Pork Quality and the Role of Market Organization
by
Stephen Martinez and Kelly Zering
Agricultural Economic Report No. (AER-835) 51 pp, November 2004
Cover image
This study addresses changes in the organization of the U.S. pork industry, most notably marketing contracts between packers and producers, by exploring their function in addressing pork quality concerns. A number of developments brought quality concerns to the forefront. These include health concerns and corresponding preferences for lean pork, growing incidence of undesirable quality attributes (e.g., pale, soft, and exudative (PSE) meat, a result of breeding for leanness), heightened concerns over food safety and related regulatory programs, and expansion into global markets. Organizational arrangements can facilitate industry efforts to address pork quality needs by reducing measuring costs, controlling quality attributes that are difficult to measure, facilitating adaptations to changing quality standards, and reducing transaction costs associated with relationship-specific investments in branding programs.
Keywords: contracts, transaction costs, measuring technology, measuring costs, pork, quality, leanness, safety, carcass pricing, vertical integration
In this publication...
- Research Brief, Pdf file NaN kb
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Abstract, Acknowledgments, Contents, and Summary, Pdf file 66 kb
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Introduction, Pdf file 49 kb
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Product Quality and Market Organization: Two Theoretical Perspectives, Pdf file 42 kb
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Changing Emphasis on Pork Quality, Pdf file 98 kb
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Role of Contracts in Reducing Measuring Costs Associated With Carcass Pricing Grids, Pdf file 53 kb
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Marketing Contract Design to Reduce Transaction Costs and Control Quality Attributes, Pdf file 81 kb
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Organization of Packer Branding Programs That Use Specific Genetics, Pdf file 52 kb
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Conclusions, Pdf file 38 kb
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References, Pdf file 55 kb
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Appendix A: Inventory of Long-Term Contracts: General Contract Provisions, Pdf file 95 kb
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Appendix B: Contract Clauses Related to Input Requirements and Monitoring, Pdf file 75 kb
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Appendix C: An Example of Reduced Incentives For Leaner Hogs, Pdf file 48 kb
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Appendix D: Packer Branding Programs That Rely on a Specific Type of Genetics, Pdf file 42 kb
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Entire Document, Pdf file 425 kb
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