"This book examines the unique personality and reported death of a man who was a pivotal agent in U.S./Hmong history. Friends and family share their memories of Daniels growing up in Montana, cheating death in Laos, and carousing in the bars and brothels of Thailand. First-person accounts from Americans and Hmong, ranchers and refugees, State Department officials and smokejumpers capture both human and historical stories about the life of this dedicated and irreverent individual and offer speculation on the unsettling circumstances of his death. Equally important, Hog's Exit is the first complete account in English to document the drama and beauty of the Hmong funeral process."--Amazon.com.

As a former CIA case officer to legendary Hmong leader General Vang Pao during the "secret war" in Laos, Jerry Daniels was experienced, smart, and careful. Those who knew him well said he wasn't the type to die as reported. Raising even more doubts, his casket was "Permanently Sealed" by the U.S. State Department before being shipped home to Mis...

The milk-quality improvement program outlined in this publication is designed to acquaint members of 4-H dairy clubs and other junior clubs with the importance of quality in milk, both from the economic standpoint of the producer and from the health standpoint of the consumer, and to teach these young people the essentials in the production of high-quality milk.

Finisher hog production in North America has seen a shift toward larger production units and contract-organized production since around 1990. Given the efficiency gains and conversion costs associated with contract production, growers may have to choose between long-term commitment through investments and atrophy with intent to exit in the intermediate term. A model is developed to show that growers with any of three efficiency attributes (lower innate hazard of exit, variable costs, or fixed contract adoption costs) are not only more likely to contract but will also produce more and expend more on lowering business survival risks. Using the 2004 U.S. Agricultural Resource Management Survey for hogs, a recursive bivariate probit model is estimated in which exit is affected directly and also indirectly through the contract decision. It is confirmed that contracting producers are less likely to exit. Greater specialization and regional effects are important in increasing the probability of contracting. More education, having non-farm income, and older production facilities are significant factors in increasing the expected rate of exit. The findings suggest further exits by non-contract producers.