SHORTFALLS IN 1997 NET FARM INCOME IN NORTH DAKOTA (Prepared for Senators Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad)
North Dakota net farm income declined in 1997 due to adverse weather conditions and low prices. The total income loss in 1997 was estimated to be $394 million, which was divided into $290 million due to weather and diseases, and $104 million due to lower-than-average prices. Net farm income losses were largest in Region 3 (Northeast), followed by Regions 1 (Northwest) and 6 (East Central). HRS wheat accounted for the largest income loss, followed by durum and barley.
Price Variability And Financial Risk For Sugar Beet Growers
This paper develops a portfolio framework to characterize and analyze the impact of price risk faced by sugar beet growers in the Red River Valley and derives implications for capital markets. Other sources of risk incorporated in the analysis are yields and production cost. Results from stochastic simulation analysis reveal that sugar beet growers incur significant price and financial risk. The hypothesis that the loan rate for sugar truncates the distribution of net returns and protects growers against declining beets prices was not validated.
Distribution-free monitoring of univariate processes
We consider statistical process control (SPC) of univariate processes when observed data are not normally distributed. Most existing SPC procedures are based on the normality assumption. In the literature, it has been demonstrated that their performance is unreliable in cases when they are used for monitoring non-normal processes. To overcome this limitation, we propose two SPC control charts for applications when the process data are not normal, and compare them with the traditional CUSUM chart and two recent distribution-free control charts. Some empirical guidelines are provided for practitioners to choose a proper control chart for a specific application with non-normal data.