FORAGE STORAGE, THE FEDERAL FARM SAFETY NET, AND DROUGHT RESILIENCE OF THE US CATTLE SECTOR

Economic research on forage storage and the interaction of forage-related safety net programs is limited. This project will address these gaps in the literature, to build a foundation for future research in this area, including both economic research and multidisciplinary collaborations and development of bioeconomic models.The first research goal of the project (R01) is to develop a theoretical framework that models the forage and herd size management decisions under the presence of drought risk. The second research goal of the project (R02) is to estimate the supply response of forage production and storageto prices and weather. The second research goal of the project (R03) isto empirically evaluate how various federal risk management policies interact and affect the forage production and management decisions of livestock producers.