IMPLICATIONS OF CROP YIELD AND REVENUE INSURANCE FOR PRODUCER HEDGING

New types of crop insurance have expanded the tools from which crop producers may choose to manage risk. Little is known regarding how these products interact with futures and options. This analysis examines optimal futures and put ratios in the presence of four alternative insurance coverages. An analytical model investigates the comparative statics of the relationship between hedging and insurance. Additional numerical analysis is conducted which incorporates futures price, basis, and yield variability. Yield insurance is found to have a positive effect on hedging levels. Revenue insurance tends to result in slightly lower hedging demand than would occur given the same level of yield insurance coverage.Risk and Uncertainty,

EVALUATION OF HEDGING IN THE PRESENCE OF CROP INSURANCE AND GOVERNMENT LOAN PROGRAMS

This research evaluates the interaction of new alternative insurance designs, forward pricing tools and the government revenue protection program while assuming a government loan program is in place. A numerical analysis is conducted using a revenue simulation model that incorporates futures prices, basis, and yield variability. Three crop insurance designs at 75 percent of yield guarantee are evaluated. Optimal futures and at-the-money put option hedge ratios are derived for expected utility maximizing of soybean producers. Sensitivity to loan rate levels are examined. Our results suggest that loan programs profoundly alter the optimal producer strategy.Agricultural Finance, Marketing,

Managing Risk in Farming: Concepts, Research, and Analysis

The risks confronted by grain and cotton farmers are of particular interest, given the changing role of the Government after passage of the 1996 Farm Act. With the shift toward less government intervention in the post-1996 Farm Act environment, a more sophisticated understanding of risk and risk management is important to help producers make better decisions in risky situations and to assist policymakers in assessing the effectiveness of different types of risk protection tools. In response, this report provides a rigorous, yet accessible, description of risk and risk management tools and strategies at the farm level. It also provides never-before-published data on farmers' assessments of the risks they face, their use of alternative risk management strategies, and the changes they would make if faced with financial difficulty. It also compares price risk across crops and time periods, and provides detailed information on yield variability.crop insurance, diversification, futures contracts, leasing, leveraging, liquidity, livestock insurance, marketing contracts, options contracts, production contracts, revenue insurance, risk, vertical integration, Farm Management, Risk and Uncertainty,

Homegrown: Pastor Advocacy for Victims of Sex Trafficking

Human trafficking consists of both sex trafficking (ST) and labor trafficking (LT) and is a growing problem for the United States. The Federal Human Trafficking Report (2019), states that Missouri is ranked ninth in the country for active criminal human trafficking cases. This issue is particularly prevalent in our churches because churches serve vulnerable populations and predators may be drawn to churches. Religious academic literature about pastor advocacy for victims of ST is lacking, while popular news sources reference case after case where pastors are the predators. This study consisted of nine Christian pastors who currently served in a pastoral role. The purpose was to understand how Christian pastors have advocated for victims of ST in their faith communities. The framework of transformational leadership was used to explore advocacy efforts. This qualitative, content analysis revealed seven themes: (1) ST ID; (2) Education; (3) Passion points are indicative of God calling people to act; (4) Umbrella advocacy consisted of indirect, peripheral, and direct pathways; (5) Heart work was built through ecumenical collaborations; (6) Spirit work evokes transformational learning for all; and (7) Protection of the flock addresses advocacy readiness, protection from spiritual woundedness, and inherent dangers which seeks to advocate for vulnerabilities within faith communities. Results indicate that long standing advocacy was present, and that females and males are both active in advocacy efforts although utilizing various roles

Design and application of a photon-coupled isolator circuit for Langmuir probe instrumentation.

The analysis and design of a photon-coupled isolator circuit and its application for obtaining swept Langmuir probe characteristics of a plasma are presented. Swept probe characteristics for a low pressure plasma are given and electron temperature and density are determined. The circuit is also used to measure plasma fluctuations in a double probe experiment

Trans Stories, Trans Voices: How the Internet Empowers Transgender Creators to Have Agency in Trans Fiction

Although many advocates believe that the increased representation of transgender people in mainstream fiction will lead to more understanding for the transgender community, many transgender scholars (Page, Richards) are critical of representation that is created without any involvement of actual transgender people. Some fear that the more radical perspectives of trans lives are being erased and replaced with a homogenous idea of the kinds of trans people who are “acceptable” (cárdenas). To avoid this homogeneity, it is important to allow for a multiplicity of trans perspectives and empower transgender people to have agency over their own narratives. The goal of this project is to highlight how trans agency in story telling can benefit trans fiction and take it beyond simply providing a “trans 101” for cisgender audiences. It will also address how the internet has benefitted trans creators by providing a platform for a variety of trans voices to share their stories. By analyzing fiction that centers on transgender experience and is created by transgender people, this thesis will explore the topics and issues addressed in trans stories and the diversity in the perspectives shown. Internet-based fiction such as webcomics and web series will be examined, as well as a trans authored anthology that was funded online. Examining these stories may show us what we are missing by relying on the current homogenous mainstream representation and open our eyes to the importance of empowering transgender people to tell their own diverse, radical stories

Hedging Potential in Grain Storage and Livestock Feeding

The potential for shifting risk through hedging in commodity futures is analyzed for selected grain storage and livestock feeding situations. Results applying to various locations, grades, and/or classes are reported for wheat, corn, oats, cattle, and hogs. Hedging potential is measured in terms of risk-shifting effectiveness--the proportional reduction in the variance of profits that can be obtained through routine hedging. The study indicates that hedging provides an effective means of shifting risk in livestock feeding as well as in grain storage. For most of the situations studied, the level of hedging that minimizes overall profit risk ranges between 0.6 and 1.0 unit of futures per unit of cash commodity. About one-third to two-thirds of the price risk can be shifted through hedging at this level. Hedging effectiveness declines as the distance from the delivery point for the futures contract increases. Hedging effectiveness differs between classes of wheat and among the three wheat futures markets. Grade has little impact on hedging effectiveness in cattle feeding, however. Optimal hedging levels for individual firms are shown to be very sensitive to the firms’ price expectations