Actual performance records of production contract farmers are used to assess the extent to which contract production reduces the risk borne by pork producers. Comparisons of contracting relative to independent market production reveal that farmers who enter into production contracts based on absolute performance measures reduce risks associated with variable income. Weak evidence is found that relative performance contracts, similar to those used in the broiler chicken industry, further reduce income variability. The effectiveness of such relative performance contracts will rely on several factors; among these are increased contract production and a more uniform pork production and processing system.

This paper examines the relationship between industrialized production in the pork and broiler industries and the natural environment. Historical perspectives are presented regarding the movement toward increasingly concentrated and coordinated pork and broiler production units in the South. The relationships between animal byproduct management and environmental quality, both at the farm level and within a geographic region, are addressed. Using the North Carolina pork industry as a background, current regulations and potential policy implications to protect environmental quality are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to show how instructor use of nonverbal immediacy behaviors influence Hispanic students' affective learning in ninth-grade writing conferences, regardless of the level of feedback sensitivity provided. According to Kluger and DeNisi's (1996) feedback intervention theory, when feedback is direct and targeted on the task, learning is enhanced. If feedback is indirect and targeted on the relationship or feelings, then learning is diminished. Regardless of whether the relational feedback is perceived as positive or negative, learning is diminished because the learner's focus is diverted away from the task itself (Kluger & DeNisi). Three hypotheses were tested using a 2 )2 experimental design. The independent variables were teacher nonverbal immediacy (immediate/nonimmediate) and sensitivity of feedback (high/low verbal sensitivity). The dependent variables were Hispanic students' affect for teacher and affective learning for writing. All three hypotheses were supported in that teacher nonverbal immediacy positively impacted students' affect for the teacher (H1), writing conference (H2), and writing process (H3) regardless of how sensitive the teacher's feedback was during the writing conference. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.