Samuel H. Logan

Optimum Location, Number and Size of Processing Plants with Raw Product and Final Product Shipments

The transhipment model of linear programming is utilized in this study to consider simultaneously the costs of shipping raw materials, processing, and shipping final product. The problem concerns the location and size of California cattle slaughtering plants given the location and quantity of slaughter animals and the final product demand. An iterative procedure is used to incorporate economies of scale in processing in addition to transfer costs in obtaining the minimum cost solution. Thirty-two regions in California plus two regions each for out-of-state animals and dressed beef shipments are considered. Slaughtering is indicated for 12 in-state regions with plants of varying scale, a solution which indicates the importance of assembly and distribution costs as well as economies of scale in processing in determining the optimum size of plant.

Economics of joint production of sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus Richardson) and roe for caviar.

Abstract Costs, revenues, net income and rate of return on investment of rearing sturgeon for production of both meat and roe for caviar are analyzed by a computer simulation model for three sizes of hatchery-growout operations: capacities for handling 5, 10, and 15 broodstock. Biological relationships regarding growth, feed consumption, sexual maturity, and mortality interact with management decisions about stocking density, age at which part or all of the fish are marketed, and size of plant to yield the economic performance measures under several scenarios. Spline functions are used to estimate functional relationships between growth (weight) and age while the mortality is described by logistic functions. The biological data were obtained from the University of California, Davis, Aquaculture and Fisheries Program, and various commercial sturgeon producing firms in California. When sturgeon roe prices are less than

Economics of commercial trout production

331 per kg, the firm receives a greater rate of return on investment by marketing all production fish at 18.5 months of age. With roe prices greater than

A Conceptual Framework for Analyzing Economies of Vertical Integration

331 per kg, higher rates of return on investment are obtained by retaining female fish through sexual maturity (from 6 through 10 years of age) and harvesting the roe as well as the meat. Results are presented under the specification that all but 4000 fish are sold at age 18.5 months. Two thousand females from those 4000 fish are raised beyond 36 months of age for roe production. Economies of scale were exhibited as the firms capacity expanded to 15 broodstock.

Economic analysis of commercial hatchery production of sturgeon

Abstract Most trout production firms operate in a nearly unique combination of environmental conditions, markets, and geographic locations with the result that economic studies are scarce and none has systematically compared the economics of alternative strategies of operation. Such studies are important since cost-of-production analyses serve to integrate the physical and biological components of the production system, and with the revenues generated, determine the success, or lack of, for the firm. The material presented defines the components of a system model of trout production for use in decision making. The review also identifies areas where additional knowledge is needed for effective decision making analysis. The elements considered include marketing strategy, location of the operation, size of the operation, technological organization, operational decisions, and the biological factors of growth and survival of the fish. Gaps in information are substantial, particularly data on variation, but this could be easily reduced through greater interaction between economists and other scientists engaged in production research.

An Application of Statistical Decision Theory to Cattle Feedlot Marketing

The objective of this paper is to develop a framework for quantitatively analyzing economic aspects of vertical integration by a firm. The model is based on a firm that possesses a multidimensional or lexicographic utility function in which some optimizing criteria are established for several variables. The two particular firm goals considered in this case are maximization of return on investment and reduction of short-run risk. The effects of integration are considered first in terms of changes in costs under conditions of certainty and then in terms of changes in costs and/or uncertainty under imperfect market coordination. The latter situation occurs when the market mechanism is inadequate with respect to communicating the necessary or correct requirements of price and product specification.

Broodstock replacement policies for rainbow trout under photoperiod control and uncertainty

Abstract A systems model of a commercial sturgeon hatchery is developed to estimate costs of production for various sizes of hatchery facilities and different management strategies with respect to stocking densities and final product marketing. The systems model is based on biological functions relating to mortality, growth, feed consumption, and stocking density and operating procedures as obtained from the experimental sturgeon facility at the University of California, Davis. These functions and operating procedures provide the basis for establishing input-output relationships from which costs of operations are derived. Simulation is used to analyze the impact on costs and rate of return of altering the size of plant, stocking density, and marketing the fish ( Acipenser transmontanus ) at various stages of growout.

Evaluating Financial Support of Research Programs

The commercial cattle feeder is continually faced with the decision of whether to market a particular lot of cattle at their current weight or to continue feeding them. Uncertainty about future price changes is an important factor in this decision. The study uses statistical decision theory to combine a priori information about the historical pattern of month-to-month price changes with information provided by a price forecasting model to develop monthly feed or sell decision criteria. These criteria specify the minimum predicted price change required to generate positive expected returns from feeding an additional 30 days.

On the Measurement of Price Elasticity of Demand

Abstract The economics of broodstock replacement for rainbow trout under production conditions of photoperiod control and uncertainty is analyzed by stochastic simulation using a systems model to represent the nature of egg production as the broodstock matures. Probability distributions for number, size and quality of eggs produced as well as growth and mortality of the fish are incorporated into the systems model. These distributions are conditioned on the age of the fish. Management policies of retaining broodstock for one through four spawns are evaluated in terms of net contribution to the firms profit. Revenues are received from sale of eggs and broodstock, while variable costs are incurred for labor, feed and replacement fish. The data, obtained from a commercial egg-producing firm, reflect increased numbers and size of eggs as the fish grow as well as reduced feed efficiency and higher mortality with age. Given a 10-month spawning cycle, induced by photoperiod control, a two-spawn policy offers the greatest expected net contribution to net income followed by three-, one- and four-spawn policies.

Simulating costs of flooding under alternative policies for the Sacramento‐San Joaquin River Delta

This study concerns the estimation of discounted, probable cost savings of undeveloped harvesting machinery as a means of determining the maximum financial support warranted for a particular research program. Production and cost standards for future mechanization are synthesized from engineering data. The probability of developing such machinery is estimated through use of the Pascal distribution for a population where variables can take on one of two values: success (1) or failure (0). The particular problem involved is development of mechanical harvesting for olives.