Agriculture was once seen as the solution to many of the nation's problems. A strong agricultural sector translated into a strong America. Kohl et al. have presented four reasons for the past public commitment to agriculture. First, the agricultural sector has had considerable political power; second, there has been a widely held perception that farmers were economically disadvantaged relative to the rest of society; third, for many decades the growth of rural economies has been dependent on healthy agricultural sectors; and, finally, information produced by colleges of agriculture has been seen as a public good worthy of support by general tax revenues.

The objective of this paper is to give an overview of research policy issues and conceptual analyses for the South for the following economic development questions:

1. What are the relationships of southern agriculture to rural areas and communities?

2. What trends and adjustments are underway and having an impact on economic development in the region?

3. What directions should economic development research take to analyze and understand the current situation?

Dr. Henry has prepared a very thorough and thoughtful assessment of research needs concerning the relationships between farms and rural communities in the South. He has been true to his reputation—Dr. Henry does not skim lightly over any topic. He has diagnosed the subject area carefully, referenced current literature in his appraisal of research and policy needs, and drawn very defensible conclusions. Better still, his conclusions are basically consistent with my biases. To have one's intuitive conclusions substantiated by the experts is heady stuff indeed. The points in his paper with which I disagreed most consistently were found in extensive quotes from others, so we are clearly both on the right track.

In considering farm structure issues and the need for policy and research, we concluded that the right questions were being asked by the profession (Bergland). Rather than generate another list of research and policy priorities, we decided that what is really needed is a discussion of the data used to address these policy and research questions. Therefore, this paper will focus on data needs for economic and policy research.

The general goal of the Skees and Reed paper is to emphasize the need for data which permit anticipatory, problem-oriented research by the agricultural economics discipline. More specifically, they seek more funding and support for the concept of state-generated data and, very specifically, support for panel design surveys by each state.

Technology has made U.S. agriculture one of the world's most productive and competitive industries. Farmers have already witnessed the dramatic results of two major technological eras in agriculture. The mechanical era from 1920 to 1950 allowed farmers to make the transition from animal-powered agriculture to engine-powered commercial agriculture.

In an excellent analysis, Dr. Ghebremedhin discusses the impacts of technological changes on “small versus large farms, public costs in rural communities, and the future direction of research needs.” I cannot but wholeheartedly agree with some of his conclusions; e.g., that “technology has increased agricultural productivity and created new jobs, but it has also displaced persons from their occupations and livelihood.”

The current round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations (MTNs) under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was launched at Punta del Este, Uruguay, in September, 1986. Thus, it bears the appellation, “Uruguay Round,” although negotiations have actually been taking place at GATT headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, since early 1987.

The Uruguay Round marks the eighth time since the end of World War II that the member countries of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) have attempted to negotiate a reduction in trade restrictions and protection. Previous rounds of negotiation have had remarkable success in reducing trade protection.

Let me start out by thanking you for giving me this opportunity to share a few thoughts with you on the European Community's (EC) agricultural policy—and on some recent important developments affecting farm trade. I am especially grateful to you because the opportunity comes at a time when consideration of farm policy and farm trade is more than ever on people's minds.

Last week was Australia's 200th birthday. When the rebels in America won what they called their war of independence, Britain lost her penal colonies in the Carolinas and looked around for replacements. The first colonial fleet arrived in Australia on January 26,1788, and included, along with 700 convicts, 44 sheep and 6 cattle. If Britain had defeated her American colonists, then the history of both Australia and Louisiana would likely have been very different. The French flag might be flying today over both Sydney and New Orleans.

The current “Uruguay Round” of trade negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) began with the Declaration by trade ministers at Punta del Este, Uruguay, in September 1986. To conduct the negotiations, an agricultural negotiating group, along with fourteen other such groups, has been established. Negotiating proposals on agriculture have been offered by the Nordic Countries, the European Community (EC), Canada, the Cairns group, Japan, and the United States.

The effect of irrigation system uniformity on the selection of risk-efficient irrigation strategies is evaluated using crop simulation and stochastic dominance procedures. Alternative strategies are evaluated under assumptions of both uniform and non-uniform application. Results indicate that the variability of net returns resulting from the employment of a specified schedule increases when irrigation uniformity is explicitly represented. Solutions derived using economic efficiency and stochastic dominance criteria indicate that the uniformity with which irrigations are applied contributes to the application of water-intensive irrigation schedules.

The growing popularity of marine recreational fishing has created considerable interest in artificial marine habitat development to maintain and enhance coastal fishery stocks. This paper provides a comparative evaluation of travel cost methods to estimate recreational use benefits for new habitat site planning. Theoretical concerns about price and quality effects of substitute sites, corner solutions in site choice, and econometric estimation are considered. Results from a case study indicate that benefit estimates are influenced by the way these concerns are addressed, but relatively simple single site models can provide defensible estimates. Practical limitations on data collection and model estimation are also considered.

The economic feasibility of investing in sprinkler irrigation technology for rice production is investigated using linear programming and capital budgeting to identify the net annual benefits and net present value, respectively. Groundwater and both flat rate and volumetrically priced surface water sources of irrigation water are analyzed. Under typical practices occurring in rice production operations in the Texas Rice Belt, sprinkler irrigation technology is not profitable at current water costs. Producers using volumetrically priced surface water have the greatest incentive to consider sprinkler irrigation, but water prices must increase by over 250 percent for the investment in a sprinkler irrigation system to become attractive. Yield reductions associated with sprinkle-irrigated rice are a significant disincentive. For equivalent flood- and sprinkle-irrigated rice yields, an increase in water prices of over 175 percent is required before the investment in a sprinkler irrigation system becomes economically feasible.

The analysis examines quantitatively the findings of previous studies of the pricing efficiency of various agricultural markets using a logit framework. The findings provide insight into the importance of commodity characteristics, uncertainty, and testing procedures used on the results of past research of pricing efficiency. The study also identifies several areas for further research.

Quality discounts and premiums for rough rice in Texas rice bid/acceptance markets are analyzed. The most important quality factors determining the value of rough rice are head yield and peck. A one percentage point reduction in peck damage raises the price received per hundredweight of rough rice by $.13 to $.68 across markets and years. Since peck damage can be reduced by controlling the rice stinkbug, evaluation of alternative methods for better control of this pest in Texas rice fields is needed.

The Net Present Value Sire Summary Professional Package (NPVSS) is a microcomputer program designed for technical personnel to help dairy producers better manage investments in genetic improvement. NPVSS is written in C language, utilizes the MS-DOS operating system, and requires 256K of RAM. It is menu driven and includes parameter screens to define herd management characteristics of individual producers. Profit rankings of bulls can be generated to evaluate alternative: a) objective functions (selection policies for genetic merit in milk income and type scores), b) herd management performance factors (conception rate, calving interval, age at first calving), and c) economic factors (milk price, semen price, discount rate, planning horizon).

ICEASE (Irrigation Cost Estimator and System Evaluator) is a microcomputer model designed and developed to meet the need for conducting economic evaluation of adjustments to irrigation systems and management techniques to improve the use of irrigated water. ICEASE can calculate the annual operating costs for irrigation systems and has five options that can be used to economically evaluate improvements in the pumping plant or the way the irrigation system is used for crop production.

Soybean Trader is a microcomputer simulation of international grain trading. The program uses the format of a graphics-oriented game to teach basic economic principles and to stimulate interest in agricultural trade. Profits from trading serve as a score, and competition is encouraged by ranking top scores in Traders' Hall of Fame. Results of tests with adult and youth audiences indicated that the program is an interesting and effective teaching tool.