In this study we: a) estimated quarterly demand functions for red meats and broilers, b) estimated quarterly farm-wholesale and wholesale-retail marketing-margin equations for red meats, c) estimated red-meat quarterly inventory-investment equations, d) developed a complete econometric model of quarterly behavior of the beef- and pork-marketing sector, and e) applied quadratic programming to determine quarterly and annual levels of farm marketings of hogs and cattle that would maximize farmers’ annual cash receipts from hogs and cattle.

Linear and logarithmic (constant elasticity) quarterly demand functions (with price as a dependent variable) were estimated for beef, pork, lamb, and broilers to measure quarterly variations in demand. Results from both functional forms indicated that, in beef and pork demand functions, intercepts vary quarterly, but slopes do not, whereas neither slopes nor intercepts vary quarterly in lamb demand equations. Logarithmic versions of the broiler demand function found quarterly variation in intercept, but not in slopes, whereas linear versions generally found no significant quarterly variation in slopes or intercept.