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UGA College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics
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Historical Publications; Peer-Reviewed

UGA Extension publications offer free, research-based information to Georgians on a variety of topics including agriculture, the environment, families, food, lawn and garden, and youth. The publications below are based on agricultural and applied economics related topics.

Cover Crop Cost-Share Program Payments. This publication discusses the effectiveness and challenges of current cost-share programs in encouraging cover crop adoption and important factors to consider for policymakers when deciding on the measures that can be implemented to encourage further implementation of sustainability measures in agricultural production. 

Upland Cotton Marketing Using MAL and LDP: Which Option is Better? The Agricultural Act of 2018 (2018 U.S. Farm Bill) extended the nonrecourse marketing assistance loan (MAL) and loan deficiency payment (LDP) feature for the 2019 through 2023 crop years for upland cotton. This publication provides examples and a decision tree for choosing between the marketing assistance loan and loan deficiency payment program for cotton.

Marketing Assistance Loans and Loan Deficiency Payments for Upland Cotton.  The Agricultural Act of 2018 (2018 U.S. Farm Bill) extended the cotton commodity loan programs for the 2019 through 2023 crop years. Cotton commodity loan programs include the marketing assistance loan (MAL) program and the loan deficiency payment (LDP) program. These programs provide cotton producers with alternative marketing tools during periods of low cotton prices. Cotton producers can receive marketing loan benefits in the form of marketing loan gains (MLG), loan deficiency payments (LDP), commodity certificate exchange gains, and forfeiture gains. Producers can participate in the MAL or obtain an LDP on all or part of their production at any time during the loan availability period, from harvest until May 31 of the following calendar year.

Preliminary Changes in Covid-19 Purchasing Habits of Southeastern U.S.  Green Industry Consumers - Historically, plant purchases frequently occur in physical retail centers (e.g. mass merchandisers, garden centers, etc.).  The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in adoption of retail measures to reduce disease transition and spread, including stay-at-home/lock down orders,   retail store closures, limited retail occupancy, and social distancing. Consequently, consumers ability to shop for products in-store were  impacted and opened the opportunity to use non-traditional sales  methods. This report provides a summary of consumers’ perceived plant purchasing behavior in the Southeast U.S.

Preliminary Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Green Industry Sales in the Southeastern U.S. - On January 31, 2020 the Secretary of Health and Human Services declared a public health emergency to deal with the novel COVID-19 virus (HHS, 2020). By March 13, 2020, the concern around COVID-19 had been elevated to a nationwide emergency (FEMA, 2020)  and many states began to implement lockdowns. These lockdowns and the subsequent reactions to COVID-19 have had a profound impact on the Green Industry.

Economic Impact of the Georgia Green Industry, 2018 - The Georgia Green Industry consists of wholesale nursery, greenhouse, turfgrass sod producers, landscape design, construction/maintenance firms and wholesale and retail distribution firms (e.g., garden centers, home stores, mass merchandisers with lawn/garden departments, brokers/rewholesale distribution centers, and allied trade suppliers. As the Georgia Green Industry continues to change and adapt to new market conditions, it is essential to understand the impact of the industry on the state and regional economies. This publication provides the dollar impacts as well as employment associated with the Georgia Green Industry.

Understanding the Commodity Loan Programs for Major Row Crops in Georgia – This publication discusses the marketing assistance loans and loan deficiency payments available to Georgia row crop producers under the circumstance of low commodity prices. (Yangxuan Liu, Anukul Bhattarai, and Mark Welch, March 2020). 

Hemp Budget for CBD Production in Georgia - With the passage of the 2018 Farm bill, hemp has been removed from the list of Schedule 1 substances. In addition to this rescheduling, the bill also called on the nation’s land grant universities to research and assess hemp. At the University of Georgia, the Departments of Agricultural & Applied Economics and Horticulture collaborated to develop an enterprise budget for hemp production in Georgia. (Ben Campbell, Adam Rabinowitz, Julie Campbell, Tim Coolong, Jeremy Baudrand, January 24, 2020)

The Hemp Regulatory Environment: A Brief History and Outline of Current U.S. and Georgia Regulations - (Adam Rabinowitz, Julie Campbell, Ben Campbell, January 9, 2020)

Crop and Pasture Land Rental Rates for Georgia Counties - Land rental rates can consist of a significan portion of operating budgets.  (Adam Rabinowitz, Johnson Collins, November 11, 2019)

Updating the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) Payment Yields in the 2018 Farm Bill - The 2018 Farm Bill permits landowners of farms an opportunity to update the PLC payment yield for each covered commodity. This factsheet discusses how to update the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) Payment Yields in the 2018 Farm Bill. The PLC payment yield update is very important because the PLC payment yield is used for calculating the PLC payment. The higher the PLC payment yield on a farm, the higher the PLC payment that farm can potentially receive. (Yangxuan Liu, John Lai, Adam Rabinowitz, October 2019)

Externalities with Establishing Hemp Production/Processing -  As production of hemp increases throughout the Southeast, producers and potential producers need to be aware of issues that may result from establishing production and processing operations.  (Julie Campbell, Ben Campbell, Adam Rabinowitz, August 30, 2019)

Hemp Production Economics: Current Situation in Georgia - Currently,  the University of Georgia does not  have enough information  to develop enterprise  budgets  and  other  economic  tools  for  producers  and  stakeholders  within  the  state. (Ben Campbell, Adam Rabinowitz, Julie Campbell, August 30, 2019)

Awareness and Perceptions of Hemp - As  producers,  extension  agents,  specialists,  and  policy  makers  engage  with  the  public  about  hemp  related  topics,  a  central  issue  is  the  confusion  between  hemp and marijuana.  Though  hemp and marijuana are technically the same species (Cannabis sativa L.), they are significantly  different  from  one  another.  (Adam Rabinowitz, Julie Campbell, Ben Campbell, August 30, 2019)

Consumer Views on Use and Legality of Hemp Based Products - As  hemp  products  gain  traction  and  increase  in  availability  and  use,  the  industry  as  well  as  extension  professionals  need  to  understand  consumer  sentiment  toward  hemp  products.   Currently, hemp production is highly regulated; however, hemp and hemp‐based products are  less regulated.  (Julie Campbell, Adam Rabinowitz, Ben Campbell, August 30, 2019)

Importance of Shrink Minimization in Greenhouse Production - The purpose of this factsheet is to demonstrate the impact shrinkage has on profitability. (Campbell, Ben, July 2019

Presentations - All files are in PDF format unless noted otherwise.

Farm and Financial Management

Livestock and Dairy


Recent Extension Publications on Animal Production and Livestock
Estimating Crude Protein Variability and Savings of Broiler Feeds Using Microsoft Excel
(B 1430)
This publication describes Microsoft Excel workbooks designed to calculate the effects of dividing ingredients into above- and below-average portions (2-bin method) and the costs of providing nutrients at specified confidence levels.
Dealing with Pasture, Hay, Feed, and Livestock Losses After Significant Weather Events
(C 1165)
As a result of significant weather events, many producers in Georgia may experience losses of pasture growth, hay stocks, feed supplies, and livestock. After such events occur, farmers will be assessing damage to fields, stock, and property for many days, weeks, months. This publication is intended to provide recommendations to farmers that have experienced adverse affects due to significant weather in their forage and livestock production systems.
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Recent Extension Publications on Field Crops
Predicting Nitrogen Release from Cover Crops: the Cover Crop Nitrogen Availability Calculator
(B 1466)
Cover crops have many benefits for farmers, including erosion control, weed suppression, and feeding the food soil web. Cover crops also play an important role in fertility, particularly for nitrogen. One of the challenges facing farmers who use cover crops is quantifying the available nitrogen supplies to the following cash crop by the decomposing cover crop residues and how they might change their fertilizer management to account for this. This publication is intended to educate farmers on the nitrogen cycle, cover crops, and nitrogen; how nitrogen is released from cover crops; and the new Cover Crop Nitrogen Availability Calculator, including the steps necessary to use the Calculator.
Timeline of the U.S.–China Trade Dispute and Tariffs on Cotton and Textile Trade
(C 1259)
In 2018, the Trump Administration proclaimed significant changes in tariff actions on a variety of U.S. imports, which led to retaliation by U.S. trading partners—including China and many U.S. allies. These actions led to a 2-year trade dispute between the United States and China. Global commercial ties were destabilized and the trade and investment transactions and flows were hampered by the resulting trade dispute. This paper documents the timeline of the U.S.–China trade dispute and the retaliation and responses from China to the Trump Administration’s tariffs. As cotton and its related products were caught in the middle of the trade dispute, this paper also provides discussions about the tariffs implemented by both countries on the cotton and textile sector.
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Recent Extension Publications on Fruits and Vegetables
San Jose Scale: A Pernicious and Persistent Pest of Peaches
(C 1225)
San Jose scale, Comstockaspis perniciosus (Comstock), is a pest of peaches, nectarines, plums, and other tree fruits including apples, pears, and cherries. San Jose scale is considered a secondary pest in many regions of the country, but in the Southeast U.S., it has been one of the most common and most destructive pests to the peach industry since the early 2000s.
Plum Curculio: An Incessant Pest of Peaches
(C 1224)
Plum curculio, Conotrachelus nenuphar (Herbst), is a key insect pest of peaches in the Southeast region of the United States. It is a snout beetle native to North America and is found east of the Rocky Mountains in the U.S. and Canada. Plum curculio drives the insect pest management program for Georgia peach producers. This circular covers the biology, damage, and current management recommendations for plum curculio in Georgia peach production.
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