| This dissertation uses two approaches to develop models of local area agriculture, that is to say, local area crop and livestock production, sales, and farm income. The first model developed is based on time series data for Audrain County, MO. The second model employs panel data to develop a model which is applicable to all Missouri counties; the results of this model may be aggregated to any level desired, up to and including the total state. In addition to the impacts of prices and costs, the local area models capture the effects of such factors as population encroachment, part-time farming, alternative uses of agricultural land, and specific regional effects. The dissertation also describes a method whereby the outputs from the econometric models may be “linked” to local area Input-Output models in order to determine the impact of changes in the local area agricultural economy on the local economy in general. |
