are closely related. I learned just about everything imaginable about them—what the planted acreage and typical yields were in each of the major growing areas; how to convert rainfall levels in different weeks of the growing season into yield estimates; how to project harvest sizes, carrying costs, and livestock inventories by weight group, location, and rates of weight gain; and how to project dressing yields, retailer margins, consumer preferences by cut of meat, and the amounts to be slaughtered in each season.
