Elbakidze, Levan

May, 2023

Unconventional Oil and Gas Development and Agricultural Land Use in the United States

By: Xu, Yuelu; Elbakidze, Levan; Etienne, Xiaoli
Using county-level data from 1997 to 2018, we examine the effects of unconventional oil and gas (UOG) industry growth on agricultural acreage in the United States. We find that, on average, each active UOG well reduces crop acreage by 3.3 acres in counties with UOG production. However, the impacts vary by region. The relationship is positive in the Southwest, U-shaped in the Great Plains, and negative in Appalachia. Variations of impacts across regions result from differences in geology and historic developments in the energy and agricultural sectors.
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December, 2011

Evaluating Vector-Virus-Yield Interactions for Peas and Lentils under Climatic Variability: A Limited Dependent Variable Analysis

By: Elbakidze, Levan; Lu, Liang; Eigenbrode, Sanford
This study examines the effects of climatic conditions on interactions among pea and lentil yields, pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) infestations, and outbreaks of PEMV (Pea enation mosaic) and BLRV (Bean leaf roll) viruses in the Palouse region of easternWashington. The study analytically and empirically evaluates the effects of aphid outbreaks on per acre yields, implicitly including the effects of adopted pest management activities and explicitly taking into account possible effects of climatic conditions on the severity of pea aphid outbreaks. The results show that aphid outbreaks have historically decreased pea and lentil yields by approximately 5% and 7% on average respectively.
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August, 2008

Modeling of Avian Influenza Mitigation Policies Within the Backyard Segment of the Poultry Sector

By: Elbakidze, Levan
This study presents a conceptual model for the analysis of avian influenza mitigation options within the small poultry farm sector (backyard flocks). The proposed model incorporates epidemiological susceptible-infected-recovered (SIR) methodology into an economic cost-minimization framework. The model is used to investigate the implications and interdependencies of mitigation options that influence inter-flock contact rates of asymptomatic and symptomatic flocks, and reduce the duration of symptomatic and asymptomatic periods. The results indicates that for shorter asymptomatic periods the efforts to control inter-flock contract rates should concentrate on symptomatic flocks, while for longer asymptomatic periods the control of inter-flock contacts should be focused on asymptomatic flocks. Efforts to reduce the length of asymptomatic and symptomatic periods and efforts to reduce inter-flock contact rates function as substitute strategies.
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April, 2007

Economic Benefits of Animal Tracing in the Cattle Production Sector

By: Elbakidze, Levan
One of the options to prepare for a potential outbreak of an infectious livestock disease is to initiate an animal tracking system, which would provide information on animal movements and facilitate disease management. This study examines the benefits of implementing an animal tracking system in the context of a simulated cattle disease outbreak with and without animal tracking. Estimates are provided for some of the losses that would be avoided with an animal tracking system if an infectious animal disease were introduced. The results show that the economic efficiency of an animal tracking system depends on such factors as inter-herd contact rates, effectiveness of animal disease response actions, and the extent to which an animal tracking system decreases the time of tracing animal movements. In the event of a highly infectious animal disease outbreak, substantial economic losses could be avoided if an effective animal tracking system is implemented.
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