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PurposeThe USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) made several changes to the crop insurance products available to organic growers for the 2014 crop year. Most notably, a 5 percent premium surcharge was removed and organic-specific transitional yields (t-yields) were issued for the first time. The purpose of this paper is to use farm-level organic crop yield data to analyze the impact of these reforms on producer insurance outcomes and compare the insurance options for new organic growers.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a unique panel data set of organic corn and soybean yields to analyze the impact of organic crop insurance reforms. Actual Production History values and premium rates are calculated for each farm and crop yield sequence. Producer loss ratios and subsidized premium wedges are compared for yield, revenue and area-risk products before and after the instituted reforms.FindingsResults indicate that RMA succeeded in improving the actuarial soundness of the organic insurance program, though further refinement of organic t-yields may be necessary to accurately reflect the yield potential of organic producers and avoid reductions in program participation.Originality/valueThis paper provides insight into the effectiveness of reforms intended to improve the actuarial soundness of organic crop insurance and demonstrates the effect that the reforms are likely to have on new and existing organic farms. Because this analysis uses data collected independently of RMA and includes farms that may or may not have purchased crop insurance, it avoids the self-selection problems that might affect analyses using crop insurance program data.
Timothy A. Delbridge; Robert P. King. How important is the transitional yield (t-yield)? An analysis of reforms to organic crop insurance. Agricultural Finance Review 2019, 79, 234 -254.
AMA StyleTimothy A. Delbridge, Robert P. King. How important is the transitional yield (t-yield)? An analysis of reforms to organic crop insurance. Agricultural Finance Review. 2019; 79 (2):234-254.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTimothy A. Delbridge; Robert P. King. 2019. "How important is the transitional yield (t-yield)? An analysis of reforms to organic crop insurance." Agricultural Finance Review 79, no. 2: 234-254.
The sustainability of the food system is at the forefront of academic and policy discussions as we face the challenge of providing food security to a growing population amidst environmental uncertainty and depletion, social disruptions, and structural economic shocks and stresses. Crafting a sustainable and resilient food system requires us to go beyond disciplinary boundaries and broaden critical and creative thinking skills. Recent literature calls for examples of pedagogical transformations from food systems courses to identify successful practices and potential challenges. We offer a recipe for what to teach by framing systems thinking concepts, then discuss how to teach it with five learning activities: deductive case studies, experiential learning, reflective narrative learning, system dynamics simulations and scenarios, and inductive/open-ended case studies, implemented with collaborative group learning, inter/trans-disciplinarity, and instructor-modeled co-learning. Each learning activity is animated with concrete examples from our courses at Oregon State University, University of Minnesota, and University of Vermont, USA. We discuss opportunities and challenges implementing these strategies in light of student, instructor, and institutional expectations and constraints. But the challenge is worth the effort, because food system transformation requires active learners and systemic thinkers as engaged citizens, food system advocates, entrepreneurs, and policy makers.
Christy Anderson Brekken; Hikaru Hanawa Peterson; Robert P. King; David Conner. Writing a Recipe for Teaching Sustainable Food Systems: Lessons from Three University Courses. Sustainability 2018, 10, 1898 .
AMA StyleChristy Anderson Brekken, Hikaru Hanawa Peterson, Robert P. King, David Conner. Writing a Recipe for Teaching Sustainable Food Systems: Lessons from Three University Courses. Sustainability. 2018; 10 (6):1898.
Chicago/Turabian StyleChristy Anderson Brekken; Hikaru Hanawa Peterson; Robert P. King; David Conner. 2018. "Writing a Recipe for Teaching Sustainable Food Systems: Lessons from Three University Courses." Sustainability 10, no. 6: 1898.
Robert P. King; Julian M. Alston; Kym Anderson; Philip G. Pardey. Comment 2 on ‘Farm management’ by Malcolm and Wright. Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 2016, 60, 533 -534.
AMA StyleRobert P. King, Julian M. Alston, Kym Anderson, Philip G. Pardey. Comment 2 on ‘Farm management’ by Malcolm and Wright. Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics. 2016; 60 (4):533-534.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRobert P. King; Julian M. Alston; Kym Anderson; Philip G. Pardey. 2016. "Comment 2 on ‘Farm management’ by Malcolm and Wright." Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 60, no. 4: 533-534.
Herbert Simon is one of my professional heroes. Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1978 for his contributions to understanding decision-making processes within economic organizations, Simon also made fundamental contributions in the areas of cognitive psychology, computer science, artificial intelligence, and political science. For more than fifty years he was a professor at Carnegie-Mellon University, just a few miles east from the site of our annual meeting.
Robert P. King. The Science of Design. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 2011, 94, 275 -284.
AMA StyleRobert P. King. The Science of Design. American Journal of Agricultural Economics. 2011; 94 (2):275-284.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRobert P. King. 2011. "The Science of Design." American Journal of Agricultural Economics 94, no. 2: 275-284.
Long-term crop rotation studies enable economic analyses that include a more complete representation of possible profit outcomes than do experiments of shorter duration. The objective of this study was to compare the profitability and risk of organic input (OI) and chemical input (CI) 4-yr corn (Zea mays L.)–soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]–oat (Avena sativa L.)/alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)–alfalfa crop rotations with a CI 2-yr corn–soybean rotation using yield and management data from an 18-yr experiment in southwestern Minnesota. Estimated production costs were matched with trial yields and commodity prices to calculate a distribution of net returns for each crop rotation. Cumulative distribution functions (CDFs) were constructed and compared using stochastic dominance. Average production costs for the CI 2-yr rotation were higher than those for the CI and OI 4-yr rotations ($488 ha−1, $405 ha−1, and $409 ha−1, respectively) though the OI rotation had higher machinery costs. The average net return for the CI 2-yr rotation was the highest of the three rotations analyzed when no organic price premiums were considered. However, when organic price premiums were applied, the average net return of the OI rotation was considerably larger than that of the CI 4-yr and 2-yr rotations ($1329 ha−1, $675 ha−1, and $846 ha−1, respectively), and the OI rotation was stochastically dominant to both CI rotations at all levels of risk aversion. Copyright © 2011. . Copyright © 2011 by the American Society of Agronomy, Inc.
Timothy A. Delbridge; Jeffrey A. Coulter; Robert P. King; Craig C. Sheaffer; Donald L. Wyse. Economic Performance of Long-Term Organic and Conventional Cropping Systems in Minnesota. Agronomy Journal 2011, 103, 1372 -1382.
AMA StyleTimothy A. Delbridge, Jeffrey A. Coulter, Robert P. King, Craig C. Sheaffer, Donald L. Wyse. Economic Performance of Long-Term Organic and Conventional Cropping Systems in Minnesota. Agronomy Journal. 2011; 103 (5):1372-1382.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTimothy A. Delbridge; Jeffrey A. Coulter; Robert P. King; Craig C. Sheaffer; Donald L. Wyse. 2011. "Economic Performance of Long-Term Organic and Conventional Cropping Systems in Minnesota." Agronomy Journal 103, no. 5: 1372-1382.
Agribusiness scholarship emphasizes an integrated view of the food system that extends from research and input supply through production, processing, and distribution to retail outlets and the consumer. This article traces development of agribusiness scholarship over the past century by describing nine significant areas of contribution by our profession: (1) economics of cooperative marketing and management, (2) design and development of credit market institutions, (3) organizational design, (4) market structure and performance analysis, (5) supply chain management and design, (6) optimization of operational efficiency, (7) development of data and analysis for financial management, (8) strategic management, and (9) agribusiness education.
Robert P. King; Michael Boehlje; Michael L. Cook; Steven T. Sonka. Agribusiness Economics and Management. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 2010, 92, 554 -570.
AMA StyleRobert P. King, Michael Boehlje, Michael L. Cook, Steven T. Sonka. Agribusiness Economics and Management. American Journal of Agricultural Economics. 2010; 92 (2):554-570.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRobert P. King; Michael Boehlje; Michael L. Cook; Steven T. Sonka. 2010. "Agribusiness Economics and Management." American Journal of Agricultural Economics 92, no. 2: 554-570.
This paper develops a multiperiod investment portfolio model that includes risky farmland, risky and risk-free nonfarm assets, and debt financing on farmland in the presence of transaction costs and credit constraints. The model is formulated as a stochastic continuous-state dynamic programming problem, and is solved numerically for Southwestern Minnesota, USA. Results show that optimal investment decisions are dynamic and take into account the future decisions due to uncertainty, partial irreversibility, and the option to wait. The optimal policy includes ranges of inaction, states where the optimal policy in the current year is to wait. The risk-averse farmer makes a lower investment in risky farmland reflecting risk-avoiding behavior. We find that, in addition to risk aversion, the length of the planning horizon affects risk-avoiding behavior in investment decisions. In contrast to a static model, changes in the riskiness of returns affect optimal investment decisions even when the decision maker is risk neutral. Finally, we find that higher debt financing on farmland is optimal when risky nonfarm assets can be included in the optimal investment portfolio and that the probability of exiting farming increases with the risky nonfarm investment.Dans le présent article, nous avons élaboré un modèle de portefeuille multipériode composé d'actifs agricoles risqués (terres), d'actifs non agricoles risqués et sans risque ainsi que de financement par emprunt de terres comprenant des coûts de transaction et des contraintes de crédit. Le modèle a été formulé comme un problème de programmation dynamique stochastique en temps continu et a été résolu de façon numérique pour le sud-ouest du Minnesota, aux États-Unis. Les résultats ont montré que les décisions optimales d'investissement sont dynamiques et qu’elles tiennent compte des décisions futures en raison de l'incertitude, de l'irréversibilité partielle et du choix d'attendre. La politique optimale inclut des plages d'inaction et des situations où la politique optimale de l'année en cours doit attendre. L'agriculteur risquophobe investit peu dans des actifs fonciers risqués ce qui traduit un comportement d'évitement des risques. Nous sommes arrivés à la conclusion que la longueur de l'horizon de planification, en plus de l'aversion pour le risque, influe sur le comportement d'évitement des risques au moment de prendre des décisions d'investissement. Contrairement au modèle statique, les changements dans les risques de rendements influent sur les décisions optimales d'investissement même si le décideur est indifférent au risque. Finalement, nous avons trouvé que le financement par emprunt pour des terres agricoles est optimal lorsqu’il est possible d'inclure des actifs non agricoles risqués dans le portefeuille optimal et que la probabilité de quitter l'agriculture augmente en présence d'investissements non agricoles risqués.
Heman D. Lohano; Robert P. King. A Stochastic Dynamic Programming Analysis of Farmland Investment and Financial Management. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie 2009, 57, 575 -600.
AMA StyleHeman D. Lohano, Robert P. King. A Stochastic Dynamic Programming Analysis of Farmland Investment and Financial Management. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie. 2009; 57 (4):575-600.
Chicago/Turabian StyleHeman D. Lohano; Robert P. King. 2009. "A Stochastic Dynamic Programming Analysis of Farmland Investment and Financial Management." Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie 57, no. 4: 575-600.