Purdue Agricultural Economics Report

The Purdue Agricultural Economics Report (PAER) exists to serve and further the core mission of the department to engage with real world problems that are of value to stakeholders. The scholarship communicated in this publication will represent the department’s excellence in creative endeavor for new knowledge and its dissemination in the economics of agriculture and natural resources.

Recent Publication:

Indiana farmland prices continue to rise in 2023

August 7, 2023

Indiana farmland prices once again hit record highs in 2023, according to the recent Purdue Farmland Value and Cash Rents Survey.

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Articles:

Publication Date: August 2023
Article ID: PAER-2023-26

Todd H. Kuethe, Professor and Schrader Chair in Farmland Economics

Summary: State-wide farmland prices in Indiana once again hit a new record high in 2023. The growth, however, was relatively modest compared to the record high appreciation observed in 2022.
Publication Date: August 2023
Article ID: PAER-2023-27

Michael Langemeier, Professor of Agricultural Economics

Summary: The P/rent ratio (price per acre divided by cash rent per acre) is substantially higher than historical values. In order to maintain the current high farmland values, cash rents would have to remain relatively high, and interest rates would also have to remain relatively low.
Publication Date: August 2023
Article ID: PAER-2023-28

Todd H. Kuethe, Schrader Endowed Chair in Farmland Economics

Summary: When setting cash rental rates, farmers and landowners should consider information from both the Purdue survey and USDA-NASS. Inside this article, we compare the findings from both surveys.
Publication Date: May 2023
Article ID: PAER-2023-25

Yanyu Ma, H. Holly Wang, professor of agricultural economics, Yizhou Hua, and Shihuan Kuang

Summary: This report compares the soybean demand in the production of traditional meat, plant-based meat and cell-cultured meat. Soybean farmers are expected to benefit from the meat demand growth and the new meat substitute production.
Publication Date: May 2023
Article ID: PAER-2023-18

Nicole Olynk-Widmar, Professor, Associate Head, and Graduate Program Chair of Agricultural Economics

Summary: An update on the State of the Agricultural Economics Graduate Program at Purdue University
Publication Date: May 2023
Article ID: PAER-2023-19

Laxmi D. Adhikari, Yizhou Hua, and Yifei Wang, agricultural economics graduate students, and H. Holly Wang, agricultural economics professor

Summary: According to consumer preferences, healthier snack options with favorable sensory attributes are increasingly sought after, with physically active individuals placing greater emphasis on product quality, while those leading sedentary lifestyles prioritize calorie content and taste.
Publication Date: May 2023
Article ID: PAER-2023-20

Zachary T. Neuhofer, agricultural economics doctoral student

Summary: We analyze the effects of a sustainability facts label on organic choice. We find that the presence of the hypothetical label increased the likelihood of organic purchase, and led to consumers increasing their perception of organic relative to conventional.
Publication Date: May 2023
Article ID: PAER-2023-21

Ethan Buck, Morgan Hinz, Yuxi “Jimmy” Jiang, Xiuyun “Lisa” Wen, all agricultural economics undergraduate students, and Todd H. Kuethe, professor and Schrader Endowed Chair in Farmland Economics

Summary: A team of undergraduate researchers find that USDA retail food price forecasts provide accurate predictions at short horizons.
Publication Date: May 2023
Article ID: PAER-2023-22

Hari P. Regmi, Agricultural Economics Doctoral Student

Summary: Historically, Farm Bill programs have provided a majority of farm income support to producers. In recent years, especially 2020 and 2021, the pandemic assistance payments comprised the largest share of government assistance to Indiana producers. The average government payments per farm ($35, 497) was a record high in 2020 (35.2% of net cash income).
Publication Date: May 2023
Article ID: PAER-2023-23

Hari P. Regmi, Agricultural Economics doctoral student

Summary: Over the past ten years (2012-2021), Indiana farms were relatively stable according to liquidity and solvency indicators. However, Indiana farms were relatively less efficient than Midwest and US farms measured by operating expense ratio.
Publication Date: May 2023
Article ID: PAER-2023-24

Margaret Lippsmeyer, M.S. student in Agricultural Economics, and Michael Langemeier, Professor of Agricultural Economics

Summary: Knowledge, experience, and collaboration work hand in hand with one another to improve farm output per unit of input (i.e., productivity). This article reflects on the impact these three factors have on farm productivity and describes how each relates to management strategy.
Publication Date: May 2023
Article ID: PAER-2023-17

Roman Keeney, Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics

Summary: Last year’s inflation reduction act (IRA) added some $20 billion in conservation funds to farm bill programs for climate smart agriculture. Efforts to claw back those climate funds could complicate an already difficult farm bill process.
Publication Date: April 2023
Article ID: PAER-2023-16

Roman Keeney, Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics

Summary: Passage of a Farm Bill in 2023 will depend critically on finding compromises on nutrition spending.
Publication Date: March 2023
Article ID: PAER-2023-15

Roman Keeney, Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics

Summary: CBO’s February outlook identified federal deficit projections well above fifty year norms. Mounting concerns about economic growth and the size of the deficit indicate that new farm legislation in 2023 will likely need to be reduced from its estimated $140 bn/year cost to gain broad legislative support.
Publication Date: March 2023
Article ID: PAER-2023-14

Roman Keeney, Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics

Summary: USDA’s changes to the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) in 2021 have increased spending estimates by more than a quarter trillion dollars over ten years. The TFP and other factors used in calculating SNAP benefits will be prime targets for introducing cost reductions into the 2023 Farm Bill.
Publication Date: February 2023
Article ID: PAER-2023-13

Roman Keeney, Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics

Summary: In this policy brief, we examine nutrition and commodity program spending since 2018 and conclude that the success of general economic policies typically determine farm bill spending. While the CBOs baseline represents important information it should not be treated as an automatic signal that farm bill programs must be cut.
Publication Date: February 2023
Article ID: PAER-2023-12

Roman Keeney, Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics

Summary: The projected cost for farm and nutrition programs over the next ten years makes the farm bill a significant target for federal spending cuts. Successfully passing a farm bill in 2023 depends critically on insulating the farm bill from broader partisan debate over the size of government
Publication Date: February 2023
Article ID: PAER-2023-11

Roman Keeney, Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics

Summary: A key consideration for 2023’s Farm Bill will focus on legislated effective prices in the PLC program. In this brief, we examine why the PLC effective price calculation offers limited adjustment to increasing prices and input costs.
Publication Date: January 2023
Article ID: PAER-2023-10

Roman Keeney, Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics

Summary: The 2023 Farm Bill process is sure to produce significant debate, analysis, and opinion. This primer covers some basic “language skills” for tracking farm bill discourse in 2023.
Publication Date: January 2023
Article ID: PAER-2023-09

Roman Keeney, Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics

Summary: With current farm legislation expiring in September, we take this opportunity to review the process of writing a new Farm Bill for 2023 against the current timeline and political landscape.

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The Purdue Agricultural Economics Report is a quarterly publication written by faculty and staff from the Department Agricultural Economics at Purdue University.

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