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Burning bluegrass seed stubble is an important production practice that, among other benefits, increases production and stand life of this perennial crop. Despite economic forecasts that higher production costs from the 1996 state ban on seed stubble burning would reduce Washington production by up to 30%, output in the years 1998–2005 was nearly two-thirds higher than in any previous eight-year period. This study seeks to explain why that paradoxical behavior occurred. This study puts forward and systematically tests several hypotheses. The only hypothesis with any support, innovation offsets, is examined by an assessment of contemporaneous innovations and by corroborative statistical evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the merger of the doctor of philosophy degree (Ph.D.) programs in economics at the Washington State University. History of the university's Ph.D. programs at its Department of Economics and the Department of Agricultural Economics; Main elements of the coordinated Ph.D. program; Controversial issues during the merger process for the two departments.

The article examines whether Washington farms of different sizes have experienced scale and/or scope economies by determining growth and diversification trends. It investigates U.S. Census of Agriculture data for Washington wheat, apple, beef and dairy producers. It cites the five sales categories of farms based on the percent of total agricultural sales obtained from the sale of the main commodity group.

The article discusses a study of the Washington dairy industry. Data from the Census of Agriculture in 1992, 1997, and 2002 for dairy farms in Washington are examined to determine which farms grow; whether farms in the larger size categories actually grow the most rapidly; and whether farms in different size categories increase or decrease their levels of diversification over time.