U.S. Agriculture's Role in a Greenhouse Gas Emission Mitigation World: An Economic Perspective

International agreements are likely to stimulate greenhouse gas mitigation efforts. Agriculture can participate either as a source of emission reductions or as a sink for gas emission storage. Emission trading markets are likely to emerge where agriculture could sell emission offsets. Several agricultural opportunities are available at a cost of $10-25 per ton carbon dioxide. Abatement costs for non-agricultural industries have been estimated to be as much as $200-250 per ton carbon dioxide. In the longer run, agriculture's role may diminish because many agricultural strategies offer only one-time gains and non-agricultural emitters may lower costs through technical change.     

Trends in Atlantic Canada's Potato Industry

Long-term potato acreage trends show decline in Nova Scotia, stability in New Brunswick and expansion on Prince Edward Island. The long-term trend for yield has been upward since the 1940s. Crop disposition has become primarily to processing in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, but Prince Edward Island continues to dispose of much of its crop in the table market despite the growth of the processing sector. Contract growing of processing potatoes has provided farmers an opportunity to reduce price risk. The trend to larger farm acreages continues, although the number of potato farms in Prince Edward Island has been maintained with the province's large increase in total potato acreage. Crop rotations have converged on large-scale Maritime potato farms at frequencies that on Prince Edward Island have lead to the call for a mandatory three-year rotation. Les superficies de culture de lapomme de terre esquissent à long terme une tendance à la baisse en Nouvelle-Écosse, à la stabilité au Nouveau-Brunswick et à l'expansion dans l'Île-du-Prince-Édouard. Quant au rendement, la tendance est à la hausse depuis les années 1940. Lespommes de terre de la Nouvelle-Écosse et du Nouveau-Brunswick sont essentiellement transformées tandis que celles de l'Île-du-Prince-Édouard sont en grande partie consommées nature. La tendance en faveur du conditionnement de la pomme de terre a assuré aux producteurs de pommes de terres une protection contre les fluctuations desprix. La tendance en faveur de plus grandes exploitations de culture de la pomme de terre se poursuit, quoique le nombre d'exploitations spécialisées dans cette culture s'est maintenu dans l'Île-du-Prince-Édouard. Les provinces ont enregistré une augmentation marquée de la super fide de culture de lapomme de terre. Sur les grandes fermes de pommes de terre Maritimes, le systèm de rotation de ces cultures a convergé vers une fréquence telle que celle qui a conduit à I'appel d'un système obligatoire de rotation tri-annuel à l'Ile-du-Prince-Édouard.     

Trends in Western Canada's Potato Industry

The potato industry in Western Canada is expanding as it becomes part of the continental market which is developing in response to NAFTA initiatives. Two segments of the industry have been responsible for most of this growth – seed potatoes and frozen french fries. Climatic conditions and relative isolation combine to make Western Canadian seed potatoes competitive in the US market. Transnational potato processing firms, seeking to diversify their sources of supply, have been expanding or extending operations to Western Canada. The availability of additional irrigated land will be a crucial determinant of future expansion of the industry in Western Canada. Le secteur de la production de la pomme de terre de l'Ouest du Canada prend de l'expansion grâce au marché continental qui se développe dans la foulée de l'ALÉNA. Deux segments du secteur sont à l'origine d'une bonne partie de cette croissance - les pommesfrites surgelées et les pommes de terre de semence. Les conditions climatiques ainsi que l'isolement relatif contribuent à rendre les pommes de terre de semence de l'Ouest canadien concurrentielles sur le marché américain. Les entreprises transnational de transformation de la pomme de terre qui cherchent à diversifier leurs sources d'approvisionnement ont également pris racine dans l'Ouest canadien. L'expansion du secteur de production de la pomme de terre dans ce coin du pays dépendra dans une large mesure de la disponibilité d'une plus grande superficie de terres irriguées.     

Impacts of trade liberalization in Canada's supply managed dairy industry

Trade is an integral part of the Canadian economy. The main institutional drivers governing trade are bilateral and multilateral agreements outlining permissible trade distorting measures. Since its inception in 1972, Canada's supply management system has remained protected throughout trade negotiations. The system appears, by any economic measure, to be having an increasingly disproportional influence in recent trade negotiations. However, trade agreements serve not only to maximize social surplus, but also to maximize some measure of political welfare. Canada has recently negotiated three prominent trade agreements: the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) came into effect in the latter part of 2017; the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) came into effect at the end of 2018; and the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) could come into effect in 2020. Collectively, these agreements have guaranteed increased market access for fresh and processed dairy products. We build a spatial partial equilibrium model of the Canadian dairy industry consisting of three regions and 10 commodities to assess the individual and cumulative effect of these trade agreements. We pay particular attention to the institutional drivers within today's dairy sector: milk protein isolates; component pricing, including Class 7; and differential demand growth. We find that the aggregate impacts are: (a) a 1.4% decrease in the marginal retail price; (b) a 4.8% decrease in the blended producer price; and (c) an overall increase in social welfare of 7.8%. Worth noting, the decrease in producer surplus varies from 0.7% in the western region to 1.5% in Ontario. Our results may be relevant to future negotiations as well as the publicly promised compensation package for dairy producers.     

Risk management in Canada's agricultural sector in light of COVID-19

The unexpected introduction and spread of COVID-19 has presented significant challenges for every aspect of Canadian society. Although the food and agricultural sector is positioned better than most, there are many risks that will need to be managed in the coming months. The suite of Federal-Provincial-Territorial Business Risk Management (BRM) programs delivered under the Canadian Agricultural Policy framework are meant to assist farmers in managing risks; however, there are no corresponding specialized programs for agribusinesses. The underlying structure of the BRM program was developed decades ago and certainly not with any thought to the possibility of a global pandemic. This article considers to what extent the BRM program and, more broadly, government programming will assist farmers in managing new risks. By default, the article is speculative in nature given that we are currently at the onset of the pandemic in Canada.     

Competition in Canada's Agricultural Value Chains: The Case of Grain

To open this address, I would like to advocate for membership in the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society (CAES). The fact that applied economics offers theory and methods that help us address topics as diverse as the Canadian grain value chain and the economics of species at risk speaks well for the future of our discipline. There is a vast array of work for us to do. Membership in the CAES offers an excellent link to the most up‐to‐date research in this area through our journal and conferences. Every society I attend inspires me to examine my own research and look at problems in new ways using new tools I learned from presentations made by the members of CAES. The main message of my address is to promote the application of Game Theory strategies as a way to understand behavior in the grain value chain. These tools are already being applied in areas as different as optimizing tradable systems of environmental goods and assessing competitive behavior in beef packing. Tout d'abord, je tiens à mentionner que j'appuie l'adhésion à la Société canadienne d'agroéconomie (SCAE). Le fait que l’économie appliquée offre la théorie et les méthodes qui nous aident à examiner des sujets aussi variés que la chaîne de valeur des grains du Canada et l’économie des espèces en péril augure bien pour l'avenir de notre discipline. La diversité du travail à accomplir est immense. Être membre de la SCAE procure un lien privilégié à la recherche de pointe grâce à notre Revue et à nos conférences. Aujourd'hui, mon message vise principalement à promouvoir l'application des stratégies de la théorie des jeux pour comprendre le comportement au sein de la chaîne de valeur des grains. Certains domaines, tels que l'optimisation des systèmes d’échange des biens environnementaux et l’évaluation du comportement concurrentiel dans le secteur du conditionnement du b?uf, utilisent déjà ces outils. La panoplie d'outils à notre disposition est mise en valeur dans notre Revue et lors de nos congrès. Tous les congrès auxquels j'assiste me motivent à examiner ma propre recherche et à analyser les problèmes sous un angle différent grâce aux nouveaux outils mis au point et présentés par les membres de la SCAE.     

Predicting Consumers' Acceptability of Pesticide-Free Fresh Produce in Canada's Maritime Provinces

ABSTRACT

This study examines consumers' willingness to purchase pesticide-free fresh produce (PFFP) in Canada's Maritime Provinces. Households' decisions in purchasing organic foods are reflected in their willingness-to-pay (WTP) a premium for obtaining these types of products. WTP was modeled as a function of a series of explanatory variables including sociodemographic, socioeconomic, media, and public awareness about the impact of pesticide use on health and environment. Results suggest that Maritimes' consumers tend to pay the premium because they believe that the use of pesticide in conventional farming is life threatening. In addition, males and individuals with bachelor degrees are more willing to pay the premium, but those who visit farmers' markets on a regular basis are less likely to pay a premium for pesticide-free fresh fruit and vegetables. Finally, results show that media have no impact on consumers' decisions to purchase pesticide-free fresh produce.     

Canada's Agricultural Trade in North America: Do National Borders Matter?

Canada and the United States are each other's largest trading partner. Trade in agricultural goods has grown continuously since the signing of the Canada–United States Trade Agreement in 1989. The trade agreement removed most tariffs on traded agricultural goods. However, many nontariff barriers remain. We estimate the border effects for a select group of agricultural commodities and find that the quantity traded is less than would be predicted under free trade.     

Prospects for Canada's protected areas in an era of rapid climate change

Given the known and potential impacts of climate change on ecosystem composition, structure, and function, some recent studies question the efficacy and relevancy of current protected area policies and management objectives. For example, in a rapidly changing climate is it practical to continue to identify and protect ‘representative’ samples of the natural heritage estate? This paper examines a number of climate-related issues that now confront agencies and organizations responsible for the protection of natural heritage areas, including the roles of protected areas, representation targets, ecological integrity, protected area design, management techniques, research and monitoring needs, and agency capacity to respond. Potential avenues for adaptation are proposed in light of these issues. The development and implementation of a cross-jurisdictional landscape-scale strategic conservation framework focused on protecting, connecting, and restoring ecosystems will be fundamental to enhancing ecological resilience to climate change. We conclude that even though climate change presents unprecedented and significant challenges, the protected area contribution to ecosystem function and human health and well-being will remain an essential and worthwhile investment in the 21st century.     

《京都议定书》-中国的能源、环境和可持续发展

我国的能源短缺在相当程度上是由加工业能耗过高造成的;我国即使不承担温室气体减排国际义务,也要理智对待环境问题;通过计算说明我国每百人拥有小客车9．9辆也是不可思议的事,发展公共交通是我国的唯一选择;建议实施小型乘用车和营运汽车排放权交易;我国应实行适度消费、资源节约型的现代化,发展循环经济;只有实行定量化、可操作化,才可能实现环境、经济的可持续发展。     

澳大利亚勘探业长期发展趋势及未来展望

报告包括三个主要议题 :一是勘探活动的现状。详细论述澳大利亚以及其他国家勘探支出的最新趋势 ,主要论述黄金和贱金属矿勘探支出的最新情况。二是分析探矿业面临的挑战和问题。特别阐述探矿业“如不钻探就不能发现新矿床”的问题。最后 ,讨论探矿业的未来发展方向。作者认为勘探业正面临着结构上的变化 ,为了生存并需要逐渐完善。     

Forging Strategic Alliances in Canada's Agrifood Sector: Framework for Analysis and Action

In recent years, participants in Canadas agrifood sector have become more concerned about their competitiveness and have identified strategic alliances as being vital to becoming more competitive. This paper is a review of economics, strategic management and other social science literature examining several issues such as:

• •

  the types of objectives organizations should pursue using strategic alliances
• •

  the appropriate configuration for a strategic alliance, given its objectives
• •

  advantages and disadvantages of strategic alliances versus other types of business relationships
• •

  factors that enhance or inhibit organizations' abilities to forge alliances.

The latter part of the paper concentrates on what managers interested in pursuing strategic alliances can do to enhance their chances of success.     

Managed Trade in Non-traditional Products: Emerging Issues for Canada's Specialised Livestock Sectors

The specialised livestock industry is poised for excellent growth and development in both Saskatchewan and Canada. … Specialised livestock have the potential to meet market demands in other parts of the world as well as local opportunities for healthy and exotic foods. (Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food, 2000).
… there are now 4000 deer farms in New Zealand. They are running 1.8 million animals, in a country somewhat smaller than Saskatchewan! (Haigh 2000).
There are domestic and export markets for venison and export offers the best returns. Over 80% of Australian-produced venison is now exported … They are large markets with limited Australian market penetration because of the current small size of our industry and our inability to provide the volume required (Mackay 2000).
…the behaviour of new enterprises follow a very predictable pattern. Unfortunately, despite the highly predictable nature of these issues and problems, the same mistakes are made over and over (McKinna 1999).     

Implementing the Kyoto Accord in Canada: Abatement Costs and Policy Enforcement Mechanisms

The anticipated abatement costs to be incurred by Canada and six of its provinces from the implementation of the Kyoto agreement (reduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions generated by fossil fuel burning by 6% from 1990 levels) are estimated using an emissions benefit function. Marginal abatement cost functions are estimated and used for the analysis of alternative policy enforcement mechanisms. The efficiency of a policy mechanism depends on the rule used to allocate the burden of the agreement among the provinces and on whether the provinces or the federal government implement the agreement at the provincial level. Under the rule of an equal emission reduction of 6% over 1990 levels in all provinces, Quebec bears no abatement costs while British Columbia and Saskatchewan incur the highest costs. An allocation rule based on the equimarginal principle achieves aggregate efficiency; it is, however, the rule that contains the risk of noncompliance by provinces that have already taken action toward emissions reduction. Les auteurs estiment ce qu‘il en coûtera au Canada et à six de ses provinces pour adopter les mesures antipollution qu'exigera la mise en ?uvre du protocole de Kyoto (réduction de 6 % des rejets de CO₂ attribuables aux combustibles fossiles par rapport aux chiffres de 1990) au moyen d'une fonction faisant intervenir avantages et émissions. Ils estiment les fonctions du coût marginal des mesures antipollution et se servent des résultats pour étudier d'autres mécanismes visant à faire respecter les politiques. L'efficacité du mécanisme d'exécution dépendra, d'une part, de la régle qui servira à répartir le fardeau de la mise en ?uvre entre les provinces et, d‘autre part, de l‘application de l'accord par le gouvernement fédéral ou provincial, au niveau des provinces. En supposant une réduction uniforme des rejets de 6 % par rapport aux relevés de 1990, dans toutes les provinces, l'exécution des mesures antipollution ne coûtera rien au Québec, tandis que la Colombie‐Britannique et la Saskatchewan accuseront les frais les plus élevés. Une régle de répartition reposant sur le principe de l'équimarginalité s'avérera efficace globalement, mais on courra le risque que les provinces qui ont déjà pris des mesures pour combattre la pollution refusent de s‘y plier.     

中国科协2001年学术年会在长春召开

［本刊讯］中国科协学术年会作为综合性、多学科、开放性、大规模的学术年会,从１９９９年开始每年召开一次。通过年会,展示科学技术的最新成果,推动不同学科之间的交叉、渗透和综合,促进科技创新和人才成长,繁荣科技事业,促进科技与经济的结合。今年的学术年会于９月中旬在吉林省长春市召开,全国各地的科学家近４０００人参加会议,其中中国科学院和中国工程院院士近百名。中国科协副主席张玉台主持了大会开幕式,全国人大副委员长、中国科协主席周光召致开幕词,吉林省委书记王云坤致欢迎词。周光召院士在开幕词中指出：“中国科协…     

Managing complexity in modern farming*

Modern farming in Australia is no longer simple. Farms are large, multi‐enterprise businesses underpinned by expensive capital investments, changing production technologies, volatile markets and social challenges. The complexity of modern broadacre farming leads to the question: what is the nature of the relationship between farm business complexity and farm profitability? This study uses bioeconomic farm modelling and employs eight measures of complexity to examine the profitability and complexity of a wide range of broadacre farming systems in Australia. Rank order correlations between farm profitability and each measure of complexity show inconsistent relationships, although the most profitable farming systems are found to be reasonably complex on several criteria. Among the set of highly profitable systems are found some characterised by less complexity. A commonly acknowledged feature of farm business complexity is the annual workload of the farmer, yet the trade‐off between farm profit and this workload is found not to be large. A case is outlined where the farmer’s annual hours worked could be reduced by 9 per cent for a 3 per cent reduction in farm profit. If farmers’ workloads are proving problematic now, and in the future, then agricultural R&D, service delivery and policy development will need to focus more on being highly attractive to increasingly time‐poor farm managers.     

Predicting performance in undergraduate agricultural economics*

Entry to the Bachelor of Agricultural Economics (BAgrEc) program at the University of Sydney is consistently less competitive than that for the Bachelor of Economics (BEc) and Bachelor of Commerce (BComm) programs. Given that students in the BAgrEc program undertake units in common with students in the BEc and BComm programs, it is of interest to examine the importance of school performance and first year university in the determination of success at university. This paper takes information for nine cohorts of BAgrEc students and tests their performance in first‐year core subjects against the university entrance ranking, school English and mathematics marks, gender, and type of school. The paper then uses the same information to predict which student characteristics at entry level are likely to lead to students completing the degree program. The implications of the analysis are explored.     

Livelihood diversification strategies in the Himalayas*

This article examines livelihood diversification strategies of rural households using survey data from the Himalayas. We present and explore an analytical framework that yields different activity choices as optimal solutions to a simple utility maximization problem. By classifying the range of activities of rural households into a few distinct categories based on their profitability and by considering portfolios of farm and non‐farm activities, we provide novel insights into diversification behaviour of rural households. The evidence shows that while the poor are mainly agricultural labourers and work in the low‐return non‐farm sector, the better‐off diversify in high‐return non‐farm activities. As expected, we find strong evidence that education plays a major role in accessing more remunerative non‐farm employment. A somewhat less intuitive finding is that larger household size is associated with higher probability of diversification into the high‐return non‐farm sector. The finding that the farm size is not a constraint to diversification in lucrative non‐farm employment is also surprising. Geographical location plays a role in diversification behaviour of rural households indicating the importance of local context.