Browsing by Author "Hudson, Darren"
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Item An Assessment of Prescribed Grazing for Lesser Prairie-Chicken Habitat on Beef Herd Health and Productivity(2023-08) Evans, Lily; Grisham, Blake; Villalobos, Carlos; Hudson, DarrenLesser prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicintus; hereafter LEPC) have experienced severe widespread range reductions and extreme population declines, both estimated at ~ 97 % below historical levels. This is attributed to direct habitat loss via conversions from native prairie to row crop agriculture, wind energy, and oil/gas developments, decreased carry capacity in existing habitats from continuous livestock grazing, vegetation community change from overuse of herbicides, and alterations in wildfire frequency, intensity, and size that historically acted as natural ecological and plant community drivers. In November 2020, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) listed the Southern Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of LEPC as endangered, which includes populations within the Sand Shinnery Oak Prairie Ecoregion (SSOP). An Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) exists in eastern Chaves County, New Mexico, where management prioritizes LEPC habitat conservation and management while also providing public use opportunity, like livestock grazing, under a multi-use mandate. Although continuous grazing systems have been linked as a main factor contributing to LEPC declines, livestock production under rotational grazing systems on native rangelands may be linked to maintaining portions of remaining LEPC habitat, and moderate grazing regimes have been shown to be beneficial in creating a mosaic of habitat types required for the annual lifecycles of LEPC. Grazing is a prominent socio-economic driver in the region, therefore incorporating beef production into habitat management for LEPC within the SSOP may be beneficial. The goal of this research is to quantify the use of grazing in the context of the BLM’s prescribed grazing goals and LEPC habitat conservation within the SSOP. My specific objectives included quantifying standing herbaceous biomass (SHB) response to grazing treatments and in relation to water source locations, estimating species diversity response to grazing treatments, estimating plant community composition response to grazing treatments and in relation to water source locations, estimating available herbaceous biomass nutrient composition, quantifying overall beef herd health using fecal samples, supplemental feed rates, body condition scores, pregnancy, calving, and mortality rates, and the average age of first calving, and estimating cattle habitat selection at various spatial scales. Prescribed grazing treatments were performed from 5 May 2020 - 7 December 2020 within two treatment units, Old Savory and Crowley, located within the southern and eastern portion of the ACEC, respectively. Standing herbaceous biomass reduction was estimated at 54 % in Old Savory and 58 % in Crowley, below the BLM’s prescribed goal of 70 % removal. There was no significant difference in SHB between immediate post-grazing treatment and one-year post-grazing treatment temporal survey windows (P = 0.71); a continued decrease in SHB from 307 kg/ha immediately post-grazing treatment to 262 kg/ha one-year post-grazing treatment was detected. Species diversity increased from pre-grazing to one-year post grazing treatment temporal survey windows (0.65 to 0.81). MANOVA results detected a significant difference in plant community composition between pre-grazing treatment and one-year post-grazing treatment temporal survey windows (Pillai’s Trace = 0.38, F5,84 = 10.50, P ≤ 0.0001), and an interaction effect was detected among grazing treatment temporal survey windows and water buffer zones (Pillai’s Trace = 0.15, F5,84 = 3.11, P = 0.012). During the pre-grazing treatment temporal survey window, treatment units were composed of 44 % bare ground/litter overall (40 % bare ground/litter cover within water source buffer zones and 45 % beyond water source buffer zones), and 35 % shrub cover overall (43 % shrub cover within water source buffer zones and 33 % beyond water source buffer zones). One-year post-grazing treatments, bare ground/litter composition within treatment units increased to 56 % overall (P = 0.0005; 64 % within water source buffer zones and 47 % beyond water source buffer zones), and shrub composition decreased to 18 % overall (P ≤ 0.0001; 17 % within water source buffer zones and 8 % beyond water source buffer zones). Herbaceous biomass nutrient composition differed between the two treatment units, Old Savory and Crowley, (Pillai’s Trace = 0.19, F6,210 = 8.44, P ≤ 0.0001) and among grazing treatment survey windows of pre-, during, immediately post-, and one-year post-grazing treatments (Pillai’s Trace = 1.02, F18,636 = 18.14, P ≤ 0.0001). Herbaceous nutrient composition overall averaged 5.77 % crude protein (CP), 33.80 % total digestible nutrients (TDN), 0.33 % calcium (Ca), and 0.02 % phosphorus (P), with digestible organic matter to crude protein (DOM: CP) ratios averaging 6.43, and Ca: P averaging 7.14. Fecal nutrient deposition levels of calcium (P ≤ 0.0001) and phosphorus (P = 0.01) differed between treatment units, but CP (P = 0.49), TDN (P = 0.87), DOM: CP (P = 0.81), Ca: P (P = 0.43) did not. Fecal nutrient deposition overall averaged 8.33 % CP, 42.7 % TDN, 1.26 % Ca, 0.15 % P, 5.2 DOM: CP, and 9.55 Ca: P. Supplemental feed rates were ~ 28 % protein, ~ 6 % fat, and most likely improved nutrient intake. During grazing treatments, the cattle herd exhibited overall reproductively efficient metrics with an average body condition score of 5, average age of first calving at ~ 2 years, calving intervals of ~ 365 days, ~ 94 % conception rate, ~ 92 % calving rate, and < 1 % death rate. Overall, mean cow home range size was 1026 ha (± 758 SE) and mean core area size was 132 ha (± 100 SE). In Old Savory, mean home range size was 652 ha (± 310 SE), and mean core area size was 83 ha (± 39 SE). In Crowley, mean home range size was 1442 ha (± 401 SE), and mean core area size was 189 ha (± 51 SE). Results from ANOVA indicated no significant differences in home range size among individuals (F4,2 = 6.16, P = 0.14) or between treatment units (F1,2 = 2.43, P = 0.25). Similarly, there was no significant difference detected in core area sizes among individuals (F4,2 = 6.46, P = 0.13) or between treatment units (F1,2 = 2.67, P = 0.24). At the 2nd Order of habitat selection, cows selected for one water source and land cover type, avoided the other two water sources, and neither selected nor avoided sand dunes within Old Savory treatment unit, and within Crowley treatment unit, cows selected for one water source and land cover type and avoided the two other water sources and sand dunes. At the 3rd Order, cows selected for one water source, avoided the other two water sources, and neither selected nor avoided land cover types or sand dunes within Old Savory, and within Crowley treatment unit, cows selected for land cover types, avoided two water sources, and neither selected nor avoided one water source or sand dunes. At the 4th Order of selection, individuals varied in what land cover types they selected for. In Old Savory treatment unit, all cows used Apacherian-Chihuahuan Mesquite Upland Scrub more than expected, and either showed no difference in expected versus observed locations or no observed points within North American Warm Desert Active and Stabilized Dune, Chihuahuan Stabilized Coppice Dune and Sand Flat Scrub, and Inter-Mountain Basins Semi-Desert Shrub Steppe land cover types. In Crowley treatment unit, all cows used Western Great Plains Shortgrass Prairie more than expected, and all cows showed no observed used points or no difference in observed versus expected use within North American Warm Desert Active and Stabilized Dune, North American Warm Desert Wash, and Chihuahuan Cresosotebush, Mixed Desert and Thorn Scrub land cover types. Our results elucidate the increased importance of carefully considering potential or on-going drought conditions that managers need to take when considering the use of grazing as a management tool in the SSOP, especially in relation to lesser prairie-chicken management. When using grazing to manage LEPC habitat in the SSOP, land managers and cattle producers should implement a ≤ 50 % herbaceous biomass reduction cutoff threshold to reduce the potential of compounded affects from grazing and extreme, prolonged, and unpredictable drought conditions, which may be further exasperated by climate change affects. Cattle producers also need to prepare for variations in annual and seasonal precipitation patterns, and understand how it affects the quality and quantity of forage so that they may provide supplemental feed accordingly in order to maintain reproductively efficient cow-calf operations. Considering the impact of water sources, managers can use water to lure cattle to different areas, however the size and terrain of the pasture, as well as seasonal precipitation patterns, may influence how well multiple water sources can distribute grazing patterns. Each chapter is formatted as an independent manuscript, and meant to facilitate future publication of results. Chapters contain redundancies in introduction, study area, and methods because they are meant to be complete, stand-alone documents. These chapters are formatted to meet the guidelines of the Journal of Wildlife Management. All methods were approved under the Texas Tech University Animal Care and Use Protocol # 19051-06.Item Analysis of China's impact on Australia's grain sorghum export market(2015-08) Knisley, Shelbi R.; Hudson, Darren; Malaga, Jaime; Segarra, EduardoThis research will cover the impacts of China’s import demand for sorghum in the Australian market. Such as the effects of poultry production, total sorghum imports, and rainfall on Australian sorghum price, production and exports.Item Analysis of the effects of physical sustainability on profitability for crop production in the Southern High Plains of Texas(2015-12) Gillum, Miranda B.; Johnson, Phillip N.; Hudson, Darren; Williams, Ryan B.Agricultural sustainability encompasses both physical sustainability, as well as, economic sustainability. The relationship between physical sustainability and profitability is often assumed to be negative, however, little actually is known about the relationship between practices that enhance physical sustainability and economic sustainability. The focus of the study was to analyze the impact of physical sustainably on economic sustainability for producers in the Southern High Plains of Texas. A regression analysis using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) was conducted to estimate two effects: the impact of sustainability metrics on profitability expressed as gross margin, and the impact of irrigation and tillage systems on sustainability metrics. This analysis allows producers in the Southern High Plains region to better understand the implication of particular production practices on sustainability metrics as well as the effects of sustainability metrics on profit. Results from the study indicate that improving land use, irrigation water use, and energy use metrics may maintain or improve profit for cotton and corn operations in the Southern High Plains region. In addition, furrow (FUR) irrigation systems have a negative effect on the land use, irrigation water use, and energy use metrics; MESA systems have negative effect on the land use and soil conservation metrics; while SDI and no-till (NT) systems have a positive effect on soil conservation when compared to the bases LESA and conventional tillage, respectively. Results from the study conclude that profitability does not appear to be negatively affected by sustainability and certain irrigation and tillage systems affect sustainability metrics when compared to the base systems.Item Analysis of the European Union’s grain sorghum import demand and its impact on the world’s grain sorghum trade(2012-08) Kustudija, Milos; Malaga, Jaime; Hudson, Darren; Wang, ChenggangThe European Union sporadically imports large quantities of grain sorghum from the United States, causing trade distortion among the U.S., Mexico, and Japan, currently the only "large trading countries" of grain sorghum. The objective of this project is to analyze the causes of the European Union's (EU) irregular large import demand of grain sorghum, and to develop import demand and probability econometric models in order to estimate their future grain sorghum demand. Single import demand and probability equations were solved using ordinary least squares (OLS) and logit regressions, respectively. Estimated parameters have the expected sign, are large in magnitude and statistically significant. After the models' validation, their results were used in conjunction with the Texas Tech University's Grain Sorghum Model (TTUGSM) in order to forecast the impact of the EU's occasionally large grain sorghum import demand on U.S. sorghum exports to Mexico and Japan, and U.S. sorghum price. The forecast period was from 2012 to 2022. Previous validation of TTUGSM indicates the model's capability to estimate grain sorghum trade among the U.S. Mexico, and Japan, meaning that our findings accurately take into consideration the effect of the EU's intermittent presence on world's grain sorghum marketItem Analysis of the impact of the round bale harvesting technology on optimal gin industry structure on the Texas Southern High Plains(2018-05) Cave, Jayci; Hudson, Darren; Misra, Sukant K.; Segarra, Eduardo; Wang, ChenggangA Ginning Industry Assessment was sent to active cotton gins in 16 counties on the Texas Southern High Plains in order to analyze the current structure and determine the optimal. There were 28 gins, out of 76, who returned the completed survey representing at 37% response rate. The data collected was then analyzed and used to run a least cost optimization model. A comparison of the costs associated with conventional modules and round modules was conducted. Survey results showed the average transportation cost for round and conventional modules were $0.32 and $0.38 per bale per mile, respectively. Currently, 23 of the 28 responding gins received more than 90% of their cotton from within a 30-mile radius of the gin itself. As hypothesized, excess capacity was present in each of the four size groups of gins on the Texas Southern High Plains. The hourly excess capacity for groups one through four were 1.51, 6.41, 10.00 and 47.28 bales per hour, respectively. The results of the cost minimization optimization model concluded the current industry structure was not operating a cost minimization levels. According to the model, the optimal structure would be comprised of 26 gins total with gins classified in each of the four gins size groups. The optimal structure included six gins in group 1 (size 0-25 bph), two gins in group 2 (size 26-45 gins), nine gins in group 3 (size 46-70 bph), and nine gins in group 4 (size 71). In conclusion, this study showed that even without taking into account the new round module technology, the ginning industry on the Texas Southern High Plains is not operating at cost minimization levels. Should the industry transition to the optimal, it could possibly result in cost savings for the industry as a whole. However, this study did not take into account outside components, such as personal preference. Regardless of what the optimal structure is projected to be, it is likely the actual will vary from the results. This is because growers have the option to take their cotton to one gin over another for many reasons. This factor alone could be the reason the current ginning industry is structured as it is and is so far from the projected optimal.Item An Automated Econometric Approach for Estimating and Reporting Daily Cotton Market Prices(Southern Agricultural Economics Association, 1995-12) Engels, Carlos; Hudson, Darren; Ethridge, Don E.; Brown, Jeff E.An automated price reporting system developed through computer technology and hedonic price theory is used to estimate daily cotton market prices, premiums, and discounts. This objective approach for reporting cotton market prices was developed to complement the objective measures of high volume instrument grading of cotton. The computerized, econometric system is limited to the Texas and Oklahoma marketing regions where sales are readily available from electronic markets. The econometric based system has shown all the characteristics of an efficient price reporting system; it is accurate, reliable, consistent, and repeatable in its working process and price estimates.Item Banking efficiency in the United States: Issues to consider(2019-08) Almasifard, Maryam; Segarra, Eduardo; Chidmi, Benaissa; Hudson, Darren; Rahnama, Masha; Murova, OlgaBetween the late 1970s and the late 1990s, many countries around the world significantly liberalized important aspects of their financial industries’ regulations. During this period of deregulation, they eliminated interest rate controls, credit controls, and various barriers to the entry of foreign banks, new domestic banks, and non-bank financial institutions. One country to experience significant deregulations in its banking system was the United States. Since the early 1970s, different states have relaxed restrictions on intrastate branching at different times. Deregulation occurred in most states between the mid-1970s and the mid-1990s. The first chapter of this dissertation provides a survey about efficiency analysis. In this chapter, the evolution of the concept of efficiency, methodology, and tools for measuring efficiency are outlined. The second chapter of this dissertation uses the stochastic frontier approach to calculate the efficiency score for all commercial, saving and thrift banks in the United Stated which reported positive value for their total loans and leases between 1993 and 2014 considering a homogeneous regulation environment. The results of the five different efficiency models estimates indicate that there are positive and significant relationships between the selected inputs (the banks’ number of employees, deposits, and capital) and the outputs (loan and leases), as expected. In each model, the banks’ capital had the smallest elasticities and the banks’ deposits had the largest elasticities. The distributions of the efficiencies obtained from the five models are different from each other. In the third chapter, a multilevel model is used to assess the impact of banking efficiency on labor market outcomes. A multilevel model is used because it allows the effects of banking efficiency on labor market outcomes to be state specific. The results indicate that while states vary regarding their random intercepts and random coefficients for the efficiency score, the effect of efficiency is more pronounced for female employees than for male employees. In contrast, while the number of new establishments shows a positive impact on the employment rates for both males and females, its impact is less pronounced for females.Item Carbon sequestration and carbon management policy effects on production agriculture in the Texas High Plains(2012-08) Zivkovic, Sanja; Hudson, Darren; Knight, Thomas O.; Chenggang, Wang; Misra, Sukant K.Increased concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, especially of carbon dioxide, has led to attempts to implement carbon policies in order to limit and stabilize gases at acceptable levels. Agricultural activities can increase greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, but they can also mitigate the increasing atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide and help prevent climate change by sequestering additional carbon. Although agriculture is currently not the target of carbon management policies, it is often seen as a potential market for sequestration credits and the agricultural industry needs to have more information about the values of sequestration management in case it becomes one of the targets of these policies. This study evaluated carbon emissions and carbon sequestration and examined the impacts of payments for sequestration and taxes on carbon emissions on cropping choices, profitability, and water consumption in the Texas High Plains. The results showed that reduction of total carbon emissions to 15% of a baseline and imposing a tax would reduce the amount of water consumed for irrigation, by about 20% and 16%, respectively. However, carbon payment for sequestration did not affect reduction of carbon emissions, water consumption nor the product mix.Item China's grain sorghum import demand: Measuring the effect of policies on price relationships and future trends(2017-08) Wang, Haiyan; Malaga, Jaime; Chidmi, Benaissa; Hudson, Darren; Westfall, Peter H.Since 2013, China has shown an explosive growth rate in grain sorghum imports for feed use. This notable import demand for sorghum has attracted great attention of sorghum exporting countries. The USDA reported that China’s rapid growth of sorghum feed consumption may be caused by the rise on its domestic corn prices, which resulted from the implementation of the government corn subsidy policy (“temporary reserve program”). However, the current increasing trend of China’s sorghum import demand could change if the Chinese government reduced or eliminated its corn subsidy in the future. The overall objective of this study was to estimate and project the trend of China’s sorghum import demand under alternative simulated government subsidy policy scenarios. This study presented two essays, which used the market year data from 1991 to 2015 to estimate models and then conducted projections and simulations for the period of 2016 to 2025. The first essay attempted to estimate and forecast China’s domestic producer prices for corn and sorghum by using a price determination model. The second essay developed a sorghum total supply and total demand model to project the potential trend of China’s future sorghum import demand. This study found that both China’s corn and sorghum producer prices would decrease during the next following years (2016-2025) whether the government-owned corn stocks would decline gradually or be disposed immediately. Moreover, results of the study indicated that China’s sorghum import demand would not completely disappear while the government eliminated its corn temporary reserve program and could increase slightly with a continuous increase in swine production.Item Consumer beef preferences and risk mitigation in the beef supply chain in response to covid-19 pandemic: A willingness to pay study(2022-05) Sumrow, Shalynn; Hudson, Darren; Carpio, Carlos; Bratcher, ChristyHigh infection rates among employees led to the closure of several beef processing plants during the COVID-19 pandemic and caused major supply chain disruptions in the United States. With beef packing currently operating at its most concentrated scale, these shutdowns caused the beef industry to lose billions of dollars in damages, revenue, and livestock losses. The need for risk mitigation in beef packing is at an all-time high and reducing the scale of beef processing by breaking up larger packing facilities and spreading several smaller packing facilities across the country may help reduce risk. While this type of change could improve worker safety and provide consumers with more localized beef production, it would also increase retail beef prices. This study utilized a choice-based conjoint analysis to survey 1,381 consumers to determine whether consumers would be willing to pay for smaller-scale beef production and higher retail beef prices to mitigate risk in the beef supply chain. The results indicate that consumers are willing to pay more for advanced worker safety procedures, more localized beef production, and different variations of beef production methods, but they are not willing to pay higher retail beef prices for small beef processing.Item Consumer preference for alternative milk packaging(2014-08) Neill, Clinton L.; Williams, Ryan B.; Hudson, Darren; Benson, Aaron G.; Malaga, JaimeThis research evaluates consumers’ willingness to pay for products that are perceived as having “environmentally friendly” attributes. With the current trend of local dairies producing glass bottled milk all across the nation, the study focuses on glass bottled milk. The particular interest of this study is evaluating the consumer’s attitude toward glass bottled milk and how they respond to varying price points associated with the product.Item Cotton Market Price Information: How it Affects the Industry(The Cotton Foundation, 1998) Hudson, Darren; Ethridge, Don E.Price information is relevant to all sectors and participants in the cotton industry, but understanding of the roles of price information by industry is not widespread. This paper examines the role of prices and price information in the operation of the cotton industry. More specifically, the objective is to demonstrate the implications of incorrect price information on the efficiency of the cotton and textile sectors. Research examples and case studies are used to demonstrate the implications of incorrect price information on different segments of the cotton industry. These case studies and results from previous research indicate that incorrect information can affect both the operational and pricing efficiency in the cotton market. These are examined with cases from variety selection, ginning, contracting, and mill purchasing. Incorrect price information also has an impact on broader issues such as trade, international competitiveness, and government policy.Item Daily Hedonic Price Analysis in Cotton: An Alternative Approach for Providing Market Information(NCR-134, 1995) Brown, Jeff; Ethridge, Don; Hudson, DarrenInformation on prices of commodities that are. differentiated by quality is important for understanding how the markets where these goods are traded operate. Hedonic price analysis provides a means to address this issue. Through econometric estimation, the overall price of a good can he disaggregated into its components. That is, the value or "price" of a quality attribute can he estimated through econometric analysis. This allows one to disaggregate the observed (aggregated) price of the product into its component parts based on the different levels of quality of the commodity. The hedonic approach has been well-established for some time, but it has not previously been applied to the daily analysis and reporting of prices.Item Declining Cotton Acreage Impacts on U.S Cotton Ginning Industry Sturcture and Costs(2010) Hudson, Darren; Mutuc, Maria M.The United States cotton industry has seen sustained reductions in cotton acreage since 2006 that coincided with increased production of biofuels that afforded higher returns to crops such as corn, among others, from which biofuels are derived. With lower cotton production following reduced acreage, the average number of bales processed per gin in the U.S. declined from 26,920 bales in 2006 to 17,453 in 2008. As a result of this lower effective demand, higher-capacity gins are constrained to produce at lower volumes below their minimum efficient scale at higher costs. On the other hand, smaller capacity gins now operate closer to their minimum efficient scale which makes them more cost-effective in producing lower volumes. This paper evaluates how the recent declines in cotton acreage have affected the structure and costs faced by cotton gins in the U.S.Item Determining the effects of irrigation on cotton maturity through vertical distribution(2016-05) Obenhaus, Luke; Ritchie, Glen L.; Woodward, Jason E.; Hudson, DarrenCotton maturity affects growth and development as well as water use efficiency of the crop. With the continuing depletion to the Ogallala Aquifer, the main source of irrigation water for cotton in West Texas. Maturity characteristics under varying levels of water deficit are becoming more critical to overall yield and the final quality of the crop. In-season and post-season methods of crop maturity estimation were tested to determine the interaction between cultivar and irrigation levels in determining crop maturity, yield, and fiber quality. Research was conducted on four cultivars (Daltapine 1212 (DP1212), FiberMax 2011 (FM2011), FiberMax 2484 (FM2484), and Phytogen 499 (PHY499)) from 2012 to 2015 at the Quaker Research Farm in Lubbock, Texas. The design each year was a split plot with irrigation as the main plot and cultivar as the split plot, with seven to ten irrigation levels and two to three replicates within each irrigation level. In-season measurements of plant height, total nodes, nodes above first square and nodes above white flower were compared with vertical boll distribution, determined as the nodes at which 10, 25, 50, 75 and 90% of the overall yield was achieved by treatment. It was determined that boll distribution characteristics within a cultivar were relatively stable over the irrigation treatments. Crop maturity was consistent between cultivars and all irrigation treatments. As irrigation increased the mainstem nodes that accumulated the majority of the bolls occurred higher on the plant. With these findings, a standardized maturity classification can be created within the cotton industry, thus allowing seed companies to market their cultivars within the classification. While helping producers and research to be understand the differences between maturities and allowing them to apply irrigation or other production practices with precision.Item Domestic subsidies and agricultural commodity trade among World Trade Organization member nations(2018-05) White, Mackenzie; Hudson, Darren; Segarra, Eduardo; Malaga, JaimeWhite examines the effects of domestic production subsidies on international trade flows. The study conducts an independent examination and measurement of the WTO’s Aggregate Measure of Support for agricultural subsidies across 15 member nations for the commodities corn, cotton, rice, sorghum, soybean, and wheat. The econometric panel tests results show that AMS does have an inverse relationship with net imports and thereafter concludes that further AMS reduction commitments by WTO member nations are imperative to increasing global trade flows.Item Economic Analyses of Livestock Marketing and Production in China(2022-12) Kang, Qi; Wang, Chenggang; Carpio, Carlos E.; Hudson, Darren; Sanchez-Plata, Marcos X.This dissertation comprises three interrelated essays on livestock marketing and production in China. In the first essay, the main objective was to propose and implement a procedure to estimate price’s budgetary and signaling effects on demand for goods in discrete choice experiments. A structural modeling procedure was developed and implemented to identify the double impact of price on utility and to guide the empirical approach. The application used data from an online survey of 622 Chinese consumers conducted in 2021. In addition to a choice experiment using beef brisket, the survey included questions about consumers’ perceived quality of the brisket. This study utilized a mixed logit model to explore consumers’ choice decisions and employed a panel linear regression model to estimate the price-quality relationship. Results show a positive and statistically significant effect of price on perceived product quality, suggesting that Chinese consumers use price as an indicator of quality, which might be related to uncertainty regarding beef brisket quality and distrust of the information presented on labels. However, this study found that the budgetary effect is greater than the signaling effect. Moreover, Chinese consumers are willing to pay premiums for overall quality improvements. These willingness to pay values would be smaller if consumers did not use price as a signal for quality. The second essay examined Chinese consumers’ preferences and willingness to pay for credence attributes of beef from the domestic market and beef from other large exporting countries. Three beef cuts were considered: steak, brisket, and tongue. Data was collected from an online survey incorporating choice experiments of 2,016 consumers from China in 2021. In the choice scenarios, each respondent was presented with three beef alternatives that differed in price, country of origin, food safety, and production certifications, and also included a “no purchase” option. Chinese consumers’ beef selections in the choice experiments were analyzed using a mixed logit model in willingness space. Results indicate the type of cut does not influence Chinese consumers’ evaluation of country of origin and credence attributes. Moreover, results show that Chinese consumers strongly prefer and are willing to pay more for domestic beef than imported beef products. Beef from New Zealand had the highest willingness to pay value among all the exporting countries included in the study, followed by Argentina, Australia, Canada, Uruguay, Brazil, and the United States. Also, enhanced food safety and Organic and Green Food certifications had positive willingness to pay values. Overall, the findings of this study offer evidence that Chinese consumers prefer safe and quality-assured beef products. The third and final essay examined the impacts of windfall income from picking and trading caterpillar fungus on pastoral households’ livestock production activities. Data was collected from a pastoral household survey (n=503) conducted in 2016 and 2017 in five Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures in China. This study employed propensity score matching procedures with the first nearest neighbor matching method to estimate the effect of participation in harvesting and trading the caterpillar fungus. The estimated results show that pastoral households with income from caterpillar fungus activities tend to maintain a smaller herd size, sell fewer animals for profit, slaughter more livestock for family consumption, and experience fewer livestock deaths compared to traditional pastoral households without caterpillar fungus income. Consequently, the new income source also decreases the grazing intensity. Moreover, the findings of this study provide evidence for promoting a more diversified and sustainable livelihood portfolio to decrease traditional pastoral households’ dependence on grasslands.Item Economic potential for cotton utilization in alternative nonwoven textile technologies(2012-08) Luitel, Kishor P.; Hudson, Darren; Ethridge, Dean; Chidmi, BenaissaCotton fiber is one of the most widely used fibers in the textile industry. In the U.S., despite increases in exports and production, the decline in domestic use of cotton has been the cause for some concern in the cotton industry. The use of synthetic fiber is increasing, replacing cotton fiber in textile industry. Nonwovens are the fastest growing sector of the textile industry. Nonwovens are engineered fabrics that are a combination of traditional textiles, paper and plastic. Nonwoven textile products are largely found in products related to hygiene, medical/surgical products, wipes, filters, shoes, in coating/laminated substrates, electronics, automotive textiles, geotextiles, furnishing and bedding, construction, padding and others. This study focuses on evaluating the economic potential for cotton fiber in nonwoven textiles by analyzing the nonwoven products and technologies that could use cotton and examines the price sensitivity of cotton compared with its substitute fibers. Data was collected through an online survey conducted among the nonwoven products producing firms. The study shows that cotton has prospect in the production of absorbent and hygienic, medical/surgical and health care, personal care and wipes products. It is technically feasible to use cotton in nonwoven textiles but economics is the limitation, in terms of price, volatility in price, and processing cost for impurities on the cotton fiber. The price of cotton fiber is not sensitive to its substitute fibers except for acrylic fiber. The cotton using firms are willing to pay a little more to use cotton than non-cotton using firms, compared to substitute fibers of cotton.Item The Economic Value of Irrigation in the Texas Panhandle(Southern Agricultural Economics Association, 2010-02) Guerrero, Bridget; Wright, Andrew; Hudson, Darren; Johnson, Jeffrey; Ammoson, StephenThe Texas Panhandle relies largely on the Ogallala Aquifer for access to water for irrigated agricultural production. With current pumping rates and slow recharge rates, the aquifer will at some point in the future no longer be an economically viable source of water for agriculture. The objective of this study is to estimate the value of irrigated agriculture to the region. A hypothetical policy restriction is imposed which assumes a one hundred percent conversion to dryland agriculture. The study estimates the economic impact of such a change on producer income and the resulting socioeconomic impacts on communities in the region.Item Effects of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) and joint ventures on long-term firm performance and idiosyncratic risk(2012-08) Babanazarov, Bahtiyar; Hudson, Darren; Johnson, Phillip N.; Chidmi, Benaissa; Trindade, A. AlexandreThis dissertation is an empirical study of effects of mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures (MAJV) on the acquiring and participating firms’ long term ex-post performance and idiosyncratic risk. The research aims to extend the current knowledge on the acquirers’ and joint venture participants’ performance and risk. This objective not only reveals how the firms fare following the MAJV but also helps to understand the motives for corporate strategic decisions such as MAJV. The results show interindustrial variation in acquiring firms’ performance and idiosyncratic risk following the M&A. Acquirers from the food and pharmaceutical industries enjoy positive abnormal returns following M&A while acquirers from industries such as recreational products, entertainment, nonmetallic mining, construction, and real estate lose their wealth following the M&A. Acquiring firms, in general, enjoy lower idiosyncratic risk following the M&A compared to other firms in their industries that did not engage in M&A. The study of joint ventures reveal that firms that form joint ventures gain positive abnormal returns following the joint venture formation and their idiosyncratic risk is significantly lower than the firms that did not engage in joint ventures but are in the same industry. The results support the findings of previous literature which suggests that joint ventures create synergy.