Leonard Polzin, Christopher A. Wolf and J. Roy Black
The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of accelerated depreciation deductions, which includes Section 179 and bonus depreciation, taken in the first year of asset life by…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of accelerated depreciation deductions, which includes Section 179 and bonus depreciation, taken in the first year of asset life by Michigan farms. The frequency, value and influence of accelerated depreciation on farm investment are also analyzed.
Design/methodology/approach
Accrual adjusted income statements, balance sheets, depreciation schedules, and income tax information for 66 Michigan farms from 2004 to 2014 provide data for the analysis. The present value of the accelerated deduction and change in the cost of capital were calculated. Finally, investment elasticities were used to arrive at the change in investment due to accelerated depreciation.
Findings
Accelerated depreciation was utilized across all applicable asset classes. Section 179 was used more often than bonus depreciation in part because it was available in all the examined years. Based on actual farm business use, accelerated depreciation lowered the cost of capital for the operations resulting in an estimated increase in investment of 0.27 to 11.6 percent depending on asset class.
Originality/value
The data utilized are of a detail not available in previous investigations which used either aggregate data or estimated rather than the observed use of accelerated depreciation. This analysis reveals that accelerated depreciation as used by commercial farms lowers the cost of capital and thus encourages investment particularly in machinery and equipment.
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Christopher A. Wolf, J. Roy Black and Mark W. Stephenson
The purpose of this research is to understand US Upper Midwest dairy farm profitability performance over time and across herd size. Profitability is broken down into asset…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to understand US Upper Midwest dairy farm profitability performance over time and across herd size. Profitability is broken down into asset efficiency and operating profit margin. The primary objective is to determine how much information is required to accurately benchmark farm performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Financial ratios to measure profitability (rate of return on assets), profit margin (operating profit margin ratio), and asset efficiency (asset turnover) were collected from Michigan State University and the University of Wisconsin business analysis programs for dairy farms from 2000 through 2016. Financial ratio patterns were examined both across time and herd size. Annual distributions were divided into quartiles and the use of one to five-year averages were used to determine accuracy of quartile rank compared to true long-run farm profitability performance.
Findings
Financial performance across large herds was more uniform than across smaller herds. Small and large herd profitability performance converged in poor years but diverged in good years. Using three or more years performance greatly improved accuracy of benchmarking profitability.
Originality/value
The data utilized are very rich in the sense of the amount of variation across years and herd size. The results have important implications for farm financial management and benchmarking farm financial performance. Farm firms should benchmark multiple years of profitability before making major management changes to alleviate deficiencies.
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Christopher A. Wolf, J. Roy Black and Joleen C. Hadrich
The purpose of this paper is to examine the sources and magnitude of variation in accrual adjusted gross farm revenue and farm revenue net of feed purchases on Michigan dairy…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the sources and magnitude of variation in accrual adjusted gross farm revenue and farm revenue net of feed purchases on Michigan dairy farms representative of Upper Midwest dairy farms. The paper aims to assess whether adjusted gross revenue‐type insurance instruments meet insurability conditions when applied to dairy farms.
Design/methodology/approach
Accrual adjusted dairy farm revenue and revenue net of feed purchased from Michigan dairy farm panel data from 1995 through 2006 were detrended and summarized. Variance decomposition was used to identify sources of variation in adjusted gross revenue and adjusted gross revenue less feed purchases. In‐sample insurance premiums were estimated and Monte Carlo simulations were used to adjust these premiums for out‐of‐sample considerations.
Findings
Milk price variation was the largest source of variation while milk production per cow varied little. Farms with smaller herds and those with larger percentages of farm revenue from crop sales had higher relative revenue variability and would trigger a higher frequency of indemnities under a whole farm revenue insurance contract.
Research limitations/implications
Because the data analyzed conclude in 2006, the volatility of the past couple of years is not reflected. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed insurance feasibility further with more recent data.
Practical implications
The paper addresses considerations for the development and commercialization of a feasible dairy revenue insurance instrument.
Originality/value
This paper fulfils a need to understand magnitude and source of revenue variation on dairy farms and how insurance might mitigate negative consequences of this variation.
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Alastair Roy, Jane Fountain and Sundari Anitha
This paper examines the social and institutional context of barriers to drug service throughcare and aftercare for prisoners in England and Wales, including those that…
Abstract
This paper examines the social and institutional context of barriers to drug service throughcare and aftercare for prisoners in England and Wales, including those that specifically affect Black and minority ethnic prisoners. A research project in 2004 reviewed relevant literature and statistical data, mapped prison drug services, and sought the perspectives of relevant stakeholders: in total, 334 individuals were recruited to the study. The methodology facilitates analysis of the structure of services and the agency prisoner in accessing them. Recommendations are made for changes to the structure and delivery of prison drug services.
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Roudi Nazarinia Roy, Yolanda Mitchell, Anthony James, Byron Miller and Jessica Hutchinson
The transition to motherhood has been studied extensively, but primarily among participants in homogenous race/ethnicity relationships. The aim of the current study was to explore…
Abstract
The transition to motherhood has been studied extensively, but primarily among participants in homogenous race/ethnicity relationships. The aim of the current study was to explore the lived experiences of a diverse group of women in biracial and monoracial relationships experiencing the transition to motherhood (e.g., biracial or monoracial motherhood). Informed by the symbolic interaction framework, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted to investigate the expectations and experiences of first-time motherhood on a sample of 12 U.S. women. Their diverse stories contained multiple themes including an overarching theme of racial/ethnic differences in appropriate infant care, which surfaces during engagement in family and social support interactions. This analysis emphasizes the need for more diverse portrayals of motherhood. We discuss our findings in light of the literature and implications for future research and practice.
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This chapter provides an extensive review of literature on the interaction between and interdependence of informal and formal working practices in various workplace settings. The…
Abstract
This chapter provides an extensive review of literature on the interaction between and interdependence of informal and formal working practices in various workplace settings. The aim of the chapter is to elucidate the organisational, managerial, human relations and social factors that give rise to informal work practices and strategies, on the shop-floor not only at workers and work group levels but also at supervisory and managerial levels. This chapter helps the reader to understand the informal work practice of making a plan (planisa) in a deep-level mining workplace.
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Hinrich Schulte and Oliver Musshoff
The expected increase in milk price volatility after the milk quota abolition in the EU will lead to further planning uncertainty on dairy farms. Consequently, the modest supply…
Abstract
Purpose
The expected increase in milk price volatility after the milk quota abolition in the EU will lead to further planning uncertainty on dairy farms. Consequently, the modest supply of insurance and the hedging of milk prices through futures may increase. To shed more light on this possibility, the purpose of this paper is to calculate the additional willingness to pay (WTP) for risk-averse dairy farmers in order to cope with milk price volatility after the quota abolition.
Design/methodology/approach
After the European dairy quota abolition, European dairy farmers will be more dependent on the milk price of the world market. To reflect the world market, a time series of milk prices of a dairy processor from New Zealand (NZ) was used because NZ is exporting most of their dairy products under world market conditions. Based on the NZ price series, we approximated milk price volatility after the European dairy quota abolition and calculated the additional WTP of risk-averse dairy farmers in order to cope with milk price volatility.
Findings
Using a price series of NZ to approximate milk price volatility after the European dairy quota abolition and comparing it with a German milk price series before quota, the results suggest there might be increased WTP after the milk quota abolition in order to cope with milk price volatility. Following this assumption, the WTP of considerable risk-averse dairy farmers may exceed the initial transaction costs of hedging milk prices with futures on commodity exchanges. Nevertheless, a qualitative discussion of the results shows costs of education, basis risk, and the small size of farms could still keep dairy farmers from hedging the milk price.
Originality/value
In calculating the additional WTP for risk-averse dairy farmers to cope with milk price volatility, this is the first study to attempt to illustrate the expected influence of increasing milk price volatility at the dairy farm level after the dairy quota abolition in the EU. The additional WTP gives further insights into the need for and acceptance of insurance after the dairy quota abolition at the dairy farm level.
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Josephine G. Schuman and Dan Reynolds
Research has documented how white teachers often fall short of their anti-racist intentions. However, much of this research is done with preservice teachers or teachers across…
Abstract
Purpose
Research has documented how white teachers often fall short of their anti-racist intentions. However, much of this research is done with preservice teachers or teachers across disciplines. The authors investigate stories in which white English teachers who teach substantial proportions of black students and who self-reported anti-racist goals nevertheless fell short of those goals. The purpose of the study is to understand the tensions between racial liberalism and racial literacy in their pedagogy.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors snowball sampled 12 veteran white high school English teachers (3–27 years’ experience) who taught in schools with substantial proportions of black students. The authors used a two-stage interview process to narrow the sample to 7 teachers who confirmed their anti-racist intentions and who wrote narratives of moments when they tried to be anti-racist, but the lesson failed in some way. The authors used a three-stage narrative analysis to analyze how racial liberalism and racial literacy were reflected in the narratives.
Findings
The veteran English teachers, despite their anti-racist intentions, told narratives that reflected racial liberalism, portraying racism as an individual and interpersonal phenomenon. Some narratives showed teachers who had taken steps toward racial literacy, but no narratives showed a fully developed sense of racial literacy, portraying the layers of institutional and structural racism in English education.
Originality/value
The sample suggests that veteran white English teachers are subject to similar limited racial literacies as novice teachers. While the authors found glimmers of racial literacy, they still note the work necessary to equip veteran English teachers with the racial literacies necessary for anti-racist instruction. The authors propose directions for teacher education, systemic support and professional development.
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Julie L. Hotchkiss and Anil Rupasingha
The purpose of this chapter is to assess the importance of individual social capital characteristics in determining wages, both directly through their valuation by employers and…
Abstract
The purpose of this chapter is to assess the importance of individual social capital characteristics in determining wages, both directly through their valuation by employers and indirectly through their impact on individual occupational choice. We find that a person’s level of sociability and care for others works through both channels to explain wage differences between social and nonsocial occupations. Additionally, expected wages in each occupation type are found to be at least as important as a person’s level of social capital in choosing a social occupation. We make use of restricted 2000 Decennial Census and 2000 Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey.
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Addresses the standardization of the measurements and the labels for concepts commonly used in the study of work organizations. As a reference handbook and research tool, seeks to…
Abstract
Addresses the standardization of the measurements and the labels for concepts commonly used in the study of work organizations. As a reference handbook and research tool, seeks to improve measurement in the study of work organizations and to facilitate the teaching of introductory courses in this subject. Focuses solely on work organizations, that is, social systems in which members work for money. Defines measurement and distinguishes four levels: nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio. Selects specific measures on the basis of quality, diversity, simplicity and availability and evaluates each measure for its validity and reliability. Employs a set of 38 concepts ‐ ranging from “absenteeism” to “turnover” as the handbook’s frame of reference. Concludes by reviewing organizational measurement over the past 30 years and recommending future measurement reseach.