E. Douglas Beach

THE ADOPTION OF IPM TECHNIQUES BY VEGETABLE GROWERS IN FLORIDA, MICHIGAN AND TEXAS

Factors influencing the adoption of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques are studied using survey data from individual vegetable producers from Florida, Michigan, and Texas. Farmers who adopt IPM tend to be less risk averse and use more managerial time on farm activities than nonadopters. Adopters are also more likely to operate large, irrigated farms and use more family labor. Locational factors and the type of crop grown are also influential in IPM adoption. The analysis uses a logit framework and introduces adopter categories first conceptualized by rural sociologists.

A Hedonic Analysis of Herbicides: Do User Safety and Water Quality Matter?

Farmers may value water quality and user safety characteristics of herbicides as they select among products to obtain weed control. Expenditures per application in the U.S. corn and soybean herbicide markets are explained by several safety characteristics in addition to market and weed control characteristics. The explicit inclusion of safety characteristics in the farm decision model indicates that not all safety aspects of pesticide use are external to farmers. Leaching potential and user toxicity are statistically significant, but their elasticities are small relative to broadleaf and grass weed control efficacy.

Testing the rational expectations hypothesis using survey data from vegetable growers in the USA

Survey data on expected and actual prices received by individual vegetable growers in Florida, Michigan and Texas in 1990 are used to test the rational expectations hypothesis. The use of individual grower data overcomes many of the issues that have limited previous tests of this hypothesis in agriculture. Overall, finds that price expectations of vegetable growers are inconsistent with the rational expectations hypothesis for the majority of vegetable/state combinations studied.

An assessment of the potential risks of groundwater and surface water contamination by agricultural chemicals used in vegetable production

Abstract This study identifies agricultural chemicals used in vegetable production in Arizona, Florida, Michigan and Texas that are potential contaminants of groundwater and surface water, which, in turn, pose risks to human health. Arizona and Florida are more likely to have nitrate leaching problems than Michigan or Texas. The potential for pesticide leaching is relatively high in Arizona head lettuce production and Michigan asparagus production but only moderate in Florida tomato production and Texas watermelon production. The potential for soil-adsorbed runoff and solution runoff in Arizona head lettuce, Florida tomatoes and Michigan asparagus is low to moderate. The potential for these sorts of losses in Texas watermelon production is relatively high. Vegetable production around Phoenix, Arizona, in southeast Texas, and in the entire State of Florida is located such that groundwater aquifers which supply drinking water are vulnerable to contamination.

The significance of quality differences for the United States and Canada wheat trade

Some insights are provided as to why the United States, the fifth largest wheat producer in the world, imports a significant amount of wheat from Canada. After reviewing intra-industry trade theory and the relevant empirical constructs, an implicit price function of the import demand for wheat focusing on the physical and intrinsic characteristics of wheat is estimated. The results are revealing. There is a premium for the protein content and the percentage of heat-damaged kernels in wheat. Clearly, the fact that wheat is a differentiated commodity possessing a mix of physical and intrinsic characteristics together with price considerations helps to explain why the import of Canadian wheat by the United States exists and why this became a significant issue in 1993.

The Effect of Eliminating Direct Payments to Farmers on Land Values

This study looks at the effects of the complete elimination of direct government payments to farmers on the U.S. economy in general and the effect on land values in particular. The analytical approach used consists of a computable general equilibrium model composed of 14 producing sectors, 14 consuming sectors, six household categories classified by income, and a government. The results suggest that, with a complete elimination of direct government payments to farmers, there will be a reduction in output by all producing sectors of 0.18% or about

Increasing biodegradable polymer resin use: The impact on the United States economy

14.5 billion, a decline in output in the agricultural sectors of 4.39% or about

The implications of quality differences for United States and Canadian wheat trade

12.0 billion, a fall in the consumption of goods and services by about 0.11% or

Setting Research Priorities in the Public Sector: A Suggested Framework for the AARC Center

4.15 billion, a fall in total utility by 0.47% or

Eliminating Direct Payments to Farmers in the United States: The Impact on Land Values

22.0 billion, and a net reduction in expenditures for the government of