Wohlgenant, Michael K.

August, 2008

The Demand for Agritourism in the United States

By: Carpio, Carlos E.; Wohlgenant, Michael K.; Boonsaeng, Tullaya
Using data from the 2000 National Survey on Recreation and the Environment, this study explores factors affecting visits by the American population to farms and the economic value of the rural landscapes for farm visitors. The number of farm recreation trip visits was estimated to have own-price elasticity of -0.43 and an income elasticity of 0.24. Location of residence, race, and gender were found to be important determinants of the number of farm trips. The calculated consumer surplus is estimated at $174.82/ trip, of which $33.50 is due to the rural landscape.
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July, 2002

EXIT OF MEAT SLAUGHTER PLANTS DURING IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PR/HACCP REGULATIONS

By: Muth, Mary K.; Karns, Shawn A.; Wohlgenant, Michael K.; Anderson, Donald W.
Implementation of the Pathogen Reduction and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (PR/HACCP) regulations has occurred across all U.S. meat and poultry plants. A probit model is estimated to determine which factors have affected the probability of red meat slaughter plant exit during implementation of the regulations. While controlling for plant-level, company-level, regional-level, and supply conditions that may affect the probability of plant exit, smaller plants are found to exhibit a much greater probability of exit than larger plants. Other factors affecting plant exit include plant age, market share relative to the degree of market concentration, regional entry rates, and state-level wage rates.
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December, 1999

MEASURING THE DEGREE OF OLIGOPSONY POWER IN THE BEEF PACKING INDUSTRY IN THE ABSENCE OF MARKETING INPUT QUANTITY DATA

By: Muth, Mary K.; Wohlgenant, Michael K.
We develop a model to measure the degree of oligopsony power in the beef packing industry, while accommodating variable proportions technology, that can be estimated with fewer data requirements. In particular, nonspecialized input quantities, which are often not available, are not needed. Through application of the envelope theorem, we show that the relationship between value marginal product and marginal factor cost can be defined over the prices of the nonspecialized inputs rather than their corresponding quantities. When applied to the beef packing industry, we find no evidence of oligopsony power over our 1967-93 sample period.
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July, 1997

IMPACTS OF GATT/URUGUAY ROUND TRADE NEGOTIATIONS ON U.S. BEEF AND CATTLE PRICES

By: Brester, Gary W.; Wohlgenant, Michael K.
The GATT/Uruguay Round trade negotiations have resulted in a multilateral relaxation of beef trade restrictions. A linear elasticity model of the U.S. beef industry is developed using log differentials equations. Beef consumption, production, and trade are disaggregated into appropriate ground and table cut components. The model predicts that GATT/Uruguay Round will cause asymmetric effects on ground and table cut beef consumers. In general, fed cattle and cow/calf producers will benefit from trade liberalization because of increases in fed and feeder cattle prices. However, nonfed cattle price will decrease.
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