An economic analysis of the impact of alternative government peanut programs on program costs and the farm production sector of the Virginia-North Carolina peanut industry
| dc.contributor.author | Little, Thomas William | en |
| dc.contributor.department | Agricultural Economics | en |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2022-05-24T18:02:25Z | en |
| dc.date.available | 2022-05-24T18:02:25Z | en |
| dc.date.issued | 1973 | en |
| dc.description.abstract | Developing estimates of the impact which three alternatives to the 1971 Peanut Program would have on peanut production, on the distribution of benefits of alternative government farm programs, on the income of the area's peanut farms, on the income of producers classed by farm size and tenure groups, and on losses incurred by the government in conducting peanut price support activities were major objectives in this analysis. During the decade 1961-71, the annual cost of the peanut price support program increased from $12.1 to $97 million. This increase plus the prospect for substantial increases in the annual cost of the program has created pressure for program modification or change, and concern about the economic impact of program modifications. In this study an acreage reduction program, a voluntary certificate plan, and a two-price plan were analyzed. The analysis was conducted employing intraregional programming models containing separable programming algorithms to regulate structural adjustments and the movement of resources among 12 farm size and tenure groups identified in each model. The objectives were achieved. Results of this analysis support the hypothesis that differences in peanut program alternatives being evaluated would influence peanut production, program costs, and the income of peanut farmers in the Virginia-North Carolina area. They indicate that the volume of peanuts coming to market under alternative peanut programs could range from 50 percent with a voluntary certificate plan to 137 percent with a two-price plan. The estimated volume of peanuts which would be produced under provisions of the 1971 Peanut Program was 700 million pounds. Results also show that the selection of a peanut program could reduce labor requirements of area farms by 6 percent or increase the needed labor force by 4 percent. They further indicate that program selection could cause a variation in gross receipts of $22 million and a variation in receipts from peanuts of $43 million. Production, employment, and farm income could be increased with the implementation of the two-price plan without increasing government costs if government losses per pound of peanuts acquired by CCC under the target price provision did not exceed $.03 per pound, and production estimates made for the domestic crop did not change significantly. Estimates of government costs indicate that support of the price of peanuts for the domestic edible market at the 1971 price of $.14 per pound, plus a target price of $.10 per pound for peanuts for crushing and the world market, would not result in government costs greater than the estimated cost of the 1971 Peanut Program as long as the price of peanuts for crushing and the world market was greater than $.07 per pound. In periods of strong demand results indicate that the cost of this program option would be nominal, and in periods of depression in the domestic crushing and world markets the cost of the program would be significant, Estimates of government costs for each crushing and world market price evaluated ranged from $9 to $161 millions. Results indicate that without a domestic price support for peanuts produced for crushing and the world market, wide fluctuations in returns would develop under the two-price plan, fluctuations which could reduce returns to levels substantially below these experienced under the 1971 Peanut Program. Results also show that program selection would not appreciably alter the distribution of program benefits, that each alternative analyzed would result in lower returns to the fixed factors of landlords, that program selection would influence agribusinesses supplying production items to area peanut farmers, and that peanut shellers and processors would be affected by program selection. Statistics providing more detailed information on the impact which the two-price plan would have are provided in the text, and a similar set of values are incorporated to show the impact which a voluntary certificate plan and an acreage reduction program would have on production, farm income, and government costs. | en |
| dc.description.degree | Ph. D. | en |
| dc.format.extent | [14], 333, [3] leaves | en |
| dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | en |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10919/110288 | en |
| dc.language.iso | en | en |
| dc.publisher | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | en |
| dc.relation.isformatof | OCLC# 40099770 | en |
| dc.rights | In Copyright | en |
| dc.rights.uri | http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ | en |
| dc.subject.lcc | LD5655.V856 1973.L57 | en |
| dc.title | An economic analysis of the impact of alternative government peanut programs on program costs and the farm production sector of the Virginia-North Carolina peanut industry | en |
| dc.type | Dissertation | en |
| dc.type.dcmitype | Text | en |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Agricultural Economics | en |
| thesis.degree.grantor | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | en |
| thesis.degree.level | doctoral | en |
| thesis.degree.name | Ph. D. | en |
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