The best seafood sources of omega-3 PUFA (larger, carnivorous fish) tend to contain the highest levels of methylmercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), have the most significant environmental impact, and are the most expensive at market. Rainbow trout is a predatory freshwater fish with high levels of omega-3 PUFA, which can be produced across the US in sustainable aquaculture systems devoid of methylmercury or PCBs. For predatory fish such as trout, fish meal and fish oil – usually obtained from wild-caught sources – must be included in feeds to maintain healthy fish development. Inclusion of fish meal and oil in feeds creates an expensive and environmentally unsustainable system. Hemp is a renewable resource with great potential for use in agricultural products. However, hemp producers are currently hindered by limited market opportunities, and hemp is not approved as an animal feed ingredient. Labeling hemp grain for use in feeds would expand economic opportunities for producers. This study tries to answer the question of how this alternative fish feed crop impacts crop production using a case study in Kentucky.
Introducing new crops or promoting environmentally beneficial crop incorporation into working agricultural fields can change crop acreage, crop mix, and on-farm revenue portfolios. When hemp is more grown, it will change the crop portfolio in accordance with the producers’ desire to maximize their profitability. Despite the perceived benefits of crop portfolio changes with new or promoted crops, less attention has been paid to analyzing and modeling crop portfolios because the multiple output model, i.e., modeling multiple dependent variables, can be technically challenging. This study utilizes a Dirichlet regression model with fixed effects to fill this gap in the literature. As a case study, we collect county-level hemp production data for 2017 – 2022 from the USDA Farm Service Agency and include weather, geographical characteristics, and production-related variables. This study first estimates the response parameters to describe changes in crop ratios in Kentucky counties in the midterm, assuming no innovative changes in production technology and an extensive margin of agricultural expansion. Then, we project potential changes following representative scenarios, discuss the effects in harvested acres, and review by crop.