Local labor market characteristics are theoretically relevant to the determination of off-farm earnings of farm operators, but the empirical analysis of these effects has been hindered by a lack of appropriate data. This study employs the new census public use micro-data sample, PUMS-D, to investigate the effect of local labor market characteristics on off-farm earnings of farm operators. The PUMS-D data allow local characteristics to be defined on a labor market area basis, rather than on a political boundary basis. For a sample of Georgia farm operators, local labor market size, unemployment rates, and industrial structure were found to have significant impacts on off-farm employment and earnings.

Risk-efficient portfolios from a subset of marketing strategies were identified using Target MOTAD. Portfolios were generated for Illinois, Arkansas, and South Carolina to determine whether regional price and yield characteristics affected the optimal marketing strategy selection during 1972-1985. The results support previous conclusions that the risk borne when following a combination of marketing strategies was less than the risk of any single marketing strategy examined. The results also show that the marketing strategies representing efficient risk-return combinations for a producer in one region were different from the efficient risk-return combinations for a producer in another region. Therefore, generic marketing advice would have produced results less preferred in one region than in another.

Merchandisers of landscape plants can increase the effectiveness of their marketing strategies by identifying target markets. Using a full information maximum likelihood tobit procedure on a system of three equations, target markets for different types of retail outlets in Georgia were identified. The results lend support and empirical evidence to the premise that different retail outlet types have different target markets and thus should develop different market strategies. The estimated target markets are identified and possible marketing strategies suitable for each type of retail outlet are suggested.

The Wheat and Stocker Cattle Analyzer is a microcomputer decision aid for evaluating interrelated wheat production and stocker cattle grazing decisions under yield, weight gain, and price uncertainty. An important feature of the model is that wheat commodity program provisions are incorporated into the analysis. A wide range of alternatives including wheat production for grain only, owned stocker cattle grazing, and wheat pasture leasing can be evaluated by the program.

Student participation in such instructional activities as presentations, panel discussions, and projects can be used to stimulate interest and learning. Such activities need not be limited to a single class. This paper describes potential linkages between selected classes in which students from upper level or graduate classes are used as instructional resources in other classes. The general approach, which is described as a student-to-student program, has been applied in a Policy Fair. The Policy Fair is described and evaluated in this paper. There was widespread support among faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates for the general concept and this specific application.