Annual Net Returns Research Articles

CORN YIELDS AND PROFITABILITY FOR LOW–CAPACITY IRRIGATION SYSTEMS

In many areas of the central U.S. Great Plains irrigation well capacities are decreasing due to declines in the Ogallala aquifer. Many producers using furrow surface irrigation are faced with a decision on whether they should convert to a higher efficiency center pivot sprinkler irrigation system. An irrigation scheduling model using 27 years of climatic data for western Kansas was combined with a corn yield production function and economic model to simulate crop yields and economics under four combinations of irrigation system and application efficiency for six different irrigation capacities. Center pivot sprinkler irrigation systems were found to give higher corn yields and greater profitability than furrow surface irrigation, particularly when system flow rates were less than 40 L/s. Sprinkler irrigation systems with application efficiencies of 100, 95, and 85% and a furrow surface irrigation system with 70% application efficiency produced simulated crop yields of 12.3, 12.2, 12.1, and 11.3 Mg/ha, respectively, when irrigation capacity was 6.35 mm/day. Reducing the irrigation capacity to 2.54 mm/day reduced yields to 9.4, 9.2, 8.9, and 8.3 Mg/ha for the respective irrigation systems. Net annual returns for a 65 ha field were increased by US$1000 to $4000 with center pivot sprinkler irrigation compared to furrow surface irrigation for system flow rates between approximately 20 and 40 L/s. Labor savings with sprinkler irrigation are a significant factor in profitability, but increased crop yields are also very important, particularly at lower system flow rates of approximately 20–30 L/s.

Faecal coliform die-off in wastewater storage and treatment reservoirs

This paper describes faecal coliform (FC) removal in pilot-scale Wastewater Storage and Treatment Reservoirs (WSTR) in northeast Brazil. FC decay during the filling phase of WSTR was very reduced, suggesting that these reactors should be filled as quickly as possible, and subjected to the highest organic loading that will not cause odour emissions. The highest loading employed in this study was 659 kgBOD5/ha.d, causing no nuisance conditions. During the resting phase, FC decay rate decreased exponentially and Chick's law was modified. The time into the resting phase for FC to reach 103 cfu/100 mL ranged from 15 to 25 days as WSTR depth varied from 2.00 to 6.50 m. The performance of sequential batch-fed waste stabilization ponds (SBFWSP) in removing FC was compared to that of waste stabilization ponds (WSP) operated in series. It was shown that, in general, SBFWSP were cheaper than WSP in series, with the bacteriological quality of the effluent in the former being more reliably predicted than in the latter operational regime. When provision of volume to store the winter effluents is considered, a WSP system presents a higher benefit/cost ratio than a hybrid WSP-WSTR system, but the adoption of the latter can double the annual net return for a rainy season of 5 months for instance. In the case of use of the hybrid WSP-WSTR system, the net return would be US$ 0.17 – 0.22 per cubic metre of available wastewater, depending on the length of the rainy season (3 – 5 months considered) as compared to US$ 0.12 from the WSP system alone.

Environmental and Economic Tradeoffs of Alternative Cropping Systems

ABSTRACT The tradeoffs between economic profitability and environmental impacts of five cropping systems being used by farm managers in northeast Kansas were examined. The Erosion/Productivity Impact Calculator (EPIC) was used to estimate potential crop yields, nitrate (NO3) contamination, and soil erosion from the cropping systems. Prices and enterprise budget data were combined with the crop yields simulated by EPIC to calculate annual net returns for each system. The tradeoff between net returns and environmental contaminants were evaluated using a Chance Constrained Programming (CCP) model. The overall results of the CCP models, including targets for all contaminants, indicated that the alternative cropping system of wheat and grain sorghum was preferred to the traditional system, which also includes corn and soybeans. An alfalfa-wheat-soybean rotation generally was preferred when the contaminant targets were restricted to NO3 runoff and soil erosion. The results also imply that financial incentives and site- and soil-specific policies for reducing groundwater contamination are needed if environmental contaminants are to be reduced.

The Anatomy of the High Yield Bond Market: After Two Decades of Activity-Implications For Europe

Until the last few years, the high yield bond market was essentially a solely U.S. capital market phenomena. That this non-investment grade, fixed income asset class has grown so impressively in the U.S. and now is possibly on the verge of an explosion of new issuance in Europe is primarily based on a simple summary performance statistic -- an average annual net return to investors of about 250 basis points per year above the risk-free rate for the past two decades. But, just as the U.S. high yield market rebounded from its debacles in the late 1980's and the Mexican Eurobond market from its peso crisis in early 1995, the long-term key factor in Europe will be the fundamental health of firms issuing bonds. Despite short-term gyrations and flights to quality, there is still no substitute for careful and objective analysis of the underlying firms and securities that comprise the market.

Yield and economics of traditional and early soybean production system (ESPS) seedings in the midsouthern United States

Drought stress reduces yield of traditional May and June seedlings of soybean in midsouthern USA. Field experiments using Maturity Group (MG) IV and MG V soybean cultivars were conducted at Stoneville, Mississippi (latitude 33°26′ N) for five years to determine effects of earlier-than-normal (April) and normal (May) seeding on net returns from soybean grown with, and without, irrigation. Net returns were calculated as the difference between income and all direct and indirect costs excluding those for land, management, and general farm overhead. In the irrigated environment, average net returns from April seedings of MG IV cultivars were greater than those from May seedings in all years, while average net returns from April seedings of MG V cultivars were greater than those from May seedings in all years except 1997. These greater net returns resulted from larger seed yields, lower estimated costs, higher prices received for harvested seed, or a combination of the three. Average net returns from April seedings ranged from US$ 148 to US$ 617/ha, while average net returns from May seedings ranged from US$ 69 to US$ 567/ha. Use of MG IV vs. MG V cultivars had no consistent effect on net returns from either April or May seedings. In the nonirrigated environment, average net returns from April seedings of all cultivars were greater than those from May seedings in all years. Average annual net returns from cultivars seeded in April ranged from US$ 74 to US$ 374/ha, while average annual net returns from May seedings ranged from US$ −9 to US$ 325/ha. In three of the five years, MG V cultivars sown in April produced more yield and greater net return than did MG IV cultivars, while April-sown MG IV cultivars produced the highest yield and net return in one of the five years in the nonirrigated study. These results indicate that earlier-than-normal (April) seedings of either MG IV or MG V soybean cultivars will result in increased net return vs. that attained from traditional (May or later) seedings in the midsouthern USA. These results also indicate that choosing cultivars within an MG is more critical than choosing between MG IV and V.

Valuation, appraisal, discounting, obsolescence and depreciation

Previous editions of this Journal have drawn attention to the critical role valuation plays in life cycle analysis and environmental impact assessment (see for exampleVolkwkin andKlopffer |1|). In particular, the critical role of valuation has heen highlighed in a number of discussions on ‘valuation step’ within life cycle costing, ‘hedonic and contingency’ assessments of environmental impact and both the utility and welfare of ‘pathway’ analysis/assessment (Krkwitt, Mayerhofer, Trukenmuller andFriedrich, 1998;Powell, Pearce andCraighill, 1997;Volkwein, On in andKlopffer, 1996 |2-4|). Focusing on the utility of market valuation, this paper examines the critique of discounting environmentalists have made in relation to property valuation, investment appraisal and the application of the principle in the income based net annual return model of land use time-horizons and the spatial configuration of building programmes-a criticism implict in ‘valuation step’, ‘hedonic, contingency’ and ‘pathway’ analysis/assessments. It examines the argument put forward regarding the link between the selection of a discount rate, the valuation of property, appraisal of investment and inter-generational downloading of costs associated with the use of land, repair, maintenance and refurbishment of buildings: the downloading of costs, seen by some, to have an adverse impact and work against the introduction of experimental designs aimed at energy saving, clean air environments.

ECONOMICS OF CORN SILAGE PROCESSING ON NORTH AMERICAN DAIRY FARMS

Whole farm impacts of using a corn silage processor on the forage harvester were assessed using long termsimulations with DAFOSYM (The Dairy Forage System Model). Use of processing improved packing in the silo andincreased the digestibility of the silage, which reduced supplemental feed requirements, and/or improved milk production.When processing was used on farms having 100 or 400 high producing Holstein cows with 40% of the forage requirementmet by corn silage, the treatment provided about a 2% increase in milk production along with a small decrease insupplemental grain feeding. Increases in production costs were more than offset by the increase in milk sales providingabout a $50/cow improvement in the annual net return or profit of the farm. Without an increase in milk production, theeconomic benefit dropped to $5/cow/year. If the amount of corn silage fed was increased to 75% of the total foragerequirement, processing provided a 4% increase in milk production with an economic benefit near $100/cow/year. Theeconomic benefit of corn silage processing was moderately sensitive to the length-of-cut setting of the harvester, milkprice, and processings effect on forage digestibility and available energy. Changes in these assumptions varied farm netreturn by less than $20/cow/year. The results were relatively insensitive to reasonable assumptions for equipment priceand power requirement, packing density in the silo, and supplemental feed prices.

Risk Analysis of Planting Date, Seeding Rate, and Grain Sorghum Hybrid Maturity in Kansas Using Simulated Yields

Many variables influence yields of grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] and make it difficult to provide appropriate recommendations to managers concerning planting dates, seeding rates, and hybrid maturity classes. General recommendations in extension publications provide a wide range of possible planting dates and seeding rates and usually suggest planting the latest maturing hybrid within the limitations of projected moisture availability and average length of growing season. Most research related to these issues focuses on just one variable, while holding others constant. This study used simulated grain sorghum yields to provide an economic risk analysis of planting date, seeding rate, and hybrid maturity for grain sorghum production in Kansas. The results showed that optimal planting dates, seeding rates, and maturity classes vary by location and risk preference. In general, the results indicate that extremely risk-averse managers would choose somewhat later planting dates, earlier maturing hybrids, and lower seeding rates than less risk-averse or risk-preferring managers.

Boys will be Boys: Gender, Overconfidence, and Common Stock Investment

Theoretical models of financial markets built on the assumption that some investors are overconfident yield one central prediction: overconfident investors will trade too much. We test this prediction by partitioning investors on the basis of a variable that provides a natural proxy for overconfidence--gender. Psychological research has established that men are more prone to overconfidence than women. Thus, models of investor overconfidence predict that men will trade more and perform worse than women. Using account data for over 35,000 households from a large discount brokerage firm, we analyze the common stock investments of men and women from February 1991 through January 1997. Consistent with the predictions of the overconfidence models, we document that men trade 45 percent more than women and earn annual risk-adjusted net returns that are 1.4 percent less than those earned by women. These differences are more pronounced between single men and single women; single men trade 67 percent more than single women and earn annual risk-adjusted net returns that are 2.3 percent less than those earned by single women.

Economic Decisionmaking Using Enterprise Budgeting and Statistical Analysis: An Illustration in Weed Control Practices in Peanut Production

Economic decision criteria for adopting a particular input strategy are income above variable cost (IAVC) and net return to management (NRM). Field experimental data on the effectiveness and yield potential of different herbicides in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) production over a 3 yr period were used to analyze the consistency of these two decision criteria. Seven early postemergence herbicide (EPOST) treatments were applied 3 to 7 d after peanut emergence and three other postemergence herbicide (POST) treatments are applied 14 to 24 d after peanut emergence. The resulting 21 herbicide combinations were compared for the two economic criteria to find whether treatments were ranked differently. Almost identical herbicide combination rankings were found for the two criteria, and the treatment using EPOST paraquat followed by paraquat + 2,4-DB + bentazone was found to be tbe best treatment by both criteria. NRM also provides an indication of desirability for producing peanuts over time using a specific herbicide strategy.

Integrated forest products from former sugarcane plantations in Hawaii

To help landowners and land-use planners evaluate potential forest product ventures on former sugarcane lands in Hawaii, a short-rotation forestry decision support system was developed. An application to estimate annual net returns of hypothetical integrated forest product operations established at two former sugarcane plantations is featured. From a variety of plantation management and wood processing options, linear programming results indicate that the optimal profit opportunity exists for the production of medium density fibreboard and plywood from Eucalyptus saligna plantations, with annual net return estimates of approximately $3.5 million year −1 ($8970 ha −1 year −1) from three commercial thinnings (at 5, 10, and 15 years of age) and one harvest at rotation age (20 years) of trees on the Hamakua plantation on the island of Hawaii and $2.2 million year −1 ($4880 ha −1 year −1) from two commercial thinnings (at 4 and 10 years of age) and one harvest at rotation age (15 years) of trees on the Waialua plantation on Oahu.

Alternative Spatial Criteria for Targeting Soil and Water Quality Improvements in an Agricultural Watershed

The United States Food Security Act of 1985 and the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act (FACTA) of 1990 contain several landmark provisions for protecting soil and water resources in agriculture. One such provision is conservation compliance that discourages crop production methods that cause excessive soil erosion. Achievement of conservation compliance is expected to improve surface water quality. Farmers who did not implement conservation plans to reduce average erosion rates on highly-erodible fields to acceptable limits before December 1994 lost their eligibility for most farm programs. Current conservation compliance policy targets erosion control at the field level. An alternative to field-level targeting is farmor watershed-level targeting. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the economic and environmental effects of three levels of erosion targeting for conservation compliance; namely, field-, farm-, or watershedlevel targeting. The main hypothesis evaluated is that private and social benefits increase as the level of targeting increases, but at the expense of greater erosion and nonpoint source pollution. This hypothesis isbased on the principle, confirmed by Lau, that the economic efficiency of a policy increases as the policy becomes less restrictive. Private benefit is measured by annual net cash return minus onsite erosion damage. Social benefit is measured by net social benefit and an incremental benefit-cost ratio.

Interseasonal Irrigation System Planning for Waterlogged Sodic Soils

Irrigation system planning and management of a semiarid region in Indian Punjab is imperative for sustainable agriculture. For the management of soil and water resources of these regions, three nonstructural management models have been developed and linked together to aid in planning the optimum allocation of land and water resources to achieve the objective of maximizing return in the command area of a canal distributary. A ground-water simulation model uses the mass-balance approach to simulate water-table depths. The seasonal crop water response models are developed to compute crop yields. Interseasonal irrigation system planning models maximize net annual return through conjunctive use of surface water and gypsum-treated sodic ground water to achieve an optimal cropping pattern using a linear programming algorithm. The linear programming models are operated at five water mixing indexes (mixing of surface water and poor quality ground water in different proportions) and seven probability of exceedence levels where rainfall, crop water requirements, and canal water supply are assumed as random variables. These random variables are fitted well to the gamma probability density function.

Bunker Silo Unloaders: An Economic Comparison

In the United States, bunker silos are most frequently emptied with a skid-steer loader or other bucket unloader. The value of a milling-type unloader on a typical 100-cow Michigan dairy farm was assessed using DAFOSYM, a simulation model of the dairy forage system. The milling-type unloader was predicted to improve dry matter recoveries 0.5 to 3.7 percentage units in alfalfa and 0.3 to 1.5 percentage units in corn silage dependent on silage densities and bunker unloading rates. This range in improved dry matter recovery and the resulting quality changes increased the annual net return from $275 to $4,816. Under good management, increases in net return from a milling-type device were on the order of $400 to $750 per year. This savings would justify an additional investment of up to $6,000 for this equipment if labor and energy requirements for silo emptying were not affected by the unloading method. If the milling-type unloader increased unloading time by 10%, increases in labor and energy costs would reduce the maximum breakeven investment by $3,480.

Economic Feasibility of Small‐Scale Sponge Farming in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia1

AbstractInterest exists in the commercial culture of sponges in the Pohnpei region of the Federated States of Micronesia. Sponge culture is appealing in that capital and labor investment is minimal. Investment requirements for a 0.4‐ha sponge farm totals $650. Average annual production costs total $500. The sponge farm yields 2,400 sponges per 0.4 ha annually. Annual net returns are approximately $1,744 per 0.134 ha component, beginning in Year 4. Profitability is most sensitive to changes in opportunity wage rate, survival rate, and market price. Commercial sponge farming in Pohnpei shows promise as a source of supplemental income.

Net Returns from 12 Cropping Systems Containing Sugarbeet and Navy Bean

Considerable research has been conducted evaluating yield relationships among crops in various rotations and cropping systems. To compare cropping systems of different lengths of rotation and with different crops, however, a common measurement is needed. This paper evaluates annual net return to land and unallocated resources (ANR) from various cropping systems containing sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris L.), navy bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), corn (Zea mays L.), oat (Avena sativa L.), and alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). Gross returns using representative crop prices are calculated for each cropping system for yield data from a 15-yr cropping systems study conducted on a Misteguay silty clay soil in the Saginaw Valley of Michigan. Costs in 1991 dollars of agricultural inputs, machinery ownership, repairs, maintenance, fuel, and wages are used to calculate expenses. ANR is calculated by subtracting pre- and postharvest operating costs plus machinery ownership costs from gross income for two farm sizes and two sugarbeet prices. With sugarbeet priced at $36/ton, systems with the greatest proportion of sugarbeet and also including navy bean have the highest ANR. The relative ranking of a cropping system's ANR did not change appreciably when farm size increased from 600 to 1000 acres. A sensitivity analysis shows that sugarbeet priced at or below $18/ton caused the relative ranking of the systems to shift and navy bean to become a more dominant factor in the ANR of these systems. While short rotations for sugarbeet and navy bean production may result in lower crop yields, the high economic return of these crops is probably the major reason growers do not employ longer rotations

Trade-Offs Between Single- and Multiple-Batch Production of Channel Catfish,Ictalurus punctatus:

Economic trade-offs associated with single- and multiple-batch production of channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, were analyzed using multi-period and risk programming mathematical models. Single-batch stocking strategies maximized net returns above variable cost, primarily because poorer feed conversions in multiple-batch systems resulted in lower net returns. In the absence of off-flavor, single-batch production would increase annual net returns by 5%. For every 25% reduction in off-flavor incidence, annual net returns increased by 1-3%. The 10-year average fall-to-spring price differential was less than the cost of holding fish through the winter, based on an assumed inventory holing cost of $0.08/kg/month. For each reduction in holding cost of $0.02/kg/month, annual net returns increased by 8-9%. Multiple stocking was selected as a risk-reducing strategy, but expected income decreased by 8% to 35% depending on the number of ponds stocked in multiple batches. Cash flow restrictions decreased annual ...

A Comparison of Large Round Bale Storage and Feeding Systems on Dairy Farms

The dairy forage system model (DAFOSYM) was expanded to predict dry matter and nutrient losses during the storage and feeding of large round alfalfa hay bales. Through simulation, the long-term performance, costs, and return above feed costs for six storage methods, three bale sizes, two feeding methods, and two milk production levels were compared on 60 and 400 cow representative dairy farms. The analysis included all factors of harvest, storage, feeding, and animal production including crop growth, machinery use, and hay dry matter, and nutrient losses. The value of bale protection was influenced by bale size, amount of hay in the diet, level of milk production, and feeding method. Shed storage was usually, but not always, more profitable than unprotected storage. The greatest economic return from bale protection occurred when small diameter bales were fed to high producing cows with all alfalfa fed as dry hay. Compared to unprotected hay, annual net return increased as much as $155/cow with shed storage and $143/cow with tarp-covered stacks. The least benefit from bale protection was when large diameter bales were chopped and fed as a small amount of a total mixed ration. With this system, annual net return was within $8/cow for all storage systems indicating little benefit for protected storage.

Stochastic dynamic programming to support sow replacement decisions

In this paper a stochastic dynamic programming model, which runs on a personal computer, is introduced to determine the economic optimal replacement policy in swine breeding herds. This optimal policy maximizes the present value of expected annual net returns from sows present in the herd and from subsequent replacement gilts over a given planning horizon. Realistic dynamic programming replacement models include a large number of state and decision variables. A major issue in the underlying study has been how to cope with the resulting curse of dimensionality. An alternative dynamic programming model structure has been developed and evaluated. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis has been carried out to achieve insight into possibilities for further reduction of the model size. In this process, the quality of the results obtained are weighted against the amount of computation time needed to carry out the calculations.

Risk Analysis of Nitrogen Fertilization Rates for Corn and Soybeans

Annual yields, net returns, and net return variation are examined for irrigated corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] cropping systems under N fertilizer rates of 0, 75, 150, and 225 lb/acre. The profit maximizing fertilizer levels are determined. Profits are maximized with 150 N/acre on continuous corn (CC), 75 or 150 lb N/acre on a corn-soybean (CS) rotation, and 0 N/acre on continuous soybeans (SS). The appropriate cropping sequence and fertilization level for different risk preferences are determined. Producers who strongly seek to reduce risk or variation in net returns prefer to use less than the profit-maximizing application rate on a CS rotation. Those producers who generally seek to avoid risk and reduce variability by modifying cropping patterns and fertilizer rates would prefer a CS rotation which uses an application of 75 N/acre. The financial incentives required by farmers to reduce fertilizer use are estimated. The results indicate that it is very difficult to achieve 0 lb N/acre use in the continuous corn sequence, but encouraging reduced use to a level of 75 N/acre is more reasonable. In a CS sequence, 0 lb N/acre may also be reasonably achievable if reduced N application is a justifiable environmental concern.