Task 1: EITHER Explore the academic literature and document and discuss any production function responses you review for your commodity. (For instance: a) Does the production response exhibit both...

Task 1:

EITHER

Explore the academic literature and document and discuss any production function responses you review for your commodity.
(For instance:

1. 
   

   a) Does the production response exhibit both increasing or decreasing returns or just decreasing returns?

   
   


2. 
   

   b) Does it exhibit negative returns?

   
   


3. 
   

   c) Is the response to changing input levels large or small over particular ranges?

   
   


4. 
   

   d) What are the implications of the production response or shape of the production function for

   
   

   policy interventions aimed at impacting input levels?

   
   


5. 
   

   e) Based on approximate input and output prices, what is the likely profit maximising level of

   
   

   input and how has the shape influenced this level?)

   
   

   OR

   
   

Define a range of activities (at least two) for this enterprise (for instance, you may examine different lambing times/feeding regimes for the meat sheep enterprise or different fertiliser levels for the wheat enterprise). Review previous literature and information sources to help you develop the gross margins for these activities. In developing and presenting these gross margins, ensure that:

Task 2:

Discuss the main value chains and forms of price discovery in the market. Discuss the spatial, temporal and form dimensions of the market.
(For instance:

1. 
   

   1) What are the main stages between production and consumption and who are the main actors?

   
   


2. 
   

   2) How are prices and exchange determined within the market?

   
   


3. 
   

   3) How is the industry organised across space?

   
   


4. 
   

   4) Is there a long period between decisions on resource allocation and production and decisions

   
   

   on sale? How does the marketing system accommodate the time lags between production

   
   

   and consumption?

   
   


5. 
   

   5) Is the raw agricultural product or final consumer product uniform or are there many different

   
   

   types of the product (e.g. grain size, protein content, fibre length ...)? How does the marketing system cope with different types of product?)

   
   

a. b.

You identify some of the key parameters in the gross margin and perform some sensitivity analysis on these parameters.
You provide an explanation of how to interpret and use these gross margins.

EITHER

AGRC2030 Assignment 2018

Purpose:

1. 
   

   To apply the concepts covered in the lectures and associated readings to the case of a particular agricultural industry;

   
   


2. 
   

   To demonstrate how agricultural economics can be used to analyse agricultural production, marketing and policy issues.

   
   

Task:

Select a particular agricultural commodity such as, but not exclusive to, wheat, canola, meat sheep, beef cattle. You may also narrow the case to a particular region. Drawing on the concepts you have learnt from the lectures as well as your own research, do the following two tasks (note that you have a choice within each task):

(Note the examples in brackets are a just a guide to the questions you might consider in addressing each of the tasks but they are in no way prescriptive or comprehensive.)

OR

Discuss the main forms of government intervention that have impacted on the marketing of the commodity and production of the enterprise.(Please note that the policy lectures are only given in the last two weeks of lectures and so if you intend to do this option for task 2 you may need to peruse these lectures beforehand and also discuss any of the concepts with the lecturer.)

(For instance:
1) What types of marketing or production policies have impacted on this commodity?
2) Have the policies been specific to the commodity or to broader agriculture or have they been

broader inter-sectoral or macroeconomic policies?
3) What has been the main intent of these policies (improve efficiency, increase or modernise

production, address environment concerns ...?)
4) What has been the main impact of these policies on the commodity?)

Important notes:

1. 
   

   There is no specific word limit but, as a guide, the discussion should be around 1250 to 1750 words excluding figures and tables relating to the production functions, activity budgets, value chain maps, etc. as well as references.

   
   


2. 
   

   You will need to search some of the academic databases as well as the internet to gather the information that you will need. One of the tutorial sessions will outline potential sources of information as well as expectations for the tasks described above. Note that it may take some time to identify this information and you will need to do this early in the semester rather than in the week before the assignment is due(please note that no assistance will be provided by the lecturer or tutor on information sources in the two weeks prior to the submission date)