J. Corey Miller

Cheap food policy: Fact or rhetoric?

Abstract The term “cheap food policy” has frequently been used as a descriptor for US commodity programs by those who contend payments to farmers ultimately result in lower food costs for consumers. More recently, farm policy has been criticized for contributing to the obesity problem in the US by making large quantities of fattening foods widely available and relatively inexpensive. This paper econometrically evaluates the impact of direct government payments on the affordability of food in the US in the aggregate and across specific food groups. The models find direct payments do not significantly affect the affordability of food, either in the aggregate or across specific food groups.

Identifying Risk Factors Affecting Weather- and Disease-Related Losses in the U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish Industry

Two double-limit tobit models are used to identify significant risk factors that most affect farm-raised catfish losses from weather-related events and from disease outbreaks. Results of the weather loss model indicate that the variables for operator education level, number of ponds, pond water depth, production management strategy, past experience with severe losses from low oxygen levels from off-farm power outages, past experience with severe losses from diseases, and being in the South are statistically significant. Results of the disease loss model indicate that the variables for operator experience and pond water depth are significant. Development of models explaining weather and disease losses through observable variables provides a better understanding of the interrelation between the loss perils and explanatory variables so management strategies can be developed to mitigate losses from identified risk factors.

Evaluating top faculty researchers and the incentives that motivate them

We survey tenure-track faculty members employed in three fields in colleges of agriculture at land-grant universities—agricultural economics, agronomy, and food science—to evaluate the effects of different employment structures and incentives on research productivity. These evaluations include conducting statistical tests to assess any effects of different academic appointments and developing a regression model to measure the effects of these and other attributes on individual research productivity, as defined by the number of publications in the Thomson ISI Web of Science. We find faculty who hold larger teaching and extension appointments produce fewer publications; we also find positive effects on the number of publications for grants and university funding, multi-institutional research collaboration, and number of graduate students advised.

Crop Supply Response under Risk: Impacts of Emerging Issues on Southeastern U.S. Agriculture

In this paper we consider factors that affect both crop prices and yields in order to examine supply responses of major crops in the Southeast. Due to the variable nature of crop production in the Southeast, previous studies that ignore price and yield risk may fail to capture one of the salient features of the region’s agriculture. Our results indicate supply elasticity values for corn, cotton, and soybeans of approximately 0.670, 0.506, and 0.195, respectively. Compared with the results of studies in other regions, corn and cotton acres respond more to price changes and soybean acres respond less to price changes.

An International Comparison of the Effects of Government Agricultural Support on Food Budget Shares

This study evaluates econometrically the effect of government support to agriculture on a measure of the affordability of food in 10 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. The panel model we construct specifically utilizes two values calculated by the OECD: Producer Support Estimates as a percentage of gross farm receipts and the Consumer Nominal Protection Coefficient. These two variables represent transfers from taxpayers to agricultural producers through government programs and transfers from consumers to government through protectionist measures, respectively. By using dummy variables, we find implications for groups of countries on the basis of their relative levels of support and protection.

Agricultural Insurance as an Environmental Policy Tool

This paper examines the possibility that insurance for row crops, livestock, and aquaculture can be used effectively to encourage producers to adopt practices that will improve environmental behavior. Examples of agricultural environmental insurance are provided and considered in the context of alternative policy mechanisms. The current state of agricultural insurance and the nonagricultural environmental insurance market are explored. We also lay out the characteristics of an insurable risk along with the theoretical basis of insurance provision. An empirical example of an environmental insurance design is provided, and the behavioral implications of such a design are examined. Finally, we discuss important considerations that should be evaluated when considering an attempt to implement an agricultural insurance program directed at environmental behavior.

Incentives Matter: Assessing Biofuel Policies in the South

As a result of the increase in the real cost of fossil fuel-based energy in recent years, federal and state governments have taken a more active role in energy policy by creating incentives to develop alternative sources of energy, including biofuels. However, policymakers often become focused on the specific type of energy and not the energy services consumers ultimately value. The lack of recognition of energy as a commodity results in policies that ignore the characteristics of the associated markets: easy entry and exit, no barriers to entry, and sensitivity to changes in supply and demand. Consequently, energy industries may fail to arise because entrepreneurs must be able to account for all costs and earn—at a minimum—a competitive return on the investment. This article evaluates the options available to policymakers related to biofuels, which are of particular concern to the South, and includes an assessment of the knowledge base on which policy decisions are made.

Hedging a Government Entitlement: The Case of Countercyclical Payments

This research evaluates whether the introduction of countercyclical payments creates an incentive for program crop producers to hedge the expected government payment using futures and/or options. Results indicate that some level of countercyclical payment hedging is optimal for risk-averse decision makers. However, optimal hedge ratios depend on planting time expectations of marketing year average price as well as on what crop, if any, has been planted on countercyclical payment base acres. These results suggest that the ability to hedge may make these payments more decoupled but also illustrate the distortion of producer behavior induced by farm programs.