The complexity of people’s subjective consciousness has led some economists to rethink how to measure financial well-being (FWB). Building upon historically well-developed objective financial measures, recent work increasingly incorporates subjective well-being measures to take individual perceptions and sentiments into account. This paper proposes an innovative framework for studying farmers’ FWB and applies it to U.S. beef producers. The conceptual framework consists of two sections: the determinants and measurements of farmers’ FWB. In the determinants section, the framework analyzes the determinants of farmers’ FWB through micro, meso, and macro levels, as well as their impacts on households or farms. For the measurement section, besides financial ratios to measure objective FWB, we construct a survey to measure subjective FWB. Furthermore, a visualization evaluation figure is provided to present the measurement results. We then apply our framework to ranchers in the U.S. This application illustrates our framework, shows its advantages, and examines the effects of some determinants on FWB.

As ready-to-eat (RTE) meals and dining out become increasingly popular, limited empirical evidence exists on how domestically produced ingredients are positioned relative to other food values in these contexts. Using online survey data from Japanese consumers collected in 2024, this study applies best–worst scaling to samples of 786 respondents for RTE meals and 771 for dining out to estimate the relative importance of 11 food values. Aggregated scores summarize overall rankings, and latent class analysis characterizes heterogeneity in stated priorities. Across both contexts, taste, price, and safety consistently rank highest, while domestically produced ingredients rank fifth, indicating a secondary yet meaningful position relative to core experiential and economic attributes. Ranking patterns are highly similar across contexts, suggesting substantial stability in food value prioritization. Segmentation reveals recurring consumer profiles, including a large price-oriented segment and a substantial hedonic segment, alongside smaller health-/safety-concerned and societal impact-centered segments, which differ systematically in gender, age, income, and perceptions of domestically produced ingredients and – particularly in the dining-out context – in usage frequency. Overall, the findings provide benchmark evidence on the role of domestic origin within the hierarchy of food values, highlighting its secondary importance unless credibly linked to tangible benefits such as taste and safety.

Biochar is a carbon-rich material created through the pyrolysis of organic biomass, offering multiple environmental benefits for soil improvement and climate change mitigation. While its use is expected to grow, particularly in the Northeast United States, widespread adoption faces challenges, including social distrust, economic hurdles, and high production costs. This study uses a structured narrative review of global policies to identify instruments such as financial, nonfinancial, and research & development that could inform decision-makers on biochar policy. We also developed a techno-economic breakeven model to quantify the impact of policies like input subsidies and tax credits on production costs in the Northeast United States. Our analysis shows that high production and entry costs require strategic policy interventions, including market-creation policies and regulatory clarity for feedstock procurement. Global examples showcase varied successful strategies, ranging from Australia’s carbon credit systems to Japan’s R&D support. We recommend that the Northeast US establish scientific certainty and trust, foster a regional network with Canada, and implement multi-instrument strategies that combine incentives, regulatory adjustments, and continued R&D to drive large-scale commercialization. These findings provide a roadmap for policy makers to help biochar reach its full potential in the region.

Accurate grain supply forecasting is important for addressing long-term food security. The Global Food Assessment (GFA) report, published annually by the USDA’s Economic Research Service, provides one-year and ten-year projections at the country level, focusing on grain demand, production, and the gap between demand and domestic production. Our study aims to evaluate and explore alternative long-term grain supply forecasting methods. Using a data set spanning 1980 to 2021 for 78 countries, we evaluate regression models with varying specifications (pooled vs. country-specific coefficients, linear vs. non-linear trends, and alternative predictors) and Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average with exogenous variables (ARIMAX) models with different ARIMA orders (p, d, q) and predictor variables. To assess model forecast accuracy, we employ a time-series out-of-sample validation approach. Our analysis reveals that ARIMAX models with exogenous variables, country-specific coefficients, linear trends, and weather variables significantly improve forecast accuracy. While the achieved Mean Absolute Error of approximately 11% indicates that there is room for further improvement, our approach represents a substantial advancement over existing methods. By combining these grain supply forecasts with demand projections, it is possible to provide valuable insights into future domestic grain supply and potential international trade dynamics.

Insulin affordability remains a significant challenge for many individuals with diabetes, creating interest in alternative production technologies that may reduce costs and expand supply. This study examines consumer acceptance of insulin produced via a gene-edited production system compared with insulin produced using conventional genetically modified microbial methods. A discrete choice experiment was administered to U.S. adults diagnosed with diabetes (n = 386), in which respondents evaluated insulin alternatives varying by production technology and out-of-pocket cost. A mixed logit model was used to estimate willingness to pay and assess preference heterogeneity. Results indicate that out-of-pocket cost was the primary factor influencing insulin choice, with respondents exhibiting strong sensitivity to out-of-pocket costs. On average, respondents expressed acceptance of gene-edited insulin, and relative perceived safety was positively associated with willingness to pay for the product. Additional analysis revealed substantial heterogeneity in consumer preferences across respondents. Collectively, these findings suggest that affordability plays a more influential role than perceived safety in shaping consumer acceptance of emerging biotechnology-based insulin production systems and provide insights for stakeholders considering future commercialization pathways for insulin.

We examine willingness to donate to climate activism and test whether brief informational infographics affect donations and climate attitudes. Participants completed baseline measures of climate literacy and attitudes before random assignment in a 2 × 2 design with (i) varying information about a climate activism organization and (ii) protest versus neutral imagery. They then made an incentive-compatible allocation of up to $30 between themselves and the organization and completed a post-treatment survey. Donations were high overall, with many full-endowment donations. Organizational information reduced donations, while protest imagery attenuated this effect and increased climate concern, which was positively associated with giving.

Agroforestry can improve ecological resilience, broaden farm income streams, and support multifunctional land use, but production-oriented temperate systems remain unevenly adopted across the U.S. This study evaluates the factors influencing adoption of silvopasture, forest farming, and multistrata polycultures in New England, where small and mid-sized farms, extensive forest cover, and emerging practitioner networks create both opportunities and constraints. We conducted interviews with 27 agroforestry practitioners across all six New England states and administered a follow-up pairwise-comparison survey, yielding 23 valid responses. A Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats Analytic Network Process (SWOT-ANP) framework was used to rank adoption drivers and barriers while accounting for interdependencies among them. Establishment-stage threats received the highest category weight, with ecosystem disservices and resource limitations emerging as the top two priorities overall. The leading positive factor was the potential for additional revenue, underscoring the importance of early diversification pathways. Among weaknesses, limited expertise and time or management demands outweighed financial concerns, indicating that know-how, labor availability, coordination, and implementation capacity may be more restrictive than direct costs alone. By showing that practitioners prioritize early implementation risks over delayed benefits, this study reframes agroforestry adoption in New England as a question of establishment capacity, not simply producer interest.

In 2021, Russia and Belarus supplied 41% of EU imports, but following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions, trade with both countries collapsed. EU import demand is estimated by exporting country, and a choke‑price approach is used to recover the trade costs implied by sanctions. The results indicate high implied tariffs on Belarus (43.0%) and Russia (49.4%), while the United States and the rest of the world experienced large implied “subsidies” 70.0%, and 166.2%, respectively. Despite large and statistically significant cross‑price elasticities suggesting substitution toward Ukraine, trade gains accrued primarily to the United States and ROW.

Agrivoltaics offers a strategy to expand renewable energy production while preserving agricultural land use through lease agreements between solar utilities and landowners. It can also provide farmers with additional income. Despite these advantages, adoption remains limited. This study examines farmers’ willingness to lease and estimates how additional information on this strategy affects farmers’ willingness to lease land for agrivoltaics. Using survey data from 177 farmers, we find that while 25% are willing to lease their land, 25% are indifferent. We find that additional information significantly increases the likelihood of farmers expressing willingness to lease by 4.1 percentage points.

This paper investigates the effects on consumer welfare of changing food-at-home (FAH) and food-away-from-home (FAFH) prices in a period that witnessed two major economic shocks: the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent abnormal inflation. Even though FAFH prices increased more than FAH during this period, we find that FAH price increases have led to more significant and volatile welfare losses compared to changes in FAFH prices. The article makes two contributions to the literature. First, using a complete demand system that is comprised of nine expenditure categories, including FAH, FAFH, and seven other broad non-food aggregates, we estimate the household welfare losses in consumer surplus from changing prices of FAH and FAFH incorporating the own- and cross-price effects. Our findings reveal that own-price effects dominate welfare losses with negligible cross effects, resulting in 11.2% and 7% losses in consumer welfare from FAH and FAFH price increases, respectively, as a percentage of total food spending after the COVID-19 pandemic. Second, the dominance of the own price effects suggests that the easier-to-estimate conditional demand systems (foods only) may be sufficient for conducting welfare analysis of changes in food prices.

Landscape pest management has traditionally relied on pesticides, but growing consumer interest in environmentally conscious practices is changing market expectations. A choice-based conjoint survey of 1,000 respondents evaluated willingness to pay for scouting-based integrated pest management (IPM) programs offered by landscape service providers. Attributes included spray reduction, biological controls, non-chemical controls, and price. Consumers were willing to pay ＄17.86 more per month for programs reducing sprays by at least four applications and up to ＄24.06 more when non-chemical controls were included. Results suggest scouting-based IPM services may represent a viable market opportunity for landscape service providers.

Citrus greening is a bacterial disease with no cure or treatment. Since its onset in Florida, orange production statewide has decreased by more than 90%. A recently approved technology consists of injecting antibiotics into tree trunks, which growers expect to improve tree health and increase yield. We use a spatial equilibrium model to conduct an ex-ante analysis of the not-from-concentrate orange juice market to examine the market and welfare impacts of Florida growers’ adoption of antibiotic trunk injections. Results show yield must increase by at least 83% to generate a positive producer surplus when using a discount rate of 10%.