An analysis of structural and geographic shifts in U.S. pork and feeder beef production
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A Markov Chain Analysis of Pork Farm Size Distributions in the South: Reply
Rhodes' claim, that our analysis (DDH) "seems curiously unrelated to the structure of real-world hog production," is based on two criticisms. First, he suggests that our paper suffers from an apparent lack of knowledge about the industry as reflected in the poor use of data and industry assumptions that are not factual. Second, he argues that the analysis hinges on an assumption of the unlikely persistence of high hog/corn price ratios. It seems, however, that he ignores the major objective of our research effort, which was to provide information on how changing corn prices affect the size structure of pork farming in the South.
Effects of Changes in the Level of U.S. Beef Imports
Regulatory policies pertaining to beef imports are analyzed on the basis of an econometric model of the livestock sector. The model encompasses the consumption, production, trade, and retail and farm prices of fed beef, other beef, pork, poultry, and inventory levels of livestock used in the production of these products. In terms of consumer welfare, increased beef imports reduce the retail price of all meats with the larger reductions occurring for lower quality of manufacturing beef products, while in the case of producer welfare such increases reduce slaughter steer, cull cow, and feeder calf prices with a heavier burden being placed on cattle breeders relative to cattle feeders.