highlights • We propose a modeling framework that assesses environmental and economical consequences of agricultural intensification.• Agricultural interventions were evaluated using IDSS in two study sites in the Amhara region of Ethiopia.• IDSS analyses indicate that a significant improvement in family incomes and nutrition can be achieved through the adoption of farming technologies such as irrigation technologies and nutrient management.

Location Preference for Risk-Averse Dutch Dairy Farmers Immigrating to the United States

Increased environmental regulations and a milk quota that restricts growth have increased the interest in immigration to the United States by Dutch dairy farmers. A risk-based economic analysis of 23 representative U.S. dairy farms versus a representative Dutch farm shows that risk-averse Dutch dairy farmers would prefer to liquidate their dairy farms and invest in a large dairy in Idaho or north Texas. The risk ranking suggested that continuing to farm in the Netherlands rather than immigrating to the United States is preferred over only two of the 23 U.S. representative farms analyzed.