The Effects of U.S. Meat Packing and Livestock Production Technologies on Marketing Margins and Prices

Brester, Gary W., Marsh, John M., Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics

Real livestock prices and farm-wholesale marketing margins have steadily declined over the past 20 years. Studies examining the causes of these declines have generally failed to account directly for technological change in livestock production and red meat slaughtering. We estimate reduced-form models for beef and pork farm-wholesale marketing margins and cattle and hog prices that include specific measures of technological change. Empirical results indicate cost savings generated by improved meat packing technologies have reduced real margins and positively influenced real cattle and hog prices. However, technological change embodied in cattle production weights has led to substantial …

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Publication information: Article title: The Effects of U.S. Meat Packing and Livestock Production Technologies on Marketing Margins and Prices. Contributors: Brester, Gary W. - Author, Marsh, John M. - Author. Journal title: Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics. Volume: 26. Issue: 2 Publication date: December 2001. Page number: 445+. © Western Agricultural Economics Association Dec 2008. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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