Tracking urban sprawl: Using spatial data to inform farmland preservation policy

The development of state farmland preservation policies has primarily relied upon results of the Census of Agriculture that is updated every 5 years by the USDA National Agriculture Statistics Service. Questions about the suitability of the Census of Agriculture center on the measures of total farmland and total cropland as reported by agricultural producers. The reliance on these variables fails to distinguish between conversion to developed uses and other fluctuations in the total availability of farmland. This inability to directly measure farmland conversion to developed uses has been shown to influence state level farmland preservation policies. The policies of Illinois and Indiana highlight the disparate approaches, with Illinois pursuing an intensive policy to protect farmland and Indiana choosing to not address farmland preservation at a state level. In order to assess the suitability of the different approaches to farmland preservation policy it is critical to evaluate the Census of Agriculture data used to justify the policies of Illinois and Indiana.     

Characteristics of Successful Southeastern U.S. Agribusiness Exporters

Abstract

A survey of southeastern U.S. agribusiness exporters showed that export firms had many characteristics in common regardless of commodity category. In general, the profile of a successful southeastern U.S. agribusiness exporter in terms of export sales is one that tends to have higher total sales, foreign and domestic, and more export-market experience though the firm tends to be relatively young. While almost half of the firms engaged in promotion activities, less than a quarter of the respondents availed themselves of federal export promotion/assistance programs because of unfamiliarity or perceived costs. An overwhelming majority considered freight forwarding companies as indispensable parties to all transactions because of the extreme complexity of export-import logistics.     

Mergers and Acquisitions and Productivity in the U.S. Meat Products Industries: Evidence from the Micro Data

This article investigates the motives for mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the U.S. meat products industry from 1977 to 1992. Results show that acquired meat and poultry plants were very productive before mergers, and that all but the very largest meat slaughter and processing plants and all but the bottom 20% of the poultry slaughter and processing plants significantly improved their productivity growth in their postmerger periods. These results lead to the conclusion that synergies and related efficiencies are important motives for M&As.     

Governing farmland conversion: Comparing China with the Netherlands and Germany

Farmland conversion has become an increasing concern in China and other parts of the world, including Europe and the USA. Be it for environmental or food security reasons, questions arise concerning how urbanization should be governed, i.e. what rules and regulations could enhance the efficiency and sustainability of land use. Taking a first step toward answering such questions, this paper describes different governance structures for farmland conversion in the Netherlands, Germany, and China. Secondly, it compares five identified differences between these countries in the realms of land property, land use planning, the role of the market, the role of government, and the performance of governance structures. The purpose of this paper is to develop an approach for comparing governance structures for land conversion that: (a) offers some opportunities for exchange of experience between the three countries and (b) provides a framework for further research on governance structures in farmland conversion.     

Prioritising land to be preserved for agriculture: A context-specific value tree

In Belgium as in many other countries, agricultural land is under pressure for development of other land uses. This paper presents a method for setting priorities for preservation of land for agriculture. The method is based on a participatory approach through which a value tree is formulated. This results in a list of criteria to define farmland value, which is explicitly linked to the objectives for farmland preservation. The value tree allows the list of criteria to be determined in a structured and consistent way. The participatory process contributes to the development of a shared vision on farmland preservation. The approach also incorporates context specificity, as shown by its application for farmland preservation in Flanders.     

Impacts of Policy Reforms on the Supply of Mexican Labor to U.S. Farms: New Evidence from Mexico

The availability of immigrant farm-workers from Mexico is a critical factor affecting the U.S. fresh fruit and vegetable sector. This paper uses retrospective panel data from rural Mexico to examine the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Immigration Reform and Control Act on the supply of migrant labor to the United States. We find that, in contrast to expectations, both policies were associated with an increase in migration to U.S. farm jobs from rural Mexico.     

Slotting Fees for Organic Retail Products: Evidence From a Survey of U.S. Food Retailers

Based on a survey of U.S. food retailers, our study finds that almost one third of U.S. food retailers charge slotting fees for certified organic food products, a retailing area where slotting fees had not previously been well documented. Econometric results from both ordered response and binary response models suggest that a number of firm-level attributes do influence the presence and/or relative size of organic slotting fees in a manner that is mostly consistent with an economic efficiency rationale and partly consistent with a market power/strategic behavior rationale for slotting fees.     

互联网使用对农地转出决策的影响及机制研究——来自CFPS的微观证据

本文利用中国家庭追踪调查数据(CFPS),从家庭层面分析了互联网的使用行为是否会对其农地转出产生影响。研究结果表明,使用互联网会使家庭农地转出的概率显著提高。使用工具变量解决内生性问题,并从农地有偿转出、农地新转出和不同上网方式对农地转出影响三个方面进行稳健性检验后,仍然得到了一致的结论。农户异质性分析表明,户主中高受教育水平和收入处于中高水平的家庭使用互联网对其农地转出的正向影响更为显著。影响机制分析表明,互联网使用主要通过促进非农就业及其稳定性、拓宽信息渠道、增强社会互动三条路径影响农地转出。     

Planning for social inclusion: The impact of socioeconomic inequities on the informal development of farmland in suburban Beijing

Informal development on farmland is not only a major problem facing thousands of people, but also a major challenge to land use planning. In the rapidly growing literature on informal land development in China, most authors claim that ambiguous property rights and the dual land tenure system are the primary factors involved. As a result, existing state-led land use planning responses to informal development are solely focused on strengthening the legal regulation of land development. This paper challenges this approach, on the basis of the theory of urban informality. By examining many illegal gated communities in suburban Beijing, the paper argues that the informal development of farmland on the urban fringe is the result of local grassroots groups spontaneously responding to socioeconomic inequities in the context of transition to a market economy. These inequities mainly concern distributive inequity, procedural inequity and contextual inequity in relation to land use. It appears that the ongoing market-oriented initiatives of the state government could worsen informal land development unless these socioeconomic inequalities at the local level are tackled. The growing civil society is another change to the state's control of informal land development in China's cities. A new land use planning system which has more concern for social inclusion rather than focusing on centralized control is imperative in China.     

Consumers Acceptance of Peanut Butter and Products Containing Peanut Butter in Two Southeastern States in the U.S.

Abstract

A sample of 606 students, staff and faculty from Auburn and North Carolina A&T State universities were self-administered a questionnaire to evaluate their weekly consumption of peanut butter and products containing peanut butter. The age group ranged from 16 to 78 years, with the majority coming from households of less than four individuals. Their incomes were fairly evenly distributed, with 38 percent earning above $40,000, 31 percent with $10,000 to $40,000, and 31 percent earning less than $10,000. Age, ethnicity, convenience, whether the product was served as a side dish, peanut flavor, and knowledge of fat content significantly influenced peanut butter consumption; whereas age, ethnicity, income, crunchiness, nutrition, convenience, and consumer's perception of fat level in the product affected the consumption of products containing peanut butter.     

The Role of Risk and Transaction Costs in Contract Design: Evidence from Farmland Lease Contracts in U.S. Agriculture

The objective of this article is to provide new empirical evidence on landlord-tenant choices of share versus cash-rent contracts in U.S. agriculture. The focus is on the contribution of explanatory variables that represent transaction costs, risk-sharing incentives, or both. An empirical model of contract choice is tested against the 1999 Agricultural Economics and Land Ownership Survey (AELOS) and finds mixed evidence for low transaction cost and risk-sharing-incentive motives for landlord-tenant choices of a share versus cash-rent contract. However, the behavior of landlords and tenants is consistent with them being risk averse. Although it is standard to control for the riskiness of the principal's task that is contracted, we find that other attributes of the landlord are an important part of a relatively complex story for U.S. land tenancy contacting. The latter results have generally been ignored in other published landlord-tenant contracting studies.     

从模糊到明晰:中国古代土地产权制度之变迁

西周是以村社小共同体为基础的多级贵族所有制，商鞅变法使土地产权向单级所有制过渡，公田与私田开始分离。西晋占田制后，对土地所有权的争夺从从暴力形式转向平和、从法外形式转向规范。唐两税法后，国家对土地所有权由诸多限制变为更加尊重和放任，匿田漏税与查田均税的争夺代替了兼并与反兼并的斗争。总之，中国古代土地产权制度的发展经过了从模糊到明晰的发展过程。     

Exploring preferences towards the provision of farmland walking trails: A supply and demand perspective

Despite the potential benefits accruing from use of the rural landscape, access to farmland is a contentious issue with many landowners restricting public access. Within this context, this paper first explores general public preferences and willingness to pay for farmland walking trails in the Irish countryside. Second this paper examines farmers’ willingness to participate in a hypothetical walking scheme whereby the general public will be allowed access to specific trails. Results suggest that individuals are not a homogeneous group with regard to their preferences for farmland walking trails. From a supply perspective, this paper identified significant regional variations in farmers’ attitudes relating to public access. More generally, the analysis presented here would suggest that there is significant scope for policy intervention to improve public access to the countryside.     

Regulating State Trading Enterprises in the World Trade Organization: An Urgent Need for Change? Evidence from the 2003–2004 U.S.–Canada Grain Dispute

Article XVII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade is the main World Trade Organization (WTO) vehicle for regulating trade-distorting policies implemented through state trading enterprises (STEs). The effectiveness of Article XVII depends on how WTO dispute panels and the Appellate Body interpret the provisions. This study examines the 2003 WTO trade dispute case between the United States and Canada over Canadian grain imports and the practices of the Canadian Wheat Board, an export STE. We conclude that the WTO panel and Appellate Body rationales for their findings demonstrate that Article XVII needs substantial revision for the WTO to discipline STE trade-distorting practices.     

A New U.S. Farm Household Typology: Implications for Agricultural Policy

Changes in U.S. agriculture have yielded a diversity of farm types. These changes have extended beyond the farm business and into the farm household. The objective of this research is to motivate, develop, and discuss the policy implications of a new typology of U.S. farm households, which is based on household economic theory. Using the 2003 Agricultural Resource Management Survey and statistical analysis, the U.S. Farm Household Typology identifies six mutually exclusive groups of U.S. farm households. This typology is then compared to the current Economic Research Service Farm Typology and used to investigate the distribution of government payments.     

A Dynamic Adjustment Model for U.S. Agriculture: 1948-79

A multioutput model is developed within the adjustment cost framework to analyze the structure of dynamic adjustments in U.S. agriculture during the post-war period. An important feature of this model is that the econometric model is consistent with dynamic economic theory. Fluctuations in capital stocks, variable inputs, and outputs are explained by changing opportunity costs. Empirical results indicated that durable equipment, farm-produced durables, and family labor exhibited significant rigidity in adjustment as a response to exogenous shocks. Surprisingly, the hypothesis that real estate was a variable input could not be rejected. The univariate flexible accelerator hypothesis, which is widely maintained in most agricultural adjustment studies, is inconsistent with the data.