Crop Production Efficiency Research Articles

Economic efficiency of oilseed production in Ukraine

The paper studies the dynamics of the relative production efficiency of the main agricultural crops in Ukrainian enterprises for 2017 – 2019 years, in particular sunflower. It has been established that price instability restrains the intensification at which oilseed yield increases, but the degree of risk increases due to the simultaneous trend of convergence of price indicators and production costs. It is concluded that the capacity building of the oil and fat industry should have scientifically sound limits. The work is innovative in terms of its approaches and recommendations, as well as in a new perspective of researching topics. The issues and provisions given in it may be used to analyze existing theoretical positions. In addition, the theoretical significance of the paper is it can become a motif and a major base for further studies in the given direction. The practical implementation of the conclusions, recommendations and suggestions obtained from the research will contribute to the stability of oilseed production after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Investigation of the Relationship among Water and Crop Production under Bounded Irrigation Conditions

Water scarcity is relative and variable concept that can occur at any level of supply and demand. It is also a social construct, which is linked to the intervention in the water cycle and changes over time as a result of natural hydrological change. It is more severe when water acts as a backbone in economic policies, planning and management methods. Water scarcity can be expected to increase with most forms of economic development, but, if properly identified, many of its causes can be expected and avoided or mitigated. However, the limited irrigation management is considered a very important issue in the agricultural scope. Therefore, in this study, the relationship between water, crop production, photosynthesis, crop transpiration, crop growth, crop yields and water use efficiency have been discussed under limited irrigation conditions. However, the crops have some ability to adapt and resist against limited irrigation. Hence, under high temperate conditions, this is a shortage of water and photosynthesis is decreased with a pore (stoma) restraining. At the same time, the evapotranspiration reaches to the utmost value and the water use efficiency rises because of optimal monitoring of leaf pore (stoma). Therefore, the modality which is the reduction of the risks and improving industrial control in incomplete irrigation are the chief constraints of providing irrigation water in the future, which leads to increased crop production and ultimately providing a provision of food security.

Changes in the amino acid composition depending on the pre-sowing treatment of seeds

The use of green mass of annual leguminous crops allows to get a rich amount of protein feed. Therefore, the quality of the green mass must be ensured in the context of sustainable crop production and feed efficiency. Apparently, the use of pre-sowing seed treatment with different-sized metal particles and growth regulators can affect the amino acid composition of crops. In the conducted work, it was found that pre-sowing treatment of seeds with UFP MoO2 increased the content of essential amino acids in peas - 5.75%, millet - 3.61, and in barley with UFP SiO2 - 4.01%. Similarly, UFP MoO2 stimulated the content of proline in the biomass of peas-1.82%, millet-0.15%, barley-0.32% compared to the control.In mixed crops of peas, millet, and barley, the content of leucine-isoleucine increased by -0.36%, lysine-0.13%, tyrosine - 0.04%, proline - 0.76%, threonine-0.36%, alanine - 0.27%, histidine - 0.02%, and glycine - 0.25% compared to the control. The amount of essential amino acids in the mixed crop under the action of the UFP MoO2 increased by 1.38%.

Картографирование характеристик изменения климата в Ставропольском крае

Currently, there is dynamic global climate change, as evidenced by the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). For many agricultural regions, including the South of Russia, such changes increase the already high natural and climatic risks. The Stavropol Territory, like most other regions of Russia, has insufficient coverage of the territory with a network of meteorological stations, in connection with which it becomes necessary to use modern GIS technologies for analyzing spatial data. In this work, the interpolation method “Natural Neighbor” was used to analyze climate data. The use of geoinformation technologies made it possible to identify regional features of climate change throughout the Stavropol Territory over the past 60 years (1961–2020). In the region, there has been an increase in the average annual air temperature over the past 30 years by 0.9°C, while maintaining the current growth rate by 2050, the average annual temperature may increase by another 0.6°C. The intraannual heterogeneity of the temperature increase was revealed, so in January, February, March and August it ranges from +1.8 to +2.0°C, in October to +1.6°C, and for the rest of the months the increase does not exceed 1°C, and only in November, the temperature drops to -0.6°C. One of the main limiting factors of the efficiency of crop production is the moisture supply of the territory. Analysis of the deviations of the annual precipitation amount in the Stavropol Territory does not allow us to reveal a reliable trend in their change, since there are significant fluctuations over the years, which can lead to the occurrence of unfavorable arid phenomena. It was found that for the period 1961–2020. droughts of various durations occur annually. At the same time, there is a likelihood of extremely unfavorable 5-month droughts, which can provoke a whole range of adverse events, such as dry winds and dust storms. On the basis of geoinformation technologies, a series of maps was created that describes the climatic conditions of the period 1991–2020, which is a new climatic norm for the territory of the Stavropol Territory.

Increasing the efficiency of crop production during sustainble soil cultivation based on the use of new biogenic preparations

The state of ecology in the world, and as a result, the requirements of the world community make agricultural producers turn to sustainable agriculture, which involves implementation of measures aimed at eliminating and preventing land degradation and greening agricultural production along with the biologization of agriculture. Sustainable agriculture is agriculture based on the competent use of the laws of nature, scientific achievements, focused on healing soil, reducing costs and improving quality of agricultural products. One of the directions of the land husbandry biologization is increasing the efficiency of basic fertilizers assimilation through leaf treatments with biogenic preparations of different nature (microbiological, growth-regulating, based on macro- and microelements, etc.). The possibility to increase the efficiency of agricultural crops cultivation with sustainable soil cultivation, such as flat-cut and No-Till technology with the help of biogenic preparations, was studied. Preparations Strada N and Izagri N play a leading role in terms of the influence of biogenic preparations on the productivity. An improvement in product quality was observed when using biological preparations Strada N, Humat with microelements, Izagri N, Zerebra, Agro + Gumat. As a result, biogenic preparations with a high efficiency of simulating production process when using sustainable soil cultivation were established. The use of these preparations on grain crops can be a factor for increasing the efficiency of these types of soil cultivation, which will expand the area of application of this environmentally effective and sustainable method.

Економічна ефективність вирощування ріпаку озимого залежно від впливу елементів технології в умовах лісостепу України

Economic efficiency of winter rapeseed growing depending on the influence of elements of technology in the conditions of the forest-steppe of Ukraine The article presents the results of research conducted during 2012-2015 on common chernozem in the Forest-Steppe zone of Ukraine with winter rapeseed of the Champion of Ukraine variety. The influence of terms and methods of sowing and basic tillage on seed yield was determined, which affected the indicators of economic efficiency of crop production. Their definition substantiates the expediency of combining the following elements: sowing in the first decade of September in a row way (width between rows 15 cm) on the background of plowing by 25-27 cm (as the main tillage). This technology on average for 2013-2015 provided the highest level of yield – 4.54 t / ha and the following economic indicators: relatively net profit of 18.8 thousand UAH / ha, the level of profitability – 113.6%, the cost of 1 ton seeds – 4.5 thousand UAH.

基于水足迹的作物生产生态效率评价——以陕西省为例

传统生产函数很少考虑农业生产中自然资源的要素功能，也无法表达化肥、农药的使用对环境产生的损害。研究将绿水、蓝水和灰水足迹，分别代表降水资源、灌溉水资源和作物生产的环境影响，引入农业生产函数，采用随机前沿方法测算陕西省作物生产生态效率，并分析其影响因素。结果表明：1）1985-2018年间陕西省作物生产总水足迹呈上升趋势，作物生产单位面积用水强度不断增强。单位面积水足迹及蓝、绿、灰水占比与气候、种植结构，灌溉条件和农业污染相关。2）研究期内，陕西省作物生产生态效率以2003年为分界点呈现先降后升趋势，陕西省作物生产生态效率的U型波动对应政府对耕地资源保护和农业污染管控政策变化。3）作物生产生态效率低下的区域集中在生产落后的农业区和农业条件差的工业区，农业耕地质量差，灌溉条件匮乏，低效率（产值角度）的灌溉和化肥农药施用以及落后农业生产方式是导致作物生产生态效率低下的主要原因。4）研究期内，陕西省作物生产经历了从规模报酬递增，到规模报酬递减2个阶段，与耕地面积的变化基本对应。短期内，考虑各投入要素的产出弹性调整种植结构和化肥农药施用量是提高作物生产生态效率的有效措施，而促进农业产业升级和技术革新是推动作物生产生态效率提升的根本路径。;Traditional production functions rarely consider the role of natural resources in crop production and the damage to the environment caused by use of fertilizers and pesticides. This paper introduces green, blue, and grey water footprints representing natural water resources, irrigation water resources and the impact of crop production on the environment, and assesses crop production eco-efficiency and its influential factors in Shaanxi Province through the stochastic frontier approach. The results showed that:1) From 1985 to 2018, the crop production water footprint of Shaanxi Province presented an upward trend and the water intensity per unit area was continuously enhanced. The water footprints per unit area and the proportions of blue, green, and gray water were related to climate, planting structure, irrigation conditions and crop production pollution. 2) During the research period, the eco-efficiency of crop production in Shaanxi Province demonstrated a trend of decreasing first and then increasing, taking 2003 as a cut-off point. The ecological efficiency of crop production in Shaanxi Province fluctuates in U shape, which corresponds to the changes of the government's policy of protecting cultivated land resources and agricultural pollution control. 3) Low eco-efficiency regions are concentrated in agricultural areas with backward production mode and industrial areas with poor agricultural conditions. The main reasons for the low eco-efficiency of crop production lie in the poor quality of agricultural arable land, scarce irrigation water resources, inefficient irrigation water, fertilizer and pesticide application, and backward mode of production. 4) During the study period, crop production in Shaanxi Province experienced two stages, from increasing returns to scale to decreasing returns to scale, basically corresponding to the change of cultivated land area. In the short term, adjusting the planting structure and controlling fertilizers and pesticides applications are effective ways to improve the eco-efficiency of crop production. However, the fundamental path is the upgrading of agricultural industry and technological innovation.

Technological, agronomical and economic efficiency of new organic and organo-mineral soil amendments

The intensification of crop production coupled with current declining soil fertility needs proper plant nutrition management and improved effectiveness of fertilizer use. Sustainable practices providing new soil amendments could be a useful tool to improve soil fertility and crop productivity causing economic benefits. The technology of processing local raw materials (leonardite, bentonite, and molasses) was developed to produce new soil amendments with optimal physical and chemical properties and to meet the needs of a particular crop in the nutrients. The best ratio of components was proved in a model experiment with an estimation of the full cost of final organic and organo-mineral soil amendments. In a field experiment, the effect of new soil amendments on available nutrients in Chernozem Podzolic and corn yield was studied. Two doses and methods of application (banding and broadcasting) of new soil amendments were compared taking into account its economic efficiency. Development of technologies to improve fertilizing properties of local organic materials, compliance to recommended doses, and methods of soil inputs application could increase the efficiency of crop production emerging environmental and economic benefits.

Scientific basis for increasing the efficiency of cultivation of crops on the lands of farms and the population

The high level of the role of dekhkan farms in improving the socio-economic well-being of the country makes it necessary to conduct research on scientific and practical problems in these areas. This is primarily to ensure the employment of their population as well is associated with an increasing contribution to social issues such as improving welfare. For this reason, the peasant economy has a key role as a business entity that is rapidly adapting to market relations. At a time when agriculture is becoming increasingly important for the economy of our country, there is a need to study their socio-economic significance, the laws of development. The next task is to create ways to achieve high efficiency in increasing the efficiency of crop production on farms. Today, the rapidly growing demand of the population for agricultural products shows that attention in agriculture is extremely necessary. As a result of intensification in production, the increase in agricultural production in line with market demand, processing, cooperation relations and increase the income of direct agricultural producers. Economic efficiency can be achieved through the use of scientific knowledge, especially on a farm that grows basic food products.

Does Intercropping of Baby Corn (<em>Zea mays</em> L.) with Pulse Legumes Improve Soil Fertility, Crop Productivity and Profitability?

Purpose: Intercropping of baby corn (Zea mays L.) with pulse legumes might improve production efficiency and increase profitability. The objectives of this study were to compare growth, yield and nitrogen uptake of baby corn and pulse legumes in intercropping systems and to determine income from the systems.Research Method: Four treatments consisting of baby corn alone, baby corn with mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek), baby corn with soybean (Glycine max) and baby corn with crawling cowpea (Vigna unquiculata L. Walp) were assigned in a randomized complete block design with three replications.Findings: All intercropping systems reduced growth and yield of baby corn and the income from the legumes could not reimburse for crop loss. Crawling cowpea was the best legume for intercropping system in term of providing better crop residue for succeeding crops. Among three pulse legumes investigated, cowpea had the highest nitrogen uptake, and its residue may be beneficial to succeeding crops. The reasons for reduction in baby corn yield and the alternative means for intercropping to increase income are discussed.Originality: Intercropping system is generally practiced to increase crop production efficiency. In this study, intercropping baby corn with pulse legumes did not increase income for baby corn growers because baby corn had the highest market price and pulse legumes reduced yield of baby corn.

Effects of straw return and fertilisation on root growth and nutrient utilisation efficiency of cotton in an arid area

Reducing input of chemical fertiliser to cotton fields has the benefits of reduced costs, increased crop production efficiency, and positive environmental impact. We investigated the impacts of stalk management and fertiliser application on the morphology, physiological activity and nutrient use efficiency of cotton roots in arid areas when grown under drip irrigation with plastic film mulching. This 9-year field experiment involved a split-plot design with two stalk management treatments (removed or mixed with soil) as main plots and four fertiliser treatments (no fertiliser, NPK fertiliser, poultry manure, combined NPK fertiliser plus poultry manure) as subplots. Fertilisation increased root tissue mass density, specific surface area, triphenyl tetrazolium chloride reducing capacity, and glutamine synthetase, but decreased specific root length. Straw return and fertilisation increased soil available N, P and K. Nutrient use efficiencies of N, P and K in roots were sensitive to fertilisation treatment, whereas nutrient use efficiencies in total dry matter were sensitive to straw return treatment. Fertilisation increased the root:shoot ratio, root biomass, fine:coarse root mass ratio, and seed cotton yield. Combined application of NPK fertiliser and poultry manure can prompt the formation of fine roots, which maximised the contact area between poultry manure and roots, thus increasing the chance of the root acquiring mineral nutrients. Therefore, organic matter promotes the absorption of mineral nutrients by roots, thereby improving the efficiency of fertiliser utilisation.

Environmentally Smart Nitrogen (ESN)—Potential for Improving Modern Crop Production and N-Use Efficiency

Environmentally Smart Nitrogen (ESN)—Potential for Improving Modern Crop Production and N-Use Efficiency

Specifics of organic crop production and it’s impact on accounting

In recent years, there has been a tendency for a rapid growth in organic crop production both in Ukraine and in the world. Due to the dynamic increase in organic production, crop production provides food security of the state, as well as becomes the template for creating new jobs in rural areas and remains a key budget-forming factor for the Ukraine’s gross domestic product’s growth. The purpose of the study is to analyze the state of organic crop production, disclose its specifics in order to effectively form accounting at agricultural enterprises in terms of the organic fertilizers’ reasonable cost breakdown. The article systematizes information on the development trends in organic crop production, compares the state of organic crop production in Ukraine with the world’s major economies, and forecasts the prospects for the organic production development in Ukraine until 2030. It has been determined that organic crop production is a competitive industry and is gradually developing. It has been established that organic crop production has the following organizational and technological characteristics: the production process is associated with biotransformation; the production cycle lasts for a year; the main production tool is agricultural land with organic status. It has been proven that these organizational and technological characteristics of organic crop production impact on accounting at agricultural enterprises. The study has analyzed the cost structure for organic crop production at agricultural enterprises in Kyiv region. It has been determined that the largest percentage in the crop production cost structure is occupied by the costs of fertilizers. It has been proven that this cost item needs to be breakdown when keeping records of costs for growing organic crop production in order to control them and obtain economic benefits for agricultural enterprises. The offered cost breakdown for organic fertilizers provides the information flows to control costs taking into account their worthiness, physical and chemical characteristics, analytical accounting, rational cost accounting and economic efficiency of organic crop production at agricultural enterprises.

Hierarchical optimization control based on crop growth model for greenhouse light environment

It is of great significance to study the optimization control of greenhouse light environment that can meet the demands of crop growth and reduce the regulation cost to improve the production efficiency and economic benefits of greenhouse crops. However, due to the complexity of the actual optimization control problem of greenhouse light environment, such as multi-objective, high dimensionality and numerous constraints, the optimization control of greenhouse light environment is still a challenging research topic. Therefore, a hierarchical optimization control method based on crop growth model is proposed, which divides the optimization control problem of light environment into two levels, namely optimal-level and control-level. This method simplifies the computational complexity of the original optimization control problem of light environment by means of hierarchical structure, and thus realizes the solution of the optimization control problem of light environment. Meanwhile, the multi-objective optimization control of light environment is realized through the hierarchical decision-making for the control target of light environment and the operation of light supplement. Finally, taking tomato in solar greenhouse as the research object, the simulation results show that the method is effective. In addition, the average regulation cost of this method is 0.3084$, which is lower than 0.3677 $ of the optimization control method of light environment with fixed threshold as target, it further proves the energy-saving effect of the proposed optimization control method.

An Evaluation of Irrigation Water Use Efficiency in Crop Production Using a Data Envelopment Analysis Approach: A Case of Louisiana, USA

The primary objective of this study is to estimate and evaluate the technical efficiency of irrigation water use in soybean (Glycine max L.) production in Louisiana, USA. We conducted a farm-level survey to assess information regarding irrigation cost, the volume of water application, and crop yield per acre during the crop year 2016. We use smoothed heterogeneous bootstrapping procedures in conventional data envelopment analysis (DEA) and supplement it with a nonradial measure of efficiency known as the Russell measure. The irrigation efficiency scores obtained from both an input- and an output-based DEA approach indicate that producers are over-applying irrigation water by approximately 37 percent. The results provide evidence that an improvement in water management practices can optimize irrigation efficiency, leading to higher profits for the farmers by lowering the other input prices in the production process. The findings should provide a benchmarking tool to formulate an appropriate irrigation policy that enhances water conservation in crop production in regions with similar environmental conditions and soil characteristics.

Increased nitrogen use efficiency in crop production can provide economic and environmental benefits

Potential economic and environmental benefits of increasing nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) are widely recognized but scarcely quantified. This study quantifies the effects of increased NUE on 1) the national agricultural economy using a simulation model of US agriculture and 2) regional water quality effects using a biogeochemical model for the Arkansas-White-Red river basin. National economic effects are reported for NUE improvement scenarios of 10%, 20%, 50%, and 100%, whereas regional water quality effects are estimated for a 20% NUE improvement scenario in the Arkansas-White-Red river basin. Simulating a 20% increase in NUE in row crops is shown to reduce N requirements by 1.4 million tonnes y−1 and increase farmer net profits by 1.6% ($743 million) per year by 2026 over the baseline simulation for the same period. For each 10% increase in NUE, annual farm revenues for commodity crops increased over the baseline by approximately $350 million per year by 2026. Changes in crop prices and land-use relative to the baseline were less than 2%. This suggests a net benefit even though fertilizer cost savings can result in increased cultivation of land, i.e., ‘Jevon's paradox’. Results from the biogeochemical model of the Arkansas-White-Red river basin suggest that a 20% increase in NUE corresponds to a 5.72% reduction in nitrate loadings to freshwaters, with higher reductions in agricultural watersheds. The value of these reductions was estimated as $43 ha−1, for a total of $15.3 to 136.7 million yr−1 in avoided water treatment costs. After estimating the social value of increased NUE, we conclude with a discussion of potential strategies to increase efficiency and the research needed to achieve this goal. These include perennialization of the agricultural landscape, genetic crop improvement, targeted fertilizer application, and manipulation of the plant-root microbiome.

Efficiency of Mineral Nitrogen Fertilization in Winter Wheat under Pannonian Climate Conditions

Improvements in nitrogen (N) use efficiency in crop production are important for addressing the triple challenges of food security, environmental degradation and climate change. The three fertilizers, calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN), urea (Urea) and stabilized urea (Ureastab), were applied at a rate of 160 kg N ha−1 with two or three splits to winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in the Pannonian climate region of eastern Austria. On average, over all fertilization treatments, the grain yield (GY) increased by about a quarter and the grain N concentration (GNC) doubled compared to the control without fertilization. Consequently, the grain N yield (NYGRAIN) was increased with N fertilization by 154%. The GY increased due to a higher grain density with no differences between N fertilizers but with a tendency of a higher grain yield with three compared to two splits. Three splits also slightly increased the GNC and consequently the NYGRAIN of CAN and Ureastab in one year. The removal of N fertilizer with the NYGRAIN (N surplus) was higher than the amount of applied fertilizer. Fertilization decreased the N use efficiency (NUE), the N uptake efficiency (NUpE) and the N utilization efficiency (NUtE) but increased the soil mineral nitrate (NO3-N) at harvest and the apparent N loss (ANL). Three compared to two applications resulted in a higher NO3-N at harvest but also a lower N surplus due to partly higher NYGRAIN. Consequently, the ANL was lower with three compared to two splits. Also, the NUpE and the apparent N recovery efficiency (ANRE) were higher with three splits. The best N treatment regarding highest above-ground biomass yield with lowest N surplus, N balance and ANL was the three-split treatment (50 CAN, 50 CAN, 60 liquid urea ammonium nitrate). Three splits can, under semi-arid conditions, be beneficial when aiming high-quality wheat for bread-making and also for reducing the N loss. Whereas, two splits are recommended when aiming only at high GY, e.g., for ethanol-wheat production.

Effects of Within-row Intercropping with Snow Peas on Yield and Quality of Cherry Tomatoes in an Organic High Tunnel Production System

Intercropping can increase land use efficiency in high tunnel crop production, but it may also lead to decreases in yield and quality of main crops due to the potential competition for resources. This study evaluated the agronomic viability of intercropping snow pea (Pisum sativum L., ‘Ho Lan Dou’) with cherry tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. var. cerasiforme ‘Sarina hybrid’) without additional inputs of water and fertilizers on peas in an organic high tunnel production system under Southern Ontario climate conditions in Guelph, Ontario, Canada (lat. 43.5 °N, long. 80.2 °W) during 2015 and 2016. In each 80-cm-wide bed, the tomato crops were planted alternately in double rows spaced 30 cm apart, with in-row spacing of 110 cm, which resulted in a planting density of ≈24,000 plants/ha. The snow pea seeds were sown between the tomato plants (i.e., within the same beds as tomatoes) in holes (two seeds per hole), with four rows in each bed and in-row holes spaced 10 cm and at least 25 cm away from the tomato plants, which resulted in a seeding rate of ≈650, 000 seeds/ha. The same amount of water or fertilizer was applied to the intercropping and nonintercropping plots based on the needs of the cherry tomato plants. Plant growth, fruit yield, and quality were compared between tomato plants with and without intercropping. Intercropping with snow peas did not affect total marketable fruit yield, unmarketable fruit percentage, fruit quality traits (e.g., individual fruit weight, soluble solids content, dry matter content, and postharvest water loss), or early-stage plant growth of the cherry tomato. Therefore, it is at least an agronomical possibility to intercrop snow peas with cherry tomatoes on the same beds without additional inputs of water and fertilizer on snow peas in an organic high tunnel system. The additional yield of pea shoots or pods in the intercropping treatment also increased economic gross returns in the high tunnels, although the economic net return might vary with the costs of seeds and labor involved in snow pea growing.

Present-day situation and potential of agricultural land use in Omsk region

The article discusses the main characteristics of agricultural land use in the Omsk region: the size of land use by regions and agricultural organizations, their legal status; the state of their main production parameters - fertility, technological properties, location relative to economic centers and centers of economic influence on land use. These parameters mainly determine the production potential of agricultural land use. The land use was grouped by the size of the land used, which made it possible to calculate the share of land used in agricultural organizations on the basis of ownership and lease. The current disadvantages of land lease and their economic consequences are indicated. A significant variety of the basic dimensions and legal status of lands has been established both in the region as a whole and in the natural and agricultural zones. Based on the quality of land, their production potential has been determined. It is shown that their zonal differences form a heterogeneous production basis for agricultural production. To confirm this, an analysis was made of the influence of the production potential of the land on the efficiency of crop production, both for the basic farms of all natural and agricultural zones, and for the region as a whole. The conditions of the realization of the potential of the land are analyzed taking into account labor supply, fund provision and land qualities and their influence on the results and efficiency of agricultural production. Based on this, economic and organizational measures are recommended to reduce differences in the agricultural land use system of the region, as well as increase its production potential.

Land use parameters ensuring sustainable development of agricultural producers taking into account characteristics of climatic zones and land quality

Land use parameters determine to a large extent not only the scale, but also the efficiency of agricultural production. The article gives a description of the size and other qualitative characteristics of land use resulting from the agrarian transformations. The area of arable land used, including rented and owned by agricultural organizations, is shown by natural agricultural zones and the region as a whole. Based on the analysis of the influence of the size of arable land on the farm, the bonitet score, the technological properties of arable plots and their remoteness from production centers on the productivity and efficiency of crop production, the parameters providing effective and sustainable development of the industry were substantiated. In general, the trend of greater efficiency of crop production with a large land use is confirmed. As a result of the analysis, the marginal parameters of land quality were determined (bonitet score, index of estimated costs of the distance from economic centers to arable land), ensuring efficient crop production. These data were obtained for all natural and agricultural zones of the region. The validity of the parameters is determined by the state of agricultural production and is recommended for the next 5 years. In the future, such an analysis should be repeated periodically. The parameters obtained as a result of the study are recommended for use in the management of agricultural production and land use. They allow one to determine the main priorities in the agricultural policy of the region, including objects of state and regional support for agricultural production.