Not Available – First paragraph follows: Deteriorating water quality is a problem in many Califor... more Not Available – First paragraph follows: Deteriorating water quality is a problem in many California agricultural areas. Effects of increased salts on crop yields, farm income, and future soil deterioration are of great concern to agriculturalists.
In 1978, the County of Stanislaus took a proactive stance on the issue of food processing by-prod... more In 1978, the County of Stanislaus took a proactive stance on the issue of food processing by-product by developing the Stanislaus County Food Processing By-Product Use Program (Program). This program allows food processors to take their by-products to local agricultural producers, who in turn reuse the by-products by feeding it to their livestock or spreading it across their fields as a soil amendment. Since its inception the county has reported that over 6 million tons of by-products have been reused by agricultural producers and consequently diverted from local landfills. Within the last couple of years, the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) has brought concerns to Stanislaus County that this program may pose a risk to the county's surface and ground water resources. The RWQCB proposed that program participants implement several new levels of product and environmental monitoring. Program participants believe that the current program is environmentally sound and that...
The economic effects of conjunctive management of ground and surface water supplies for irrigatio... more The economic effects of conjunctive management of ground and surface water supplies for irrigation are formulated as an optimal control model. An empirical hydroeconomic model is estimated for the Yolo County district in California. Two alternative solution methodologies (analytic Riccatti and mathematical programing) are applied and compared. Results show the economic potential for interbasin transfers and the impact of increased electricity prices on optimal groundwater management. Agricultural groundwater 48
The report, Evaluation of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, provides a number of r... more The report, Evaluation of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, provides a number of recommendations for addressing validity concerns about NAEP. This article identifies actions that could be taken by the Congress, the National Center for Education Statistics, and the National Assessment Governing Boardwhich share responsibility for NAEP's validity-in responding to those concerns. Completion of the report, Evaluation of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (2009), raises the question of the next steps in addressing the evaluation's findings and recommendations (see report summary in Table 1). Although the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) enterprise is large and complex (as the final report usefully documents), three bodies are central in following up on the report: Congress, the Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), and the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB). NEXT STEPS FOR CONGRESS This evaluation report should both reassure the Congress and help it think about ways to strengthen NAEP. Reassurance may be found in the central finding that the NAEP enterprise is generally operating in ways consistent with professional testing standards. This was a key issue in the Congressional mandate directing an evaluation of NAEP. Looked at historically, NAEP has grown and expanded in various ways over time, the latest being biennial state
A model was developed to predict the value contribution of forest condition on small urban-wildla... more A model was developed to predict the value contribution of forest condition on small urban-wildland interface properties. Sample data were collected on property transactions in the Lake Tahoe Basin of California between 1990 and 1994. A variant of the stand density index (SDI) and a tree health measure were added to a list of traditional property characteristics (i.e., location, house size, lot size) to express the influence of tree care on property value. These aesthetic characteristics were statistically significant despite the expected dominant influence of the traditional characteristics. Values for the forest density and health characteristics were estimated and reveal a contribution to property value between 5% and 20%.
The determinants of regional farmland values are evolving over time and the farmland value growth... more The determinants of regional farmland values are evolving over time and the farmland value growth varies by regions. As a result, the new regional farmland valuation models need to be dynamically updated with the changes in public policy, input and output markets and regional environmental amenities. This study used a Hedonic pricing model to examine the key determinants that influence the farmland values in 26 counties of California across the seven regions based on the different crop varieties and county-level economic characteristics. Specifically, we analyzed the relationship between variables that are deemed to influence demand, supply and the agricultural land values. The estimation results show that the farmland value in California is mostly determined by the production, productivities and dollar returns to the tree nuts, citrus and wine grapes. Specifically, higher productivity and net returns contribute to the increase in the farmland values. Urban influence factors have be...
The goal of this study was to improve the current understanding of labor market demands for vario... more The goal of this study was to improve the current understanding of labor market demands for various skills and attributes of college graduates. Changes such as globalization, technological advancements and the emergence of the knowledge economy have caused educational institutions to focus their attention in revising and redesigning their curriculum. The timely identification and the effective response to these changes requires that higher education revisits the issue of the set of skills essential to the economy and the labor market, and the best ways to transfer them to college graduates. A choice-based conjoint experiment was used to identify labor market preferences for college graduate attributes. A web survey with employers in the food and fiber industry was carried out during the months of September 2011-April 2012. Using an experimental design, hypothetical candidate profiles were created and used in an interactive conjoint survey. Hierarchical Bayesian method was used to es...
A number of microbial contamination incidents have continued to raise questions regarding the saf... more A number of microbial contamination incidents have continued to raise questions regarding the safety of the U.S. food supply with calls for improved food safety control initiatives and standards by both the private and public sectors. As a reaction to these incidents, there have been increased efforts to enhance food safety by the government and industry groups. Increasingly, process standards are being specified that recommend or prescribe Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) standards for production, Good Handling Practices (GHP) standards for handling products, and Good Management Practices (GMP) for responsibilities in overseeing production and handling operations. A primary concern is the potential that the costs associated with implementing food safety related standards will prohibit small producers and handlers from taking part in certain market segments, such as supplying the supermarkets that sell most of the production in developed and more advanced developing countries. Prev...
Technological choice and competitive strategy issues are reviewed and then a framework for choosi... more Technological choice and competitive strategy issues are reviewed and then a framework for choosing between two competing technologies is proposed.The two competing technologies differ in their ability to store and process wild rice over a marketing year. The traditional technologies requires almost immediate processing of the harvested wild rice while the experimental technology allows harvested wild rice to be stored and processed over the course of the marketing year. Technological choice is explored using multiattribute utility analysis and two economic evaluations. The economic evaluations are payback period analysis and internal rate of return analysis given uncertain demand conditions. The experimental technology is shown to be the dominant technological choice under both multiattribute utility analysis and the economic analyses.
The California Institute for the Study of Specialty Crops (CISSC) developed a representative farm... more The California Institute for the Study of Specialty Crops (CISSC) developed a representative farm simulation model for navel producers in the Southern San Joaquin Valley. The farm simulation model simulates a producer's financial statements for 2005-2014, including the income statement, statement of cash flows, and balance sheet. This model allows model prices and yields to vary over time. The variability is based on historical variation in navel orange prices and yield. This is done to capture the risk and
The Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (FCEA), provided a landmark in U.S. agricultural po... more The Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (FCEA), provided a landmark in U.S. agricultural policy by including for the first time a separate title dealing specifically with issues related to the fruit, vegetable tree nut, floriculture and nursery sectors of agricultural economy (specialty crops). The bill dedicates almost $3 billion in funding over five years to areas of importance to the sector including nutrition, research, pest and disease, trade, conservation and block grant funding for individual State initiatives. In addition, specialty crops continue to receive direct and indirect benefits from other sections of the legislation related planting restrictions associated with programs for crops such as wheat, corn, soybeans and cotton, crop insurance and general nutrition programs. This article summarizes key provisions of Title X of the 2008 Food, Conservation and Energy Act and related support for U.S. specialty crop agriculture and discusses their potential benefit to the U.S. specialty crop agriculture. There were approximately 304.3 million acres of harvested cropland in the United States in 2006. Specialty crops harvested acreage was 11.2 million harvested acres or approximately 3.7% of the 2006 total harvested cropland. This percentage has remained relatively constant over the past five years.
This paper develops an estimation of the cost of regulations on California agricultural producers... more This paper develops an estimation of the cost of regulations on California agricultural producers which can be used as a baseline for comparing regulatory environments. The estimated regulatory cost in relationship to operating costs for producers is between $2.19 billion to $2.21 billion. The range on percentage of income allocated to regulatory cost is between 5.24% and 9.19%.
Delivery rights to a cooperative's marketing pool can take on a value independent of the memb... more Delivery rights to a cooperative's marketing pool can take on a value independent of the members' equity share under certain conditions. Based on anecdotal information, transferable delivery rights become valuable when the pool is fixed in size (closed), members are protected from exploitation of quasi economic rents, and have an assured "home" for their production. The greater the potential buyers' aversion to risk, the higher the value of the delivery right. The right has additional value if the cooperative generates a premium per unit return due to product differentiation and market power. Cooperatives competing with investor-owned firms in less than purely competitive markets must be able to pay equal net returns to members if they are to survive.
make verbatim copies of this document for non commercial purposes by any means, provided that thi... more make verbatim copies of this document for non commercial purposes by any means, provided that this copyright notice appears on all such copies.
The International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, 2013
In a rapidly changing economic environment, graduate skills required evolve in their relative imp... more In a rapidly changing economic environment, graduate skills required evolve in their relative importance. This raises the question: what set of skills do today’s agribusiness graduates need to be successful in the tomorrow’s economy? The goal of this study is to examine the emerging paradigm of skills perceived as essential in the knowledge economy by using a choice experiment. Results of the study point out towards a shift in the needs for skills of agribusiness graduates, with skills such as creativity and critical thinking becoming quite important in the labor market. These results have direct implications for agribusiness programs and managers in the food and fiber industry.
Not Available – First paragraph follows: Deteriorating water quality is a problem in many Califor... more Not Available – First paragraph follows: Deteriorating water quality is a problem in many California agricultural areas. Effects of increased salts on crop yields, farm income, and future soil deterioration are of great concern to agriculturalists.
In 1978, the County of Stanislaus took a proactive stance on the issue of food processing by-prod... more In 1978, the County of Stanislaus took a proactive stance on the issue of food processing by-product by developing the Stanislaus County Food Processing By-Product Use Program (Program). This program allows food processors to take their by-products to local agricultural producers, who in turn reuse the by-products by feeding it to their livestock or spreading it across their fields as a soil amendment. Since its inception the county has reported that over 6 million tons of by-products have been reused by agricultural producers and consequently diverted from local landfills. Within the last couple of years, the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) has brought concerns to Stanislaus County that this program may pose a risk to the county's surface and ground water resources. The RWQCB proposed that program participants implement several new levels of product and environmental monitoring. Program participants believe that the current program is environmentally sound and that...
The economic effects of conjunctive management of ground and surface water supplies for irrigatio... more The economic effects of conjunctive management of ground and surface water supplies for irrigation are formulated as an optimal control model. An empirical hydroeconomic model is estimated for the Yolo County district in California. Two alternative solution methodologies (analytic Riccatti and mathematical programing) are applied and compared. Results show the economic potential for interbasin transfers and the impact of increased electricity prices on optimal groundwater management. Agricultural groundwater 48
The report, Evaluation of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, provides a number of r... more The report, Evaluation of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, provides a number of recommendations for addressing validity concerns about NAEP. This article identifies actions that could be taken by the Congress, the National Center for Education Statistics, and the National Assessment Governing Boardwhich share responsibility for NAEP's validity-in responding to those concerns. Completion of the report, Evaluation of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (2009), raises the question of the next steps in addressing the evaluation's findings and recommendations (see report summary in Table 1). Although the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) enterprise is large and complex (as the final report usefully documents), three bodies are central in following up on the report: Congress, the Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), and the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB). NEXT STEPS FOR CONGRESS This evaluation report should both reassure the Congress and help it think about ways to strengthen NAEP. Reassurance may be found in the central finding that the NAEP enterprise is generally operating in ways consistent with professional testing standards. This was a key issue in the Congressional mandate directing an evaluation of NAEP. Looked at historically, NAEP has grown and expanded in various ways over time, the latest being biennial state
A model was developed to predict the value contribution of forest condition on small urban-wildla... more A model was developed to predict the value contribution of forest condition on small urban-wildland interface properties. Sample data were collected on property transactions in the Lake Tahoe Basin of California between 1990 and 1994. A variant of the stand density index (SDI) and a tree health measure were added to a list of traditional property characteristics (i.e., location, house size, lot size) to express the influence of tree care on property value. These aesthetic characteristics were statistically significant despite the expected dominant influence of the traditional characteristics. Values for the forest density and health characteristics were estimated and reveal a contribution to property value between 5% and 20%.
The determinants of regional farmland values are evolving over time and the farmland value growth... more The determinants of regional farmland values are evolving over time and the farmland value growth varies by regions. As a result, the new regional farmland valuation models need to be dynamically updated with the changes in public policy, input and output markets and regional environmental amenities. This study used a Hedonic pricing model to examine the key determinants that influence the farmland values in 26 counties of California across the seven regions based on the different crop varieties and county-level economic characteristics. Specifically, we analyzed the relationship between variables that are deemed to influence demand, supply and the agricultural land values. The estimation results show that the farmland value in California is mostly determined by the production, productivities and dollar returns to the tree nuts, citrus and wine grapes. Specifically, higher productivity and net returns contribute to the increase in the farmland values. Urban influence factors have be...
The goal of this study was to improve the current understanding of labor market demands for vario... more The goal of this study was to improve the current understanding of labor market demands for various skills and attributes of college graduates. Changes such as globalization, technological advancements and the emergence of the knowledge economy have caused educational institutions to focus their attention in revising and redesigning their curriculum. The timely identification and the effective response to these changes requires that higher education revisits the issue of the set of skills essential to the economy and the labor market, and the best ways to transfer them to college graduates. A choice-based conjoint experiment was used to identify labor market preferences for college graduate attributes. A web survey with employers in the food and fiber industry was carried out during the months of September 2011-April 2012. Using an experimental design, hypothetical candidate profiles were created and used in an interactive conjoint survey. Hierarchical Bayesian method was used to es...
A number of microbial contamination incidents have continued to raise questions regarding the saf... more A number of microbial contamination incidents have continued to raise questions regarding the safety of the U.S. food supply with calls for improved food safety control initiatives and standards by both the private and public sectors. As a reaction to these incidents, there have been increased efforts to enhance food safety by the government and industry groups. Increasingly, process standards are being specified that recommend or prescribe Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) standards for production, Good Handling Practices (GHP) standards for handling products, and Good Management Practices (GMP) for responsibilities in overseeing production and handling operations. A primary concern is the potential that the costs associated with implementing food safety related standards will prohibit small producers and handlers from taking part in certain market segments, such as supplying the supermarkets that sell most of the production in developed and more advanced developing countries. Prev...
Technological choice and competitive strategy issues are reviewed and then a framework for choosi... more Technological choice and competitive strategy issues are reviewed and then a framework for choosing between two competing technologies is proposed.The two competing technologies differ in their ability to store and process wild rice over a marketing year. The traditional technologies requires almost immediate processing of the harvested wild rice while the experimental technology allows harvested wild rice to be stored and processed over the course of the marketing year. Technological choice is explored using multiattribute utility analysis and two economic evaluations. The economic evaluations are payback period analysis and internal rate of return analysis given uncertain demand conditions. The experimental technology is shown to be the dominant technological choice under both multiattribute utility analysis and the economic analyses.
The California Institute for the Study of Specialty Crops (CISSC) developed a representative farm... more The California Institute for the Study of Specialty Crops (CISSC) developed a representative farm simulation model for navel producers in the Southern San Joaquin Valley. The farm simulation model simulates a producer's financial statements for 2005-2014, including the income statement, statement of cash flows, and balance sheet. This model allows model prices and yields to vary over time. The variability is based on historical variation in navel orange prices and yield. This is done to capture the risk and
The Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (FCEA), provided a landmark in U.S. agricultural po... more The Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (FCEA), provided a landmark in U.S. agricultural policy by including for the first time a separate title dealing specifically with issues related to the fruit, vegetable tree nut, floriculture and nursery sectors of agricultural economy (specialty crops). The bill dedicates almost $3 billion in funding over five years to areas of importance to the sector including nutrition, research, pest and disease, trade, conservation and block grant funding for individual State initiatives. In addition, specialty crops continue to receive direct and indirect benefits from other sections of the legislation related planting restrictions associated with programs for crops such as wheat, corn, soybeans and cotton, crop insurance and general nutrition programs. This article summarizes key provisions of Title X of the 2008 Food, Conservation and Energy Act and related support for U.S. specialty crop agriculture and discusses their potential benefit to the U.S. specialty crop agriculture. There were approximately 304.3 million acres of harvested cropland in the United States in 2006. Specialty crops harvested acreage was 11.2 million harvested acres or approximately 3.7% of the 2006 total harvested cropland. This percentage has remained relatively constant over the past five years.
This paper develops an estimation of the cost of regulations on California agricultural producers... more This paper develops an estimation of the cost of regulations on California agricultural producers which can be used as a baseline for comparing regulatory environments. The estimated regulatory cost in relationship to operating costs for producers is between $2.19 billion to $2.21 billion. The range on percentage of income allocated to regulatory cost is between 5.24% and 9.19%.
Delivery rights to a cooperative's marketing pool can take on a value independent of the memb... more Delivery rights to a cooperative's marketing pool can take on a value independent of the members' equity share under certain conditions. Based on anecdotal information, transferable delivery rights become valuable when the pool is fixed in size (closed), members are protected from exploitation of quasi economic rents, and have an assured "home" for their production. The greater the potential buyers' aversion to risk, the higher the value of the delivery right. The right has additional value if the cooperative generates a premium per unit return due to product differentiation and market power. Cooperatives competing with investor-owned firms in less than purely competitive markets must be able to pay equal net returns to members if they are to survive.
make verbatim copies of this document for non commercial purposes by any means, provided that thi... more make verbatim copies of this document for non commercial purposes by any means, provided that this copyright notice appears on all such copies.
The International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, 2013
In a rapidly changing economic environment, graduate skills required evolve in their relative imp... more In a rapidly changing economic environment, graduate skills required evolve in their relative importance. This raises the question: what set of skills do today’s agribusiness graduates need to be successful in the tomorrow’s economy? The goal of this study is to examine the emerging paradigm of skills perceived as essential in the knowledge economy by using a choice experiment. Results of the study point out towards a shift in the needs for skills of agribusiness graduates, with skills such as creativity and critical thinking becoming quite important in the labor market. These results have direct implications for agribusiness programs and managers in the food and fiber industry.
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