Transcript SCRI advisory group meeting 5/21/2010

Eric Belasco, Suzette Galinato, Jingze Jiang,
Tom Marsh, and Srinivasa Ponnaluru
March 13, 2012

Economic Model of Optimal Mulch Use
◦ Jingze Jiang, Tom Marsh, Eric Belasco

Enterprise Budgets

Production and Risk
◦ Suzette Galinato
◦ Eric Belasco
2

Tasks accomplished: (Jingze Jiang; Phd Project)
◦ Developed a dynamic economic model of mulch use
 Measure over time profits=revenue-costs subject to
economic and noneconomic processes
◦ Gathered data and information
◦ Constructed empirical model to measure user cost
 balance the decision of mulch use vs cost of disposal
◦ Simulated different scenarios/sensitivity analysis
◦ Submitted abstract to the 2012 AAEA meetings
3
Markets
& Demand
Profit=
Revenue-Costs
Yield & Quality
Environmental
Concerns
Production Inputs
& Disposal
Experiments
Information/Relationships
4

Tasks to be accomplished:
◦ Continue to gather data and information
◦ Link physical relationships to economic variables
◦ Derive decision rules for optimal mulch use by grower,
which provides a baseline for comparisons
◦ Simulate tradeoffs for plastic and biodegradable
mulches/sensitivity analysis
◦ Compare private and social benefits for use of plastic
mulches and biodegradable mulches
◦ Investigate government intervention to balance
individual and social optimum
5

Tasks accomplished:
◦ Adilet Maimekov, MS student project
◦ Examined price determinants for different commodity
thermoplastics
◦ Found pricing predominately determined by
 price lagged 1 period
 either gas or oil prices (or both)
◦ Provides a better understanding of expected prices and
variation in pricing of plastic films for economic model
6

Tasks accomplished:
Completed working drafts of budgets for: tomato,
lettuce and strawberry
Submitted budgets of field-grown tomato and
lettuce to WSU Extension for publication as WSU
Fact Sheets
Required multiple contacts and meetings with
growers
7

Tasks to be accomplished:
 Submit remaining crop budgets to WSU Extension
Publications and finalize them after peer review
 Post fact sheets on SCRI Project and IMPACT
websites
 Post plastic mulch requirement calculator on SCRI
Project and IMPACT websites
8

Tasks accomplished: (Suzette)

Costs built into enterprise budgets:
◦
◦
◦
◦

Material
Installation
Removal
Disposal
Tasks to be accomplished:
◦ Investment decisions
◦ Finish and post stand alone plastic mulch calculator
9

Tasks accomplished:
◦ Initial evaluation of early-to-season premium
◦ Evaluation of crop insurance options for
fruit/vegetable
◦ Theoretical development of relationship between
high tunnels and crop insurance in risk management
◦ AAEA paper and presentation, summer 2011
meetings
10

Tasks to be accomplished:
◦ Evaluate risk management strategies
with HTs
 Assess the interaction between HTs and
crop insurance programs
 Use team results to create hypothetical
scenarios
 Place team results within context of a
longer weather time series (how frequent
do these types of events occur?)
 Incorporate results from ongoing
Certified Organic Production survey
11

Tasks to be accomplished:
◦ Incorporate outcomes from year 2
 Yield
 Marketable yield
 Quality
◦ More in-depth analysis regarding early-to-market
premium using farmer’s market data
12

Tasks to be accomplished:
◦ Two presentations upcoming with Carol and
Annette
 Women in Agricultural Educators National Conference
(March in Memphis)
 HTs as a risk management tool
 National Small Farms Conference (Sept. in Memphis)
 A case study in uses (and abuses) of HTs
◦ Assess the insurability of HTs? (weather-based)
13




Belasco, E., S. Ponnaluru, S. Galinato, and T.L. Marsh. “An
Assessment of the Interaction between High Tunnels and Crop
Insurance for Specialty Crop Producers,” American Agricultural
Economics Association, Pittsburg, 2011.
Jiang, J., T. L. Marsh, and E. Belasco. 2012. “Optimal Pollution
Control in Agricultural Production: Biodegradable vs Plastic
Mulches,” Working paper, Washington State University.
Galinato, S.P., C. Miles and S.S. Ponnaluru. “2011 Cost Estimates
of Producing Fresh Market Field-Grown Tomatoes in
Washington,” Working Paper submitted to WSU Extension
Publication.
Galinato, S.P. and C. Miles. “2011 Cost Estimates of Producing
Fresh Market Field-Grown Lettuce in Washington,” Working Paper
submitted to WSU Extension Publication.
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