Warren E. Johnston

Efficiency in New Zealand Sheep and Beef Farming: The Impacts of Regulatory Reform

In this study, we consider the impacts of dramatic regulatory reform during the 1980s on the efficiency of farms in New Zealand, using unbalanced panel data. A translog distance function representing the multiple output and input technology and incorporating nonneutral regulatory impacts is used for the analysis. Determinants of technical inefficiency, including a regulatory variable, a time term, and a debt/equity ratio, are also incorporated in a one-step model estimated by maximum-likelihood, stochastic production frontier methods. We find evidence of regulatory-induced changes in output compositiontoward beef and deer, and away from wool, and especially lambbut little associated technical inefficiency. These patterns motivated investment in complementary capital, land, and beef/deer livestock inputs. Firms that were more flexible in their adaptation toward these new mixes adjusted to regulatory changes with less upheaval, so any existing inefficiency appears linked to debt/equity levels.

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

Effects of Energy Cost Increases and Regional Allocation Policies on Agricultural 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

Research direction and economic feasibility: An example of systems analysis for lobster aquaculture

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.

Economics of commercial trout production

Some of the impacts of energy cost increases and reduced supplies on the product mix of annual field crops and vegetables in California are analyzed. A quadratic programming model including risk is used to evaluate the effects of increased energy costs and reductions in fertilizer and in fuel supplies. The model includes a demand matrix of some nine field crops and twenty-eight seasonal vegetables. The study also considers the relative impact of energy changes on producer and consumer welfare. Results suggest continued viability of vegetable production but differential consumer and producer impacts associated with energy changes.

Structural Change and the Recognition of Diversity

Abstract This paper summarizes a current research effort to define the bioeconomics of aquaculture and to develop a mathematical model of an aquaculture facility, which emphasizes biological functional relationships and yields quantitative measurements (in dollars) of outcomes for a hypothetical production facility. Results are of potential use to researchers and to prospective aquaculturists, for they portray key parameters in production processes, lead to insights to cost-effective research, and summarize the “state-of-the-art” for those concerned with economic feasibility. The technique used is computer simulation in a systems-like definition of a possible culture facility.

Variability in Use Among Ski Areas: A Statistical Study of the California Market Region.

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.

Economies of Size and the Spatial Distribution of Land in Farming Units

Perestroika is not a new reality for North American agriculture. Structural adjustments in agriculture, in rural communities and regions, and in economic activities associated with the production and trading of agricultural commodities are made frequently in response to recurrent changes in economic and political conditions. Increased interdependence of agriculture with other sectors within the national economy and worldwide (Tutwiler and Elliott) amplifies the need for understanding the consequences of structural change, including the organization and control of the sector. Macroeconomic and international external sources have also been ac-

Some Considerations Affecting Empirical Studies of Recreational Use

Skiing is an important and rapid growth recreation industry. During the 1963–64 season, skiers spent

Broodstock replacement policies for rainbow trout under photoperiod control and uncertainty

35.1 million in the pursuit of this activity in California alone. This paper develops analytica...