The Effect of Declining Wool Prices, Wheat Quotas and Debt Reconstruction on the Financial Viability of Australian Farmers
An examination of the decline in net farm income between 1966-67 and 1969-70 indicates that in the three major zones the following size groups will be non-viable (l) In the High Rainfall Zone, farms with less than 2,000 and more than 10,000 sheep, comprising 85 per cent of farms in the Zone. (2) In the Wheat Sheep Zone, farms with less than 1,000 sheep, comprising 56 per cent of farms. (3) In the Pastoral Zone, farms with less than 20,000 sheep, comprising 98 per cent of farms. This situation could be alleviated to some extent by extending the period of debt repayment from the present average period of 7 years to a period of 20 to 30 years.
Corporate decision-making during recession : product franchisors in the Australian agricultural machinery industry 1967-72
This study analyses the impact of scale, establishment mobility and policy substitution in the corporation's geographical behaviour. To maximise opportunities for observing change, the effects of recession on firms using a particular marketing system --product franchising are examined. It is argued that competitive powers, represented by company structural attributes and expressed through relative network control capacities, should assist larger organisations to undertake spatial tactics which maintain their market and economic standing. Nineteen agricultural machinery franchisors are classified on a number of key variables into large and small groups. Their manufacturing, wholesaling and retailing activity between 1967 and 1972 is compared on criteria relating to the entry and exit of outlets. Certain locational strategies adopted by major competitors are seen to stabilise or improve distribution control, thus demonstrating a relationship of structural factors, channel management and representation courses. However, a broader association of these measures and market and general financial performance cannot be shown because of data limitations. Subsidiary findings point out the greater stability of large corporations in a setback, the lower probability of continuation suffered by small franchisors' dealers and the attack on small towns enforced by the economic contraction. Through the use of an operational model within an intensive, longitudinal analysis, the enquiry concludes that scale effects pervade locational decision-making, not only among enterprises but across the whole business sector. For the largest firms, spatial policy is clearly an interchangeable means to goals and, thus, establishment mobility can be pronounced. The divergence of such findings from previous work contributes to the ongoing review of traditional thinking in industrial geography and economics and prompts further research into the interface of the corporation and the entrepreneur.
Effect of Soybean Cyst Nematode (Heterodera glycines) on Yield of Resistant and Susceptible Soybean Cultivars Grown in Ohio.
Soybean (Glycine max) producers in Ohio rarely use soybean cyst nematode (Heterodera glycines, SCN)-resistant cultivars because of concerns over limited yield potential and lack of resistance to Phytophthora sojae. A two-year study was initiated to determine grain yield and nematode population increase on soybean cyst nematode-resistant cultivars in maturity groups II and III in production fields. Sites differed in soil texture, nematode densities, and P. sojae infestation at a number of locations in Ohio. Soil was assayed for nematode densities before planting and at harvest. Yields of resistant cultivars averaged 0% to 18% higher than those of susceptible cultivars in fine-textured soils with average preplant populations ranging from 463 to 14,330 SCN eggs/100 cm(3) soil. In coarse-textured soils, yields of susceptible cultivars were 21% to 56% less than the resistant cultivars with average preplant densities ranging from 1,661 to 15,558 SCN eggs/100 cm(3) soil. The reproductive index ranged from 0.1 to 5.5 for resistant cultivars and 0.4 to 112 for susceptible cultivars. In 1993, yield of P. sojae-susceptible, nematode-resistant 'Asgrow A 3431' was as high as yield of the P. sojae-resistant, nematode-susceptible cultivar 'Resnik' in a Phytophthora-infested field. The nematode-resistant cultivars Madison Experimental 131527 and Asgrow A3431 had higher yields than AgVenture AV1341 and susceptible cultivars Resnik and Kenwood when compared over five nematode-infested sites. Nematode-resistant cultivars were found to be excellent alternatives to currently grown susceptible cultivars for managing SCN where group III cultivars are used. However, better cultivar alternatives may be needed for sites with combined Phytophthora root rot and cyst nematode problems.