This thesis is an attempt to develop a theoretical microeconomic model which can be used to examine the short-run demand for the timeliness of farm machinery repairs. This analysis focuses on the timing of the repair after a breakdown has occurred. The nonstochastic model developed allows the incorporation of the timing of the repair as a variable input into a production function. A yield function (a function which gives the instantaneous rate of output in bushels per acre as a function of the date of harvest) is used in deriving this production function. From the production function a demand curve for the timeliness of repairs can be derived. A constrained input demand curve (CIDC) is used to examine the demand for timely repairs. A specific functional form of the yield function is used in order to allow an easier examination of how various parameters affect the CIDC. Several testable hypotheses which result from the model are presented. An attempted test of one of the hypotheses is discussed. / Graduation date: 1971

The purpose of this thesis is to present the results of a study of the impacts of the Conservation Reserve Program, Title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985, on the economies of small communities located in Gilliam, Morrow and Umatilla Counties in Oregon. These counties are representative of many rural counties which are extremely dependent on agriculture for their economic well-being. The main objectives of this study are to determine: 1) the economic impacts of an agricultural policy, in this case the CRP, on rural communities; and 2) who may benefit and who may be adversely affected by the policy. As the structure of agriculture continues to change, communities as well as individual farmers, will experience this change in varying degrees. In general, the outlook for rural communities which are so dependent on agriculture is somewhat bleak. The focus of this thesis, therefore, is to attempt to assess the impact of the Conservation Reserve Program on such communities. / Graduation date: 1988

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No description available.

In January, 1986, Portugal became a part of the European Community. Although this will have many beneficial effects on Portugal's industrial sector, the agricultural sector will be negatively impacted by the regulations under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) due to take affect in 1996. The Entre Douro e Minho (EDM) region, in particular, will be hard hit by the CAP regulations. Modeling of the EDM suggests that farm operators can offset many of the negative impacts through increases in farm investment and farm size. However, legislation in both the credit and land markets hinder this process. This study analyzes the rental-market legislation in light of tenancy theory. The analysis suggests that changes in the method of calculating maximum rent along with changes in the security of tenure provisions will stimulate the rental markets and lead to the desired increases in farm investment and farm size.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1957 R58 / Master of Science

M.Com. (Business Management) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (International Relations), 2017 / Through a close reading of the changes that have occurred within African agriculture using Food Regime Theory, this study will attempt to further understand the impact that has been felt by small-scale farmers who are a dominant feature of African agriculture. This paper will seek to understand the influence that the increased corporatization of agriculture through globalization has had on the small-scale farmer in Africa. As agriculture has become more and more corporatized and commodi:ied, it becomes important to consider the changes that have occurred for those actors within the industry and how these changes will impact them. This paper is attempting to do that through a close reading of the changes that have taken place within an integral part of the agricultural process: the seed. / GR2018

Thesis (M.Com. (Development Theory and Policy))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Economic and Business Sciences, 2017 / The past decade has seen increasing attention given to the process termed ‘financialisation’ within the socio-political and economic literature. Despite the existence of robust macroeconomic literature, there is still a deficiency of firm-level studies on how financialisation takes root, particularly in developing countries. This paper contributes here by examining two agricultural firms within South Africa. South Africa is of particular heuristic value as it has a very advanced financial industry comparatively, and its agricultural industry has undergone very dramatic changes since the adoption of free-market policies in 1994. The study finds that the experience of financialisation remains variegated in South African agriculture. It does not support the view that financialisation is simply the ‘return of the rentier class’, instead illustrating how the changing role of the financial industry has had varied, though not insignificant effects on individual firms. It also confirms microeconomic linkages between liberalization and financialisation (previously identified on a macroeconomic level) as well confirming the importance of banks and ownership structures in facilitating financialisation. / GR2018

One out of every three workers on the planet is employed in agriculture. Consequently, major changes to the way that agriculture is practiced will have outsized effects on society. This dissertation focuses on technology and climate change, two key variables that will exert increasing influence on the rural sector and broader patterns of economic development. While the implementation of new technologies to increase crop productivity will be essential in satisfying rising global food demand, shifts in global climate may undermine those productivity gains in terms of both agronomic and labor market output. Chapter 2 exploits a quasi-experimental research design to assess how crop productivity gains resulting from a new technology affect gender wage disparities in agricultural labor markets. Using high-frequency temperature data merged with nationally representative time use data from Indian workers, Chapter 3 estimates a labor supply response function to temperature shocks that informs projected labor market effects under climate change. Chapter 4 demonstrates that a very parsimonious statistical model offers accurate out-of-sample predictions and provides a discussion on modeling weather's role in agriculture and the current state of adaptation research.