Masters Theses

Date of Award

8-2025

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Agricultural Economics

Major Professor

Charles Martinez

Committee Members

Chris Boyer, Liz Eckelkamp

Abstract

The first chapter aims to study the United States commercial hog industry as they have seen a shift in the use of Paylean (Elanco Animal Health brand name for Ractopamine Hydrochloride) amongst leading pork producers. The absence of Paylean in commercial operations has caused changes in lean percentage and other carcass traits, like loineye area and 10th rib backfat, that affect premiums and discounts associated with individual carcasses. Using historical data from August 2001-August 2024, we can identify the effect removing Paylean from production on individual carcass characteristics and average lean percentage broken down by year, day of the week, and selling medium. Price is determined by using lean percentage and hot carcass weight in a grid-based system to determine premiums or discounts that are applied to the base price determined by the selling medium. Therefore, this analysis can provide insight into the changes in hog prices starting in 2020. The second chapter aims to analyze the economic impact of “problem dairy cows” within Automated Milking Systems. United States (US) dairy farmers have utilized technological advancements, such as Automated Milking Systems (AMS), to decrease labor costs, and to provide the opportunity to allocate a farmer’s time to other tasks. Developed in 1992, AMS units are stand-alone systems that utilize robotics to milk dairy cows with minimal to no human intervention. AMS units have gained popularity in the US over the past 20 years due to the improved quality of life for farmers and added flexibility to complete other tasks. However, “problem cows” create obstacles for farmers in keeping time and labor costs reduced. “Problem cows”, for this study, refer to fetch cows, cows deemed as failures, and cows that are refused by the robot. These problem cows require labor and/or time, which reduces the benefit of an AMS, while simultaneously increasing the cost of production. We use data compiled at a Holstein commercial dairy farm in East Tennessee consisting of 1,510 head with eight total AMS units. This study utilizes economic modeling to estimate the costs and profitability impacts of problem cows.

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