Search

Argument was for the importance of community development corporations (CDCs) as both tools for rural development planning and mechanisms for alleviating problems and economic impoverishment. (JC)

The pros and cons of rural Community Development Corporations (CDCs) are presented via a dialogue between the two authors. (JC)

Canadian governments collect data on the agricultural sector through a variety of surveys, income tax filings, and support program applications. The definition of a census farm provides the benchmark to estimate aggregate commodity supply which is most critical to analyze and forecast commodity prices. Prices are also collected and made available, but there is growing concern about the lack of price data for contracted commodities. The farm and rural population characteristics are also adequately portrayed through the linkage of the Census of Agriculture with the long-form Census of Population (up to 2006) and the voluntary National Household Survey in 2011. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s typology captures different size and motivation for units of production, but broad inferences on the sector based on this characterization must recognize that it is only for unincorporated farms. These farms tend to be smaller and represent a shrinking percentage of the sector. In contrast, incorporated farms are becoming common place and produce the majority of farm cash receipts. The growing complexity within agricultural production units extends to the relationships with these units back to input suppliers and forward to processors. These components of the supply chain are becoming intricately linked over time and these linkages cannot be presently described with the publically available data on the sector. As the heterogeneity in the agricultural sector grows, the data and information demanded for various analytical and administrative purposes grows along with it. The demands for data to determine the need, design, and evaluation of public policy are simultaneously narrower and greater than the broad requirements by private and public users for aggregate production numbers. Farm support programs are meant as a safety net for viable farms in times of unexpected need so the first step involves assessing financial health and identify farms that are “normally competitive” from the ones that are never competitive. Information from an income statement and balance sheet are required along with input and output levels by farm units over time. No single data set supplies all the data necessary to determine need and effect of farm support programs. Performance measures based on tax data are limited to production margin so this data, while detailed in many respects, lacks information on assets/liabilities, inputs /outputs, and demographics. The latter may become important if future support programs are to target “active” farms. The proposal to consider the individuals behind a unit of production in the determination of support eligibility would drive a large gap between data demands and the current supply of publically provided data. The potential change reflects the growing heterogeneity of the agricultural sector. The initial focus on the unit of production was appropriate for all users of the data. The unit of production was the farm and it was generally operated by a single farmer and it supported a single farm family. This no longer generally applies. This growing heterogeneity forces the objectives of agricultural policy to be clearly specified, i.e. efficiency vs. equity, but the political rhetoric has yet to catch up with the changes as the terms farm, farmer, and farm family are interchanged as if they were still one. The growing distinction between them may result in changes in the nature of the data collected on the sector.

This study examines the extent to which farming practices have adjusted to the presence of urbanization in Canada. In particular, we compare the adoption rates for environmental management systems (EMSs) by farmers close to urbanized areas versus those in more rural, isolated regions. Using information from a national survey of 16,053 farmers, eight EMSs are considered. We find that farmers operating close to the urban milieu demonstrate strategic behavior by selecting more environmentally-friendly farm management practices to overcome social and regulatory pressures from such communities compared to those farmers that operate in rural communities.

This study examines the extent to which farming practices have adjusted to the presence of urbanization in Canada. In particular, we compare the adoption rates for environmental management systems (EMSs) by farmers close to urbanized areas versus those in more rural, isolated regions. Using information from a national survey of 16,053 farmers, eight EMSs are considered. We find that farmers operating close to the urban milieu demonstrate strategic behavior by selecting more environmentally-friendly farm management practices to overcome social and regulatory pressures from such communities compared to those farmers that operate in rural communities.

Certified labeling for credence attributes is examined using the concepts of pooled and separating equilibria. The analysis addresses a latent credence good demand that differs from a conventional good demand by willingness to pay for the credence characteristic. Third-party certified labeling vertically differentiates the two products and a two separate markets replace a single pooled market. Market outcomes are examined theoretically and with empirical simulations. Costless labeling is net welfare improving, but impacts are highly asymmetric. Credence producers gain largely at the expense of conventional producers. Costly labeling may reduce welfare even with rather modest labeling costs.

Certified labeling for credence attributes is examined using the concepts of pooled and separating equilibria. Credence attributes are product features that cannot be experienced directly by consumer, features such as pesticide-free, dolphin-safe, hormone-free, and organic. Without labeling, the traded good is a mix of credence and conventional goods. With certified labeling, the pooled market is replaced with separate markets for the credence and conventional good. Market outcomes are examined theoretically and with empirical simulations. Costless labeling is net welfare improving, but impacts are highly asymmetric. Credence producers gain largely at the expense of conventional producers. Costly labeling may reduce welfare even with rather modest labeling costs.

An analytical model is developed to examine product quality labeling. Prior to labeling all consumers are willing to pay a premium for the quality characteristic but product quality cannot be observed directly. If production costs are increasing, the total quantity produced may contain a mix of products - with and without the high-valued attribute. In the pooled equilibrium demand is influenced by perceptions of the product mix. After labels are introduced the market is separated into two sectors, conventional and high-valued. The economic implications of labels are examined by contrasting welfare in the separating equilibrium with welfare in the pooled equilibrium. Under the models' maintained assumptions the conventional sector loses welfare, while producers of the high-valued product experience gains. In addition, producers of the high-valued product may have incentives to promote costly labeling despite net-welfare losses.

The multifunctional set of services provided by farmland complicates the task of identifying which farmland should be preserved. For this reason many states and local governments establish criteria to rank and select parcels of farmland for protection. This study examines whether criteria commonly used by state programs to guide purchases of agricultural conservation easements influence public demand for farmland preservation. The results provide policy makers with additional information to assess current ranking criteria that set the standard for farmland preservation.

An analytical model is developed to examine product quality labeling. Prior to labeling all consumers are willing to pay a premium for the quality characteristic but product quality cannot be observed directly. If production costs are increasing, the total quantity produced may contain a mix of products - with and without the high-valued attribute. In the pooled equilibrium demand is influenced by perceptions of the product mix. After labels are introduced the market is separated into two sectors, conventional and high-valued. The economic implications of labels are examined by contrasting welfare in the separating equilibrium with welfare in the pooled equilibrium. Under the models' maintained assumptions the conventional sector loses welfare, while producers of the high-valued product experience gains. In addition, producers of the high-valued product may have incentives to promote costly labeling despite net-welfare losses.

Retention of agricultural land has become a principal goal for Michigan and its local governments. Purchase of Development Rights is one farmland preservation policy option being considered by many local units of government. Maximizing the benefits from such a program requires an understanding of why the public is interested in farmland preservation. The type and magnitude of benefit will differ depending upon which land is targeted for preservation. This paper reports the results of a survey conducted to ask residents of Kent County, Michigan, what characteristics of farmland are important and how farmland preservation programs should be targeted. The survey also asked whether respondents would support farmland preservation. Results indicate that characteristics of farmland do matter and that support of a farmland preservation program is likely driven by program cost.

Hedonic pricing methods typically employ a distance-to-site variable to measure variation in exposure to environmental disamenities. Some environmental disamenities, like hazardous waste sites, may be spatially correlated with another prominent feature of the urban plain - zones of industrial activity. In these cases, failure to account for industrial activity is hypothesized to bias coefficient estimates of the distance-to-site measure. The data set includes a distance-to-site measure as well as a distance-to-industrial measure. These measures allow for empirical estimations of the hedonic price function that distinguish the property value effect associated with exposure to hazard from the property value effect associated with industrial activity. The results suggest that failure to account for industrial activity will overstate the effect of hazardous waste sites on property values and inflate benefit estimates associated with hazardous waste clean-up.

Hedonic pricing methods typically employ a distance-to-site variable to measure variation in exposure to environmental disamenities. Some environmental disamenities, like hazardous waste sites, may be spatially correlated with another prominent feature of the urban plain zones of industrial activity. In these cases, failure to account for industrial activity is hypothesized to bias coefficient estimates of the distance-to-site measure. The data set includes a distance-to-site measure as well as a distance-to-industrial measure. These measures allow for empirical estimations of the hedonic price function that distinguish the property value effect associated with exposure to hazard from the property value effect associated with industrial activity. The results suggest that failure to account for industrial activity will overstate the effect of hazardous waste sites on property values and inflate benefit estimates associated with hazardous waste clean-up. Key words: Superfund, Spatial Correlates, Industrial Activity, Hedonic Price Function

The diversity of opinion on farmland preservation suggests that a close look at the issue is warranted as state and local governments consider how best to preserve the state's farmland resource. Public support for farmland preservation programs will be required if those programs are to be successful and will only be forthcoming if there is greater agreement about questions that underlie the policy debate. These questions include whether farmland loss is occurring, whether farmland preservation is needed, how farmland preservation programs should be designed, and what farmland should be preserved. This paper discusses each of these issues, in turn, and describes how current Michigan farmland preservation efforts are or are not addressing them.

Land ownership characteristics such as the quantity of land owned, quality of land parcels, and location of land describe important dimensions of landed wealth. Landed wealth is expected to be an important factor influencing support for rural land use control. This factor was not discussed in the April (1999) article by McLeod, Woirhaye, and Menkhaus (1999). We suggest that this factor contributes to understanding variation in support for rural land use control.

Land ownership characteristics such as the quantity of land owned, quality of land parcels, and location of land describe important dimensions of landed wealth. Landed wealth is expected to be an important factor influencing support for rural land use control. This factor was not discussed in the April (1999) article by McLeod, Woirhaye, and Menkhaus (1999). We suggest that this factor contributes to understanding variation in support for rural land use control.

Diversified production systems are considered important tools for stabilizing the income of smallholder rubber producers in Indonesia. Based on empirical data collected from smallholder rubber producers in the Nucleus Estate Smallholder (NES) development project, estimations were made of the economic feasibility of integrating sheep and selected crops into smallholder rubber production plantations. The dynamic optimization procedure is used as an evaluation technique. This study finds that integration of sheep and crops into smallholder rubber production is economically feasible, particularly for those who utilize family labor for hand harvesting grass and grazing sheep. Integrating sheep alone increases the net present value of future income by 20%. The combination of sheep and soybeans with smallholder rubber production increases the net present value of future income by 38%.

Assessing the impacts of Food-for-Work (FFW) on human capital formation depends on understanding the specific nutritional contributions of FFW to the overall diet of FFW participant households. However, empirical studies in this area are very scant. This paper is an attempt to fill such gap. The primary objectives are to measure the magnitude of the FFW contribution to participants' nutritional status. Primary data collected from a random sample of 300 farm-households in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya are used. A linear programming model is used to estimate the shadow prices of nutrients. These prices are then entered into an econometric model of consumer demand for nutrients in order to estimate own and cross-price elasticities for each nutrient component. The results indicate that FFW significantly improves the nutritional status of FFW participant households. More specifically, participants experienced an implicit income gain, which resulted in a significant nutritional improvement. The poorest FFW participant households exhibited even higher nutritional gains (32.46%) than those participants from relatively higher income groups. FFW participant households showed a 90% higher propensity to spend on nutrients than the non-FFW participants. The findings of this study are expected to assist in the design of future 'targeted' food aid projects.