In the past 75 years agricultural economics as a professional field has evolved from a relatively small and fragmented group of concerns into a large professional activity, with highly developed theory, sophisticated research techniques, much data, and many outputs. Agricultural economists have developed, during the same time and as part of the same process, from a small number of pioneers, often shrewd and hardheaded men, but typically not well-trained by today's standards, into a large, well-populated, well-trained profession with many subfields. Agricultural economists today have permeated many aspects of modern American life—fact of which we boast, and one which some of our critics may deplore. How this came about, and what our role is or might be today, are the subjects of this paper.

The economic sector beyond the farm gate – which provides marketing, transportation, and distribution services – has become increasingly important over time relative to farm production. In 1982, the cost of marketing farm foods reached an estimated 71 percent of total consumer expenditures. As we look to the 21st century, it is quite likely that the gamut of marketing services beyond the farm gate will account for over 80 percent of consumers’ expenditures for food.

Dairy product markets have been burdened with excess supplies since late 1979. The principal cause of these surpluses is overly high government price supports. This situation can be traced to a series of policy decisions made in the mid-1970s.

The evolution of dairy policy during the last 10 years is examined and the implications of recent policy proposals are explored. The contributions of agricultural economists to the formulation of rational dairy policy is discussed and suggestions for improving their contributions to and influence on policy are made.

The contribution of research to agricultural production is measured by estimating a production function which includes variables to reflect conventional inputs as well as agricultural research. Conventional inputs considered are hired labor, feed and livestock, seed and fertilizer, and capital and depreciation. Investment in agricultural research and extension within the region and investment in agricultural research in other production regions of the U.S. are included in the production function. Marginal products and internal rates of return axe derived for the own region and outside-the-region investments in agricultural research.

The empirical results indicate that sane agricultural production regions have a greater capacity for exporting agricultural research results while some have a greater capacity for importing agricultural research results from other production regions. Of the ten agricultural production regions of the U.S., the Northeast had the lowest marginal product per dollar invested in agricultural research during the 1977–81 period and the lowest internal rate of return to investment in agricultural research. For the same time period the average annual spillovers from the Northeast were approximately 3.3 times as large as the average annual regional benefit and the spillovers from the Northeast were about 2.3 times as large as the spill-ins into the Northeast region. The ratio of federal to state expenditures on agricultural research in the Northeast was 1.03 and compared to a ratio of spillover's to regional benefits of 3.3 suggests that the Northeast does not fare well in terms of federal support of agricultural research benefiting other regions of the U.S.

Women are an important element in determining a country's productive potential and the success of development efforts. However, women have been largely neglected in the rural development programs of many developing countries (Boulding, 1978; Newland, 1979).

A modified version of shift-share analysis is used to examine spatial, temporal and compositional trends in employment growth in the Northeastern United States during the 1970s. The analysis is presented for subregions, states and metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties. Secondary data compiled by the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis is used.

Employment growth in the Northeast, though positive overall, did not keep pace with that of the nation. While the distribution of employment among industries was very similar in the Northeast and the United States, the performance of these industries was not. The same was true for the three major subregions that comprise the Northeast. Nonmetropolitan counties outperformed their metropolitan counterparts in employment growth during the decade, with the most rural county types showing the greatest percentage employment growth.

Many state and local groups in the Northeast are attempting to increase their employment base by attracting new industry. Unfortunately the success rate of these activities is not good. Despite the public relations hype associated with “successes,” serious evaluation of these activities raise questions regarding their efficiency. For example, the Alabama Business Research Council has documented that two-thirds of the plants that accepted industrial development bonds indicate that they would have chosen the same location even if the inducements had not been offered; thus, many “successes” were illusions. In addition, others have documented the complete failure of many types of industrial inducement programs (Cornia, Testa and Stocker; Stinson). Thus, the question is why haven't location inducement programs been more successful?

The U.S. Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works is considering legislative proposals to reduce emissions of long-range transport air pollutants which may be a major factor in acid depostion. Preliminary results indicate that these proposals will have substantial impacts on coal production and employment in northern Appalachia, a region with long-standing structural unemployment problems.

Farmer participation in a proposed 5,600 cow central digester facility is a function of herd size, present manure handling system, income tax effects and expectations about future changes in contract terms. The present value of net benefits from participation ranges from $6,000 to $6,400 for large herds and $3,200 for medium herds with manure storage. No net benefits accrue to medium sized herds not currently storing manure. Environmental impacts of the proposal will likely be positive for air and water quality but could reduce soil quality unless organic matter is returned to cropland.

This paper presents estimates of technical efficiency in milk production based on Farrell's non-parametric frontier production function methodology. Data from a sample of Maine and Vermont dairy farms, included in the ELFAC business analysis for 1979, were used to derive Efficient Unit Isoquants for capital-labor and concentrate feed-roughage combinations. The analysis indicates that milk production in Maine and Vermont farms was characterized by significant technical inefficiencies during 1979.

Pest control efforts for tree fruits, as well as other agricultural crops, have intensified in the U.S. during the past few decades. This increase is the result of the increase in pest population, the Food and Drug Administration's reduction in tolerance levels of insect parts permitted in foods, and the raising of cosmetic standards by food wholesalers and retailers (Hough and Gallahan).

The Delmarva Peninsula includes some rich farmland which is suitable for both vegetable and field crop production. Almost 80 percent of the acreage on the Delmarva Peninsula today is planted in field corn and soybeans. In the past fifteen years, the acreage of vegetables contracted to processing companies in the area has declined by about 50 percent (Smith, 1975 and 1981). This is due to four major factors: Delmarva's yield disadvantage relative to other regions; the disappearance of numerous, antiquated small canneries in the region; an unstable labor supply at existing wages; and growers’ perceived higher yield risk for vegetables.

Cooperative statutory provisions that provide for democratic membership control provide limitations affecting the management of cooperatives. Management provisions concerning membership requirements for directors and officers, amendments to articles of incorporation, and removal of officers may unduly restrict the management of cooperatives and contribute to the poor economic performance of Northeastern cooperatives. Minor statutory changes, or changes of a cooperative's articles or by laws, may help improve the performance of these business operations.

Research activities of academic agricultural economists in the Northeast Region are examined. Selected categories of research output are presented. Interregional comparisons in research productivity are made between: 1) faculty employed in the Northeast and those employed elsewhere and 2) faculty educated in the Northeast and those educated elsewhere. Intraregional comparisons of faculty employed in the Northeast by region of education are also presented. Regional differences in research resources and concentration are examined and offered as factors contributing to research productivity differences. Results indicate few significant long-run differences in research productivity and concentration in the Northeast relative to that in other regions.

The Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 (ERTA) provides a gradual increase in the unified credit which by 1987 will exempt estates of up to $600,000 from estate taxation. The unlimited marital deduction and the increase of tax-free gifts to an amount of $10,000 per year per donee has freed many farm families from the gift and estate tax burdens that arguably had been causing the break-up of small farms (U.S. Congressional Record, vol. 122; Begleiter). At the same time, however, the estate tax relief resulting from the provisions incorporated in ERTA has not completely remedied the tax problems of farmers. Farm estates greater than $600,000 are still subject to taxation. Expensive technology together with inflation and the appreciation of the value of farm real estate will undoubtedly continue to cause the value of many farm holdings to increase in size beyond the amount exempted by the uniform tax credit. The resultant estate tax liability could require the sale of farm assets in order to raise cash to pay these taxes. Thus, estate planning techniques which diminish estate taxation are still important to farmers.

This paper illustrates differences in estimated returns to public agricultural research investments for the U.S. and the Northeast when value-added (VA) as opposed to gross production (GP) functions are estimated. Commodity groups considered are dairy, poultry, other livestock, and cash grains. Sizable differences are evident in returns estimated with VA as opposed to GP functions, with the VA estimates generally being larger. Cash grains research yields the largest returns at the margin. Dairy research is more productive in the Northeast than the rest of the country.