The reliability of several statisitcal software packages was examined using the National Institute of Standards and Technology linear and nonlinear least squares datasets and models. Software tested include Excel 2007, GAMS 23.4, GAUSS 9.0, LIMDEP 8.0, Mathematica 7.0, MATLAB 7.5, R 2.10, SAS 9.1, SHAZAM 10, and Stata 10. While some of these packages have been previously examined, others, including GAMS and MATLAB, have not been extensively examined. Reliability tests indicate improvements in some of the software packages that were previously tested, but some of these packages failed reliability tests under certain conditions. The findings underscore the need to benchmark software packages to ascertain reliability before use and the importance of solving econometric problems using more than one package.

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This research studies factors that influence the salary level of university agricultural economists. Comparisons to previous work suggest that the impact of a single publication on salary has declined over the past twenty-five years; however, the return to relative publications is the same. The impact of years of experience has increased. Analysis of a different model specification suggests that the number of publications, advisees, and grants obtained positively impact salaries, while undergraduate course load has a negative impact. Results show that mobility and marketability significantly increase salary. Analysis suggests that there is a significant negative impact associated with an extension appointment and a significant positive impact associated with employment at a Ph.D.-granting university. Finally, the Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank test indicates that most universities' average salaries follow the market. E conomists have a rich history of analyzing the determinants of university salary (Katz; Diamond; Tuckman, Gapinski, and Hagemann; Broder and Ziemer; DeLorme, Hill, and Wood; Altonji and Shakotko; Hilmer and Hilmer). This research evaluates how time has altered the demand for various determinants of salary in our profession by developing a model that may reflect better today's market, and comparing the results with research conducted in 1982 by Broder and Ziemer.In the spring of 2004, we surveyed agricultural economic professionals. The Web-based survey instrument was designed to obtain confidential information, while at the same time ensuring anonymity. Several issues associated with survey bias were analyzed and rejected as causes of concern. 1 The survey yielded a total of 260 observations, which were consistent with the Broder and Ziemer study.

Small farmers often rely on Extension for farm management practices to increase their farm income. This article presents an attempt by Virginia State University Extension to demonstrate to small-scale farmers strategies for increasing farm income. It is called the 43560 initiative, and it evaluates the notion that a farmer can make a dollar per square foot. We initiate a discussion on this notion and its challenges.

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