Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics

Permanent URI for this community

https://hdl.handle.net/10217/100304

These digital collections consist of theses, dissertations, and faculty publications from the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. Also included is a collection of Extension and Outreach publications provided by the department. Due to departmental name changes, materials from the following historical department are also included here: Agricultural Economics.

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Now showing 1 - 20 of 426

Open Access
2012 drought in Colorado: estimates of foregone revenues, indirect and induced economic activity for the crop sector
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013-08) Goemans, Christopher, author; Pritchett, James, author; Nelson, Ron, author; Colorado State University, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, publisher
Precipitation, whether realized as rain showers during the growing season or stored as snowmelt in reservoirs, is critical for crop and pasture production in Colorado. Drought is the persistent absence of precipitation, and this lack of moisture results in reduced yields, fewer harvested acres and less forage for livestock. Since October of 2010, extreme drought has plagued agricultural producers throughout much of Southern Colorado, and in May of 2012 the drought advanced to encompass the entire state. Agriculture is absorbing faced with economic hardship and drought impacts statewide. The primary objective of this research is to describe and quantify the broader economic impacts of the drought on agricultural productivity and allied economic activity in Colorado. The scope of the analysis takes three forms: a description of agricultural production and prices received for important Colorado crops; calculation of actual 2012 crop revenues juxtaposed against what might have been received if harvested acres and yields were consistent with historical averages; and a broader estimate of the drought's economic impact by accounting for reduced input purchases and wages spent locally.
Open Access
2016 public attitudes about agriculture in Colorado: a study by the Colorado Department of Agriculture
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016) Chriestenson, Chad, author; Martin, Michael, author; Thilmany-McFadden, Dawn, author; Sullins, Martha, author; Jablonski, Becca, author; Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Colorado State University, publisher
This research replicates studies conducted in 1996, 2001, 2006 and 2011 by the Colorado Department of Agriculture partnering with different CSU personnel over the years. In 1996, the Colorado Department of Agriculture and Ag Insights worked with Colorado State University’s Human Dimensions in Natural Resources Unit to develop a survey of Colorado residents to determine the public’s attitudes towards such issues as food prices, food safety, pesticide use, environmental practices, wildlife and agriculture, animal welfare, land use, population growth and agricultural land preservation, among other things. Subsequent reports have then compared the attitudes of Coloradans towards the above-mentioned issues across the years of 1996, 2001, 2006 and 2011. The 2016 survey is intended to add another year of data and comparisons built on these same objectives, but it also seeks to explore some new issues.
Open Access
A bioeconomic and general equilibrium framework to address fishery management and invasive species
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2017) Apriesnig, Jenny L., author; Goemans, Christopher, advisor; Warziniack, Travis, advisor; Manning, Dale, committee member; Thilmany, Dawn, committee member; Johnson, Brett, committee member
Fisheries management is a complex issue that involves the management of people, fish populations and habitat. There are many facets to fishery issues including ownership, regulation, and environmental change. I address all three of these facets in the following work. I develop a general equilibrium model that incorporates fish stock and present two applications of it. I evaluate the change of a fishery under a regulated open access regime to an individual transferrable quota system. I apply the model to the Lake Erie yellow perch fishery, and I account for the different allocations of the value provided by the fish stock, and the potential changes in efficiency. I find that the change to an individual transferrable quota system results in welfare improvements but only if the individual transferrable quota system induces improved catchability and efficiency in fishery effort choices. I also develop an integrated bioeconomic model with the general equilibrium framework to evaluate the joint responses of a regional economy and lake food web to an environmental shock. The model is unique in that there are feedbacks between the economy and food web. The bioeconomic model is used to evaluate a potential Lake Erie Asian carp invasion. There are two primary results from the analysis; the Asian carp invasion leads to welfare improvements, and when invasion impacts are estimated with only the ecological food web model, without the consideration of changes in human choice, the impacts to some fish populations are overestimated while others are underestimated. In both applications, I show that using a general equilibrium framework captures welfare impacts that would be missed by a partial equilibrium analysis.
Open Access
A computable general equilibrium analysis of aggregates materials recycling and waste disposal policy alternatives
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Miller, Michael D., author; Davies, Stephen, advisor; Cutler, Harvey, advisor
The work presented in this dissertation is intended to provide community leaders insights into possible aggregates material disposal and recycling policy alternatives. In this work four main policy alternatives are examined-a tax on landfill deposits, a subsidy for the purchase of recycled aggregates materials, a requirement that all industries in the community increase their consumption of recycled aggregates, and a requirement that the top five producers of aggregates waste supply greater amounts of materials to recycling facilities. The scenarios reported include "base case" situations and sensitivity analysis. For the sensitivity analysis, there are changes in the levels of taxation, subsidy, required use of the recycled materials, and required supply waste to be recycled. Additionally, the percentage of materials being sent to landfill and the percentage of materials being recycled is adjusted in order to measure the impacts of the tax and subsidy on communities with differing levels of recycling already in place. Two other policy alternatives are also analyzed and briefly discussed: (1) The model is allowed to respond to changes in the prices of intermediate goods; and (2) Tax and subsidy rates are changed simultaneously. This dissertation finds that, as a result of the limited economic impact of the aggregates materials industry (compared to the local economy in total), landfill deposit taxes and materials purchase subsidies have little impact on the community's economic well being. However, due to the rather "painless" nature of these policies, implementation of these policies do not preclude their use in laying the groundwork for other, more impactful solid waste material disposal approaches. The implementation of the two regulatory policy alternatives has significant positive impacts throughout the economy, but carries with them greater unknown liabilities that are beyond the scope of this dissertation.
Open Access
A contemporary concept of the value(s)-added food and agriculture sector and rural development
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2020-12-15) Clark, Jill K., author; Jablonski, Becca B.R., author; Inwood, Shoshanah, author; Irish, Aiden, author; Freedgood, Julia, author; Community Development, publisher
The changing structure of agriculture strains the historically close relationship between commodity agriculture and rural development. Meanwhile, growth in consumer interest for differentiated, value-added products has the potential to create community economic development opportunities. However, the evidence regarding the benefit of value-added programs for broader community wealth is mixed. We argue that the mixed findings result, in part, from differences in how “value-added” is defined. Value-added agriculture has been conceptualized in many ways. Taking a US-focused approach, we first review four main concepts: value-added, short food supply chain, values-based supply chain, and civic agriculture. Building on these, we present our definition of a value(s)-added food and agriculture sector, incorporating three features: (1) Consumers make purchases that simultaneously provide utility and enable a price premium; (2) the shared principles among firms and their relational arrangement support the distribution of the value, and thus the premium, across the chain and between owners and employees (the use of “principles” or “values” prompts the “(s)” in our definition); and (3) supply chain actors have a demonstrated commitment to the community. We discuss how this definition contributes to debates in, and has implications for, community economic development policy.
Open Access
A cost of community services study of Custer County, South Dakota
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Thorvaldson, Jennifer, author; Seidl, Andrew, author; Colorado State University, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, publisher
Open Access
A cost of community services study of Pennington County, South Dakota
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Thorvaldson, Jennifer, author; Seidl, Andrew, author; Colorado State University, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, publisher
Open Access
A cost-benefit analysis of preventive management for zebra and quagga mussels in the Colorado-Big Thompson System
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Thomas, Catherine M., author; Bond, Craig A., advisor; Goemans, Christopher G., advisor; Champ, Patricia A., committee member; Waskom, Reagan M., committee member
The introduction of zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) and quagga mussels (D. bugensis) to the western U.S. has water managers considering strategies to prevent or slow their spread. In Colorado, the Department of Wildlife (CDOW) has implemented a statewide mandatory boat inspection program. This study builds a bioeconomic model to simulate a mussel invasion and associated control costs for a connected Colorado water system, and compares the costs of the CDOW boat inspection program to the expected reduction in control costs to infrastructure. Results suggest that preventative management is effective at reducing the probability that mussels invade, but the costs may exceed the benefits of reduced control costs to infrastructure. The risk of invasion, the spatial layout of a system, the type of infrastructure, and the level of control costs associated with a system are key variables in determining net benefits of preventative management.
Open Access
A description of agriculture production in the Colorado River Basin
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011) Appleby, Christopher, author; Pritchett, James, author; Colorado State University, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, publisher
Open Access
A description of water transfers in the Colorado River Basin
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011) Appleby, Christopher, author; Pritchett, James, author; Colorado State University, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, publisher
Open Access
A DuPont model approach to financial management: a case study of veterinary practices
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2017) Dodge, Lynn E., author; Koontz, Stephen R., advisor; Hadrich, Joleen C., committee member; Frasier, W. Marshall, committee member; Garry, Franklyn B., committee member
As the veterinary industry continues to face personal debt and practice management challenges, financial analysis of veterinary practices is becoming increasingly important. Historically, veterinary practices have been managed for profitability, which when measured alone ignores the role investment and borrowing play in earning financial returns. A DuPont Model is employed to measure profitability, asset turnover, and leverage separately and then collectively through the evaluation of return on equity (ROE). Veterinary practices are divided into performance groups based on ROE and the management behavior of each performance group is evaluated and characterized. Returns for higher performing practices flow back into the business to increase productive capacity while returns for lower performing practices flow out of the business through debt repayment and owner compensation. Leverage is important where highest performers used debt to increase productive capacity and thus increase returns and the lowest performers used debt as a tool to keep their poor performing businesses in practice. This work provides a model and reference point for veterinary practice managers to measure their own financial performance.
Open Access
A hedonic analysis of the closure of the equine slaughter houses on horse prices
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Maass, Amelia, author; Pritchett, James, advisor; Costanigro, Marco, committee member; Pendell, Dustin, committee member; Denniston, David, committee member
Unwanted horses are a significant problem for policymakers and equine stakeholders. Alternatives for resolving the problem are unclear, in no small part because it is difficult to disentangle the relative importance of several causes. This study considers the impact of several factors on the problem by quantifying their influence on horse auction prices. Analysis segments horses into investment and recreational markets, high value and low value equine segments and by gender. Results suggest the slaughter ban impacts auction prices of some segments significantly, but other impacts are negligible.
Open Access
A lodging tax for Custer County? Issues and answers
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2006) Seidl, Andy, author; Sullins, Martha, author; Cline, Sarah, author; Colorado State University, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, publisher
Open Access
A lodging tax for Huerfano County? Issues and answers
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2006) Seidl, Andy, author; Sullins, Martha, author; Cline, Sarah, author; Colorado State University, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, publisher
Open Access
A risk perception analysis of genetically modified foods based on stated preferences
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2004) Bugbee, Marcia, author; Loureiro, Maria L., author; Hine, Susan, author; Colorado State University, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, publisher
Open Access
A social benefit cost framework to analyze the community economics of community forestry
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2007) Seidl, Andrew, author; Myrick, Elizabeth, author; Colorado State University, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, publisher
Open Access
A social benefit cost framework to analyze the community economics of community forestry: summary
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2007) Seidl, Andrew, author; Myrick, Elizabeth, author; Colorado State University, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, publisher
Open Access
A step-by-step guide on how to write a successful business plan. Part I. The basics of business planning
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2002) Umberger, Wendy, author; Hine, Susan, author; Colorado State University, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, publisher
Open Access
A step-by-step guide on how to write a successful business plan. Part II. Financial components of a successful business plan
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2002) Hine, Susan, author; Umberger, Wendy, author; Colorado State University, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, publisher
Open Access
A step-by-step guide on how to write a successful business plan. Part III. Analyzing your market
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2002) Umberger, Wendy, author; Hine, Susan, author; Colorado State University, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, publisher