Gregory A. Ibendahl

Farm financial structure

The structure of U.S. agriculture is a topic of relevance to farmers, policy makers, farm organizations, and academics. Over the last century, farm financial structure issues have become extremely important as the United States moved from an agrarian economy to a more industrialized one. Traditionally analyzed topics such as optimal capital structure, equity capital markets, entry into production agriculture by beginning farmers, and tax issues remain important. Societal effects caused by changing farm financial structure and the effect on the rural landscape are issues needing further research. Finally, research is needed on farm financial structure changes in other regions of the world that may affect the competitiveness of U.S. agriculture.

Risk analysis of tractor overturns on catfish farms.

ABSTRACT Fatal and nonfatal injuries occur on catfish farms as a result of tractor overturns, but these injuries can be greatly mitigated when a tractor is equipped with a rollover protective structure (ROPS) and seatbelt. This study analyzed the proportion of tractors on catfish farms in Mississippi not equipped with ROPS and the cost of retrofitting those tractors with a ROPS and seatbelt as compared to the expected benefits gained from adding the protection. To determine if farmers have the financial incentive to retrofit older tractors, a net present value framework was used because the expected benefits occur over a number of years. The ROPS retrofit is a one-time cost that occurs immediately, and thus the present value does not need to be calculated, i.e., time period 0. According to this study adding ROPS will provide a net benefit of

Deciding when to replace an open beef cow

22,877 in the event of an overturn. When dealing with small farms (<125 acres) where an average tractor is used for approximately twice as many hours compared to an average tractor on large farms, the extra hours worked by a single tractor resulted in total benefits of retrofitting ROPS of

Exposure assessment of tractor-related tasks presenting potential overturn hazards on catfish farms in Mississippi, USA

9.45 per year, whereas for large farms the net benefit is

A stochastic analysis of tractor overturn costs on catfish farms

4.70 (=125 acres). Given that the least expensive retrofit is

Controlling aquifer nitrogen levels when fertilizing crops: A study of groundwater contamination and denitrification

147, it would take 15.5 years of tractor use on the small farms for the expected benefits to outweigh the cost. Given the large range of costs that could occur due to an overturn, there could be a significant premium for not having ROPS protection. In other words, there likely is a smaller range of costs from an overturn with ROPS than without ROPS because ROPS reduces the more serious incidents.

Big Data Considerations for Rural Property Professionals

A cow that fails to conceive must either be kept for a year without revenue or replaced by a bred heifer. This choice is a unique case of comparing investments with different economic lives because the potential replacement asset is just a newer version of the old asset. In this study, a net present value model is developed that eliminates the problem of finding a common timeframe. Results indicate there are often times producers should keep the open cow. Whenever feed costs are low, the price differential between cull cows and replacement heifers is high, or the calf crop value is low, retaining open cows becomes more desirable.

How to Estimate Custom Machinery Rates

ABSTRACT Tractors are used in pond culture of catfish for a variety of mobile tasks, including placing aerators into ponds, mowing, spreading feed into ponds, and transporting equipment (e.g., seining reels), as well as for the stationary task of using the tractors power-take-offs to operate aerators in the ponds. The mobile tasks place the tractor operator at risk of injury in the event of an overturn, and rollover protective structures (ROPS) are a proven intervention to mitigate injury in a tractor overturn. A 2008 survey was conducted among 96 participants in Mississippi (USA) to determine the hours of tractor use for these tasks. This article reports on exposures to tractor-related tasks conducted on catfish farms as identified in this survey. Annual exposure to potential tractor overturns was calculated based on the hours of mobile operation. The overall annual exposure to potential tractor overturns on the catfish farms participating in the survey was 7322 h per farm and 837 h per tractor on these farms. Findings show a prevalence of 88.2% of ROPS-equipped tractors on farms surveyed and a seasonal variation in exposure to each of the tasks, culminating in an annual estimate of exposure by task.

Optimal Machinery Replacement under Accelerated Depreciation

An area of health and safety risk in agriculture that can be especially dangerous is catfish farming. One of the potential sources of injuries on catfish farms is tractor overturns that often result in crushing injuries. There is likely a higher probability of tractor overturns on a catfish farm than on a traditional crop farm due to the conditions that prevail on catfish farms. A catfish farm requires tractor movement near pond levees and water, and these levees have steep banks. Many of the activities on a catfish farm, such as mowing, feeding, and pond maintenance, require operating a tractor near a pond levee. Rollover protection structures (ROPS) on tractors can help to minimize the injuries caused by tractor overturns. ROPS do not lessen the probability of overturns, but ROPS mitigate the expected injury severity and lower the associated costs of an overturn. Despite the benefits of ROPS, not every tractor is so equipped. Some earlier work indicated that the cost to retrofit older tractors might outweigh the expected benefits. This article uses stochastic (i.e., randomly determined) analysis to determine if risk-averse farmers are more likely than risk-neutral farmers to retrofit tractors with ROPS. For this analysis, a distribution function of injury costs should an overturn occur was developed for both ROPS and non-ROPS tractors, and a Monte Carlo simulation was conducted. Results indicate that many risk-averse producers would be willing to retrofit older tractors with ROPS. However producers who are risk-neutral probably will not retrofit. These results might explain why not all tractors have been retrofitted despite the long-term availability of retrofit kits.