scholarly journals Estimating the Value of California Wine Grapes

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olena Sambucci ◽  
Julian M. Alston

AbstractThe California Grape Crush Report (Crush Report) is an authoritative source of information on production and returns per ton by variety of wine grapes that includes summaries of quantities produced and estimates of the average prices and value of wine grapes crushed in California. The data provided in the Crush Report are used to calculate the total value of wine grape production as reported in the annual Agricultural Statistics reports published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and in major industry publications. We use the differences among crush districts in the shares of production crushed to growers’ accounts to show that the current mechanism of calculating average statewide returns per ton understates the true total value of the crush by 14 to 20 percent. We show that a more accurate estimate of the total value and average price can be obtained if the prices of the wine grapes that are sold are used to infer the prices of wine grapes that are not sold before computing the weighted averages. (JEL Classifications: Q20, Q11, Q13, Q19)

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier Ho ◽  
Paul Bernal

AbstractThis study attempts to fit a global demand model for soybean traffic through the Panama Canal using Ordinary Least Square. Most of the soybean cargo through the interoceanic waterway is loaded on the U.S. Gulf and East Coast ports -mainly destined to East Asia, especially China-, and represented about 34% of total Panama Canal grain traffic between fiscal years 2010–19. To estimate the global demand model for soybean traffic, we are considering explanatory variables such as effective toll rates through the Panama Canal, U.S. Gulf- Asia and U.S. Pacific Northwest- Asia freight rates, Baltic Dry Index, bunker costs, soybean export inspections from the U.S. Gulf and Pacific Northwest, U.S. Gulf soybean basis levels, Brazil’s soybean exports and average U.S. dollar index. As part of the research, we are pursuing the estimation of the toll rate elasticity of vessels transporting soybeans via the Panama Canal. Data come mostly from several U.S. Department of Agriculture sources, Brazil’s Secretariat of Foreign Trade (SECEX) and from Panama Canal transit information. Finally, after estimation of the global demand model for soybean traffic, we will discuss the implications for future soybean traffic through the waterway, evaluating alternative routes and sources for this trade.


HortScience ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 53 (11) ◽  
pp. 1560-1561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa L. Baxter ◽  
Brian M. Schwartz

Bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) is the foundation of the turfgrass industry in most tropical and warm-temperate regions. Development of bermudagrass as a turfgrass began in the early 1900s. Many of the cultivars commercially available today have been cooperatively released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) and the University of Georgia at the Coastal Plain Experiment Station in Tifton, GA.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 258-264
Author(s):  
David H. Gent ◽  
Briana J. Claassen ◽  
Megan C. Twomey ◽  
Sierra N. Wolfenbarger

Powdery mildew (caused by Podosphaera macularis) is one of the most important diseases of hop in the western United States. Strains of the fungus virulent on cultivars possessing the resistance factor termed R6 and the cultivar Cascade have become widespread in the Pacific Northwestern United States, the primary hop producing region in the country, rendering most cultivars grown susceptible to the disease at some level. In an effort to identify potential sources of resistance in extant germplasm, 136 male accessions of hop contained in the U.S. Department of Agriculture collection were screened under controlled conditions. Iterative inoculations with three isolates of P. macularis with varying race identified 23 (16.9%) accessions with apparent resistance to all known races of the pathogen present in the Pacific Northwest. Of the 23 accessions, 12 were resistant when inoculated with three additional isolates obtained from Europe that possess novel virulences. The nature of resistance in these individuals is unclear but does not appear to be based on known R genes. Identification of possible novel sources of resistance to powdery mildew will be useful to hop breeding programs in the western United States and elsewhere.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-39
Author(s):  
Doron Narotzki ◽  
Melanie G. McCoskey

ABSTRACT The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) has created a unique opportunity to utilize Code Section 304 and Code Section 245A as powerful tax-planning tools. By utilizing the rules established for redemptions between related corporations under the anti-abuse provisions of Code Section 304 combined with the new 100 percent DRD of Code Section 245A, extracting earnings from affiliated foreign corporations tax-free has never been easier. This paper explains how these two code sections interact with each other and the resulting ability to extract certain foreign-sourced earnings tax-free. It also identifies incentives created by the TCJA to operate profitable businesses overseas and expected loss operations in the U.S. Finally, the paper offers a legislative change to close the tax avoidance loophole created by the TCJA. JEL Classifications: H2.


Food Fights ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 162-186
Author(s):  
Sarah Ludington

From its founding, the U.S. government has promoted agriculture, and since the Great Depression, has directly supported farm incomes and crop prices. Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal programs linked farm subsidies to food assistance for the poor, a politically successful combination then and now. Sarah Ludington describes how the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), through the Farm Bill, became responsible for school lunches, food stamps, and land conservation in addition to billions of dollars in subsidies for commodity crops like corn and cotton. Now a target for both the right wing and left wing of American politics, the Farm Bill continues to embody the tensions at the heart of American agriculture.


Nutrients ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1754 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaspreet K. C. Ahuja ◽  
Ying Li ◽  
David B. Haytowitz ◽  
Rahul Bahadur ◽  
Pamela R. Pehrsson ◽  
...  

This report provides an update from the U.S. Department of Agriculture - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Sentinel Foods Surveillance Program, exploring changes in sodium and related nutrients (energy, potassium, total and saturated fat, and total sugar) in popular, sodium-contributing, commercially processed and restaurant foods with added sodium. In 2010–2013, we obtained 3432 samples nationwide and chemically analyzed 1654 composites plus label information for 125 foods, to determine baseline laboratory and label sodium concentrations, respectively. In 2014–2017, we re-sampled and chemically analyzed 43 of the Sentinel Foods (1181 samples), tested for significant changes of at least ±10% (p < 0.05), in addition to tracking changes in labels for 108 Sentinel Foods. Our results show that the label sodium levels of a majority of the Sentinel Foods had not changed since baseline (~1/3rd of the products reported changes, with twice as many reductions as increases). Laboratory analyses of the 43 Sentinel Foods show that eight foods had significant changes (p < 0.05); sodium content continues to be high and variable, and there was no consistent pattern of changes in related nutrients. Comparisons of changes in labels and laboratory sodium shows consistency for 60% of the products, i.e., similar changes (or no changes) in laboratory and label sodium content. The data from this monitoring program may help public health officials to develop strategies to reduce and monitor sodium trends in the food supply.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (01) ◽  
pp. 48-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trey Malone ◽  
Jayson L. Lusk

AbstractThis study tests the prevalence of choice overload (CO) in the U.S. beer market. We reveal that even if CO exists, sellers have mechanisms to reduce CO's negative consequences. The article describes the implementation of search cost-reducing private nudges (i.e., product quality scores and prominently listed specials) sellers commonly utilize to minimize CO's negative consequences. Our results suggest that, while CO exists for some buyers, it can be eliminated by market interactions on the part of the seller. (JEL Classifications: C93, D03, Q13)


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