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An analysis of the structure and performance of organic dairy farms in the Northeast, U.S.A.
Descriptive
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Title
An analysis of the structure and performance of organic dairy farms in the Northeast, U.S.A.
Name
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Postel
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Michael
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Michael Postel
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author
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Bhuyan
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Sanjib
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Advisory Committee
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Sanjib Bhuyan
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chair
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Toole
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Andrew
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Advisory Committee
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Andrew Toole
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co-chair
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O'Neill
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Barbara
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Advisory Committee
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Barbara O'Neill
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co-chair
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Rutgers University
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degree grantor
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Graduate School - New Brunswick
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school
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theses
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DateCreated
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2008
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2008-05
Language
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English
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electronic
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application/pdf
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text/xml
Extent
viii, 127 pages
Abstract
Due to the restructuring and trend toward consolidation that has been taking place in the dairy industry for the past several decades; the number of dairy farms in the U.S. has been steadily declining. Smaller dairy farms have been disappearing at a disproportionate rate. At the same time, demand for organic milk has been consistently rising. There is some evidence to suggest that organic dairy may be a viable economic alternative for dairy farmers, but there is little empirical evidence to verify such claims. This study analyzed the financial performance of U.S. organic dairy farms in comparison to conventional dairy farms in the Northeast, highlighted significant structural differences between profitable and unprofitable organic dairy farms, and examined the factors affecting dairy farm profitability in the Northeast. This study shows that organic dairy farms in the Northeast were profitable and that small organic dairy farms were more economically viable than small conventional dairy farms. It was found that farm size, organic milk price, production efficiency, extra income in addition to milk sales, operator's age and expectations regarding the future of the dairy enterprise, and production efficiency had a positive correlation with organic dairy farm profitability. Factors that had a negative influence on organic dairy farm profitability were variable costs per cow, the debt-to-asset ratio of the farm, the average age of the milking herd, family farm status, the hours per day the milking system was in operation, and the choice to dry off milk cows seasonally. The results suggest that transitioning to certified organic status is an economically viable alternative for small conventional dairy farms in the Northeast.
Note
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M.S.
Note
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Includes bibliographical references (p. 121-127).
Subject
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Topic
Food and Business Economics
Subject
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Topic
Organic dairy farming--United States
Subject
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Topic
Organic dairy farming--Economic aspects
Subject
(ID = SUBJ4);
(authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Dairy farming--Economic aspects
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Graduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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rucore19991600001
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http://hdl.rutgers.edu/1782.2/rucore10001600001.ETD.17372
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ETD_759
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NjNbRU
Identifier
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doi:10.7282/T37081S1
Genre
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ETD graduate
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Rights
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The author owns the copyright to this work.
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Copyright protected
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Open
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Name
Michael Postel
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Affiliation
Rutgers University. Graduate School - New Brunswick
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Non-exclusive ETD license
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Author Agreement License
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I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.
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