Crop Budgets Research Articles

FIELD SCALE MULTIOBJECTIVE DECISION MAKING: A CASE STUDY FROM WESTERN IOWA1

ABSTRACT: Water quality issues in agriculture are growing in importance. A common theme is the provision of better information to decision makers. This study reports the trial of a prototype decision support system by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Agricultural Research Service in the NRCS Harrison County Field Office in 1998. Observed data collected at the Deep Loess Research Station (DLRS) near Treynor, Iowa, were extrapolated using a modified GLEAMS field scale simulation model that included a nitrogen leaching component and a crop growth component. An accounting tool was used to convert crop yield estimates into crop budgets. A model interface was built to specify the climate, soil, and topography of the field, as well as the management scenarios for the alternative management systems. For the Deep Loess Hills area of Harrison County, a total of six soil and slope groups, with 66 total combinations of management practices forming management systems, were defined and simulated based on previously calibrated data from DLRS. A multi‐objective decision support system, the Water Quality Decision Support System, or WQDSS, was used to examine the tradeoffs in a comprehensive set of variables affected by alternative management systems with farmers in Harrison County. The study concluded that a multiobjective decision support system should be developed to support conservation planning by the NRCS. Currently, a larger scale effort to improve water quality decision making is underway.

Preplant and post-plant tillage for full-season soybean on clayey and silt loam soils

Definitive responses to pre- and post-plant tillage are hard to locate in the literature. These tillage responses are usually confounded with other factors. A 2×2 factorial treatment design for pre- and post-plant tillage was implemented in a modified split plot experimental design. Main plots were preplant tillage and sub-plots were post-plant tillage. The experiment was conducted from 1992 through 1994 on a clayey soil at Keiser, AR; 1992 through 1993 on a silt loam at Marianna, AR; and in 1994 on a silt loam at Pine Tree, AR. Grain yield was determined. Soil samples were taken for soil moisture determinations at depths of 0–5 cm, 5–15 cm, 15–30 cm, and 30–45 cm. Crop budgets were generated using production practices and equipment commensurate with commercial farming operations in the area. Results showed that preplant tillage and no-till resulted in equivalent grain yields on clay soil. However, net returns on no-till were equal to or superior to preplant tillage on clay soils across all years. On silt loam soils, both preplant and post-plant tillage main effects were significant for both yield and net returns. Results varied with year on both clayey and silt loam soils. Breakeven analysis indicated that breakeven yield differences were relatively minor across tillage systems. Further, breakeven prices on the clayey soils were generally lower than on the silt loam soils reflecting changes in relative profitability across soil type. Soil water measurements clearly demonstrated the soil's function of water storage for ultimate release to the plant during droughty periods. This function was not affected by tillage system in this study.

Comparative Cost Analyses of Conventional, Integrated Crop Management, and Organic Methods

Production costs have been analyzed in several studies using such normative approaches as budgeting and mathematical programming, and positive approaches as estimation of production, cost, or profit functions. This study used budgeting methods to analyze the costs and benefits of adopting integrated crop management (ICM) or organic methods versus conventional agriculture for tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), sweet corn (Zea mays L. var. saccharada), and pumpkins (Cucurbita pepo L.). Data were collected using field studies conducted at the Rutgers University Snyder Research and Extension Farm, Pittstown, N.J. Time and motion study techniques were used to record machinery use and labor quantities. Records of production inputs and yields were also collected. These records were then converted to a 1.0-acre (0.4-ha) basis to constructed crop budgets. Results show that ICM systems are more profitable than conventional and organic systems. Organic systems had the lowest net returns. However, because of the organic price premium, the net returns were fairly close to those for conventional and ICM systems.

The economic and financial gains from water markets in Chile

AbstractChile is one of the few countries that has encouraged the use of markets in water resource management. In order to assess the impact of water markets and transactions costs in Chile, four river valleys, the Maipo, Elqui, Limarí, and the Azapa were selected as case studies. Transactions from the Elqui and Limarí valleys, during the years 1986 to 1993, were analyzed to determine the gains‐from‐trade from market transfers.In the economic and financial analysis of water markets, crop budgets were used to estimate the value of water in agricultural production. The value of water‐use rights to urban water‐supply companies was estimated using the avoided cost of an alternative investment in a water‐storage reservoir. The analysis demonstrated that the market transfer of water‐use rights does produce substantial economic gains‐from‐trade in both the Elqui and Limarí Valleys. These economic gains produce rents for both buyers and sellers. But buyers, especially farmers growing profitable crops who buy water‐use rights and individuals buying water‐use rights for potable water supply, receive higher rents then sellers. Large table‐grape producers in the Limarí Valley and individuals buying water for human consumption in the Elqui Valley received the highest rents. In the Elqui Valley net gains‐from‐trade per share were within the range of recent transfer prices of US$1000. In the Limarí Valley, gains‐from‐trade per share are 3.4 times the recent prices of US$3000 for a share of water from the Cogotí Reservoir.Where trading was active, especially in the Limarí Valley, transactions costs have not presented an appreciable barrier to trading. Nonetheless, in the large canal systems with fixed flow dividers in the Elqui and Maipo Valley there have been very few transactions. Various factors contribute to the lack of trading, but the absence of trading in these large canal systems highlights the costs of modifying fixed infrastructure, especially for trades between farmers.

The economic and financial gains from water markets in Chile

Abstract Chile is one of the few countries that has encouraged the use of markets in water resource management. In order to assess the impact of water markets and transactions costs in Chile, four river valleys, the Maipo, Elqui, Limari, and the Azapa were selected as case studies. Transactions from the Elqui and Limari valleys, during the years 1986 to 1993, were analyzed to determine the gains-from-trade from market transfers. In the economic and financial analysis of water markets, crop budgets were used to estimate the value of water in agricultural production. The value of water-use rights to urban water-supply companies was estimated using the avoided cost of an alternative investment in a water-storage reservoir. The analysis demonstrated that the market transfer of water-use rights does produce substantial economic gains-from-trade in both the Elqui and Limari Valleys. These economic gains produce rents for both buyers and sellers. But buyers, especially farmers growing profitable crops who buy water-use rights and individuals buying water-use rights for potable water supply, receive higher rents then sellers. Large table-grape producers in the Limari Valley and individuals buying water for human consumption in the Elqui Valley received the highest rents. In the Elqui Valley net gains-from-trade per share were within the range of recent transfer prices of US$1000. In the Limari Valley, gains-from-trade per share are 3.4 times the recent prices of US$3000 for a share of water from the Cogoti Reservoir. Where trading was active, especially in the Limari Valley, transactions costs have not presented an appreciable barrier to trading. Nonetheless, in the large canal systems with fixed flow dividers in the Elqui and Maipo Valley there have been very few transactions. Various factors contribute to the lack of trading, but the absence of trading in these large canal systems highlights the costs of modifying fixed infrastructure, especially for trades between farmers.