The Rise of the Cotton Industry in California: A Comparative Perspective

Musoke, Moses S.; Olmstead, Alan L.

doi:10.1017/s0022050700027480

Cited by 26 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Winter and spring variants of wheat and barley also allow for this latitude. Indeed, the significance of seasonal labor constraints in agriculture is borne out by the belief among some historians that it contributed to the nature of industrialization in manufacture (Sokoloff and Dollar 1997) and the pressures toward agricultural mechanization (Musoke and Olmstead 1982;Whatley 1987).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On Monoculture and the Structure of Crop Rotations

Hennessy

2006

American J Agri Economics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

While rotation strategies are important in determining agricultural commodity supply and environmental benefits from land use, little has been said about the economics of crop rotation. An issue when seeking to identify rotation dominance is whether yield and input-saving carry-over effects persist for one or more years. Focusing on length of carry-over, expected profit maximization, and the monoculture decision, this paper develops principles concerning choice of rotation structure. For some rules that we develop, rotations may be discarded without reference to price levels while other rules require price data. We also show how risk aversion in the presence of price uncertainty can alter preferences over rotations. A further consideration in rotation choice is the allocation of time. The problem of crop choice to manage time commitments through the crop year is formally similar to that of crop choice to manage profit risk. AbstractWhile rotation strategies are important in determining agricultural commodity supply and environmental benefits from land use, little has been said about the economics of crop rotation. An issue when seeking to identify rotation dominance is whether yield and input-saving carry-over effects persist for one or more years. Focusing on length of carryover, expected profit maximization, and the monoculture decision, this paper develops principles concerning choice of rotation structure. For some rules that we develop, rotations may be discarded without reference to price levels while other rules require price data. We also show how risk aversion in the presence of price uncertainty can alter preferences over rotations. A further consideration in rotation choice is the allocation of time. The problem of crop choice to manage time commitments through the crop year is formally similar to that of crop choice to manage profit risk.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On Monoculture and the Structure of Crop Rotations

Hennessy

2006

American J Agri Economics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…37 The economic success of the large units, however, no doubt contributed to both the relative and absolute decline of tenancy. On average, larger units were those with the lowest costs (see Musoke and Olmstead 1982). As lower-cost operations outperformed small, less efficient ones, and as mechanization reduced the demand for hand labor absolutely, tenants on small units departed southern agriculture.…”

Section: Statistical Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For the lag in agriculture, see Street 1957, and for institutions in general and sharetenancy in particular, see Whatley 1985Whatley , 1987. Large-scale, machine-intensive agriculture based on scientific methods was not in evidence at this time to the extent that it was elsewhere in the United States (Musoke 1981;Street 1957;Day 1967;Fulmer 1950;Fite 1984;Whatley 1985;Musoke and Olmstead 1982). Also, farm tenancy rates were much higher in the South than in the rest of the country.…”

Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…27 For an assessment of farm size and mechanization, see David 1975, Clarke 1991, Kislev and Peterson 1982, and Binswanger 1986. For discussions of the southern case in particular, see Musoke and Olmstead 1982, Musoke 1981, Street 1957, Day 1967, and Fite 1984 1951a: 6, which shows a much fuller utilization of farm equipment on large units than on small ones: "In the two smaller enterprise groups, tractors when used were used only for breaking and preparing land for planting. In the large-enterprise group, tractors in some cases were used to perform all cotton production operations except chopping and hoeing."…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Southern Tenancy, Machines, and Production Scale on the Eve of the Cotton Picker’s Arrival

Heinicke¹

1999

Social Science History

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A fundamental characteristic of the southern United States before World War II was the separate, and lagging, economic path taken by that region relative to the rest of the nation. The South was particularly slow to advance in agricultural science and technology. Both contemporary investigators and recent scholarship have indicted southern institutions for delaying development in southern agriculture (Street 1957; Whatley 1985, 1987). Were sharecropping and tenancy, institutional arrangements that characterized the southern plantation system, responsible for retarding southern economic development? Despite the large amount of scholarly attention that has been focused on these issues, this question remains unanswered.

show abstract

“…The decision to list giant gartersnakes under the CESA in 1971 was primarily because giant gartersnakes were nearly extirpated from the San Joaquin Valley (Hansen and Brode 1980) with conversion of marsh habitat to cotton and other unsuitable row crop agriculture and orchards (Musoke and Olmstead 1982;Frayer et al 1989;Garone 2011). The Tulare Basin in particular suffered extensive habitat loss with the 197,000 ha Tulare Lake completely drained by the early 1900s and most of its extensive tule marsh habitat, which represented > 33% of the giant gartersnake's range, now largely eliminated (Fitch 1940;Hansen and Brode 1980;Garone 2011).…”

Section: A Tale Of Two Valleysmentioning

confidence: 99%

A tale of two valleys: endangered species policy and the fate of the giant gartersnake

Halstead

Valcarcel

Kim

et al. 2021

California Fish and Wildlife Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

By the mid-20th Century, giant gartersnakes (Thamnophis gigas) had lost more than 90% of their Central Valley marsh habitat and were extirpated from more than two-thirds of their range. This massive habitat loss led to their inclusion in the inaugural list of rare species under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). Listing under the CESA provided giant gartersnakes legal protection and mechanisms for recovery, and subsequent listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (federal ESA) further fortified these protections. But how effective has listing under these endangered species acts (ESAs) been at achieving their goal of giant gartersnake recovery? Herein, we review relevant aspects of giant gartersnake ecology, illustrate how listing has benefited giant gartersnakes and what challenges have been faced in slowing declines and recovering populations, and chart a course toward improved conservation, management, and recovery of giant gartersnakes. Although listing as threatened under both state and federal ESAs has not yet achieved recovery of giant gartersnakes, the increased knowledge gained and mechanisms for protecting giant gartersnake habitat on private and public lands developed over the past 50 years has improved conservation of this endemic California snake.

show abstract

The Rise of the Cotton Industry in California: A Comparative Perspective

Cited by 26 publications

References 9 publications

On Monoculture and the Structure of Crop Rotations

On Monoculture and the Structure of Crop Rotations

Southern Tenancy, Machines, and Production Scale on the Eve of the Cotton Picker’s Arrival

A tale of two valleys: endangered species policy and the fate of the giant gartersnake

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About