Non-irrigated Farms Research Articles

A Multicriteria Decision Analysis Model for Optimal Land Uses: Guiding Farmers under the New European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (2023–2027)

Focusing on sustainability, the new Common Agricultural Policy (2023–2027) sets ambitious goals for water management, as reducing irrigation water use is a vital issue. Cooperation among farmers, relevant authorities, and researchers plays a significant role in achieving these objectives. Therefore, this study applies a multicriteria mathematical programming model to optimize land use, considering water use, profit, labor, and cost. The model was applied to three farmer groups located in Greece and proved to be valuable in the implementation of irrigation water use. Using the same methodology, two additional cases of farmer groups that utilize drylands are presented in complementary ways to investigate how the new CAP affects non-irrigated land uses. Regarding the irrigated case, reducing water usage involves decreasing the land dedicated to crops characterized by high water demand, such as rice, corn, vetch, and clover. This adjustment stems from the necessity to replace irrigated land with non-irrigated land because climate change demands low water consumption for crops and underscores the importance of the new policy framework to promote sustainable agriculture. As for the non-irrigated case, achieving optimal farm planning entails reducing the cultivated areas of vetch, grassland, and sunflower. This result is driven by the need to increase crops receiving primary subsidies, highlighting the necessity for non-irrigated farms to enhance their profitability through the benefits provided by the Common Agricultural Policy. Lastly, it is important to note that this study significantly contributes to guiding decision-makers in achieving alternative agricultural land uses and farm plans while also aiding in the comprehension of the new cross-compliance rules.

INFLUENCE OF PREDECESSORS ON THE FORMATION OF INDIVIDUAL PRODUCTIVITY OF SPRING TRITICALE VARIETIES

Ukraine's agricultural production is dominated by winter crops, with winter wheat accounting for the largest area. At the same time, due to dynamic climate change and unstable weather conditions in the autumn-winter and early spring periods, there is a need to reseed significant areas of winter crops every year. Spring triticale is one of the insurance crops. Due to its high productivity and unpretentiousness to growth and development conditions, its cultivation on large areas can contribute to a significant increase in food grain production. In the current conditions of reforming the agricultural sector of Ukraine's economy, as well as climate warming, there is an urgent need to develop agrotechnological methods that would ensure the efficient use of crop rotations in general. One of the methods to increase the efficient use of arable land in modern business conditions is to grow crops that produce less costly and competitive products. Triticale meets these requirements best of all. Modern varieties, in particular those of Ukrainian breeding, are characterized by high physical properties, and in terms of grain quality and technological properties of flour are not inferior, and in some respects even superior to bakery wheat. Thanks to this, spring triticale can be grown as a major food crop. To date, many technological methods have been developed that ensure sufficiently high grain yields of this crop both in irrigated and non-irrigated farming. However, the technology of triticale cultivation in the context of climate change remained insufficiently developed and studied. In particular, such important elements of the technology as triticale varieties, precursors and doses of mineral fertilizers have not been determined. Therefore, the study of the peculiarities of growth and development of high-yielding varieties of spring triticale and the introduction of basic methods of growing the crop, establishing the effect and interaction of the variety and mineral fertilizers, which significantly affect the yield and quality of grain, sowing and yielding qualities of seeds in the conditions of the Right-Bank Forest-Steppe are relevant, which determined the choice of the topic of the master's thesis. On average, over two years of research, the influence of different precursors was also significant in the cultivation of spring triticale. Thus, the most mineral fertilizers significantly influenced the formation of grain yield of spring triticale varieties, namely increased it, but a significant increase in yield - 1.58 t/ha was obtained only when N30P60K60.+ N30 was applied in the earing phase. Thus, the highest grain yield of the studied spring triticale varieties was obtained in the most favorable year of 2019 - 6.48 t/ha, in 2020 it was 5.99 t/ha, which is 0.49 t/ha less. The yield of the spring triticale variety Boriviter in 2019 was the highest and amounted to 6.48 t/ha, respectively, in 2020 it was 5.47 t/ha and on average for two years of research did not exceed 5.97 t/ha.

Research Progress and Trend of Agricultural Non-Point Source Pollution from Non-Irrigated Farming Based on Bibliometrics

The agricultural non-point source (NPS) pollution caused by non-irrigated farming, such as heavy metals, nitrogen and phosphorus, has posed an extreme threat to the security of agricultural product quality and watershed ecology. Thus, it is urgent to sort out the latest research progress and future development trend to effectively guide future scientific research and technological updates in this field. This study integrates the relevant literature of the Web of Science from 1976 to 2021 and analyzes the research hotspots and development trends in the field of agricultural NPS pollution from non-irrigated farming in combination with CiteSpace. The results showed that the proportion of publications from the United States and China accounted for 58.4%. Science of the Total Environment, Water Science and Technology and Journal of the American Water Resources Association were the most published journals. The research topics and hotspots mainly involve agricultural NPS pollution prevention technology, pollution source identification, pollution load and management and landscape pattern evolution. In the future, agricultural NPS pollution research in non-irrigated farming should combine agricultural big data platforms, spectroscopic methods, artificial intelligence technology, etc. and focus on strengthening soil testing formula fertilization management, the efficient use of livestock and poultry breeding manure, climate change and risk early warning.

Ocena kvaliteta vode za navodnjavanje i odabrani parametri zemljišta za Mankessim oblast, Gana

Irrigation has become very critical in acquiring an all year round crop production. The aim of the research work was to assess the irrigation water quality and selected soil parameters at the Mankessim irrigation scheme, which is used to irrigate all types of crops within Mankessim and its environs. The data of the study was collected from two sources, from water and soil samples. Water samples were collected from three different surface water sources within the scheme for both the dry and wet seasons. Nine (9) different samples were collected for each season, three (3) samples for each surface water source. Also, six (6) different soil samples were collected for each season. Soil samples were collected from an irrigated and non-irrigated farm lands. The results of the study indicated that water sources, that is from surface sources did not differ significantly from each other comparing the dry and wet seasons and that their chemical values were within the limits acceptable for irrigation and crop production. The concentrations (Na, Ca, Mg, EC and TDS) were fairly within the permissive limits for crop water use.

What are the Consequences of Livelihood Diversification, and what Solutions are Suggested? Findings from Tamil Nadu, India

Agriculture is one of the major sectors affected by climate change, and farmers are having to adapt rapidly to overcome the risks. However, farmers face many struggles because of lack of awareness and experience of new methods. Understanding farmers’ constraints and adaptation strategies is very important for the implementation of adequate policies for agricultural and food security. Hence, this research aims to investigate the consequences faced by farmers due to livelihood diversification and suggestions to overcome. Data were collected from 240 respondents in Tamil Nadu, India by a thorough survey method with the help of a pretested, well-structured interview schedule. Percentage analysis is an appropriate method that gives answers to how many respondents give a particular response. The Garratt ranking technique was used to study the preferences and change in priority of consequences encountered by farmers–and the potential advantages–into numerical scores. The Z test was used to determine whether two population means are different with the same variance. Data analysis was done using SPSS software. The results show that the majority of farmers reported concerns regarding constraints such as lack of previous experience, poor family support, and involvement of risk factors. The survey reveals that Tamil Nadu farmers suggested the conducting of specific training, encouraging livestock management and providing subsidies for agricultural and allied enterprise development as strategies to overcome the constraints of livelihood diversification. The Z test results indicated that there is a difference between irrigated and nonirrigated farms with respect to farmers’ age, educational status, level of income, occupation, and awareness of climate change. The suggestions offered help policymakers develop suitable policies.

Review: Dairy Farm Electricity Use, Conservation, and Renewable Production—A Global Perspective

Highlights Studies of electricity use were reviewed, representing five continents. Considering all farm types, electricity use averaged 7.7 kWh 100 kg-1 milk and 612 kWh cow-1 y-1. Pasture-based dairy systems used less electricity than barn-based systems (475 vs. 769 kWh cow-1 y-1). By combining several conservation technologies there is potential to reduce electricity demand by one-third. Dairy farms can reach net zero electricity by combining renewable energy production with conservation. Abstract. This review summarizes electricity use on dairy farms, with a focus on how energy is used, energy use indices (EUI), conservation strategies, and generation of renewable energy to reach net zero. EUI of electricity consumption varied between the identified studies primarily based on farm management system (confined, pasture-based), housing type (tie-stall, free-stall), and region (North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania). The highest electricity usage was associated with milking and milk cooling systems, which, on average, accounted for 23% and 22% of total electricity use, respectively. Energy use scaled per cow (EUIc) was lower, on average, for pasture-based dairy systems than for confined systems (475 vs. 769 kWh cow-1 y-1). Considering milk production, the average EUI scaled to milk (EUIm) was lower for pasture-based systems (6.6 kWh 100 kg-1) than for confined systems 9.2 kWh 100 kg-1. Considering all non-irrigated farm types, EUIm averaged 7.7 kWh 100 kg-1 and EUIc averaged 612 kWh cow-1 y-1. There was a large range of EUI, with higher values associated with automated milking systems and irrigation. Electricity consumption by the global dairy sector (excluding irrigation) was estimated using the average EUIm at approximately 64.2 TWh y-1. The main conservation technologies include variable speed drives (milk vacuum pumps, milking systems, fans), pre-cool heat exchangers, refrigeration heat recovery systems, energy-efficient light fixtures (compact fluorescents, light emitting diodes), and efficient ventilation (high-volume low-speed fans). Theoretical savings of up to 32% overall could be achieved by combining several technologies. Feedback from electricity monitoring can inform dairy farmers of their energy use pattern to guide decisions to reduce consumption. Tools for predicting energy use and related costs on dairy farms, which can indicate potential energy savings from operational changes, were reviewed. By combining conservation methods with renewable energy from biogas or solar, many dairy farms can produce enough electricity to reach net zero electricity. For example, a hypothetical barn-based 250 milking-cow dairy farm consumed 1021 kWh cow-1 y-1, on average, and could produce approximately 1095 kWh cow-1 y-1 using a biodigester or 960 kWh cow-1 y-1 using rooftop photovoltaic solar panels. Keywords: Conservation, Dairy footprint, Electricity use, Electricity partitioning, Energy utilization index, Renewable energy.

Fodder beet to support early and late lactation milk production from pasture, is it worth the risk?

High yielding crops such as maize (Zea mays L.) and fodder beet (FB; Beta vulgaris L), are commonly used to extend lactation and increase animal productivity from pastoral dairy systems. Financial modelling to compare costs and benefits of different crops is useful for decision making, but such modelling often fails to account for potential animal health risks which can be associated with feeding supplements. A multi-component, whole-farm modelling approach was used to predict milk solids (MS, milk fat + protein) production and the economic farm surplus (EFS: operating surplus – adjustments) between 2016 and 2018 for an irrigated farm in Canterbury (South Island) and a non-irrigated farm in the Waikato (North Island), of New Zealand. The financial risk of the dairy business was measured using the ratio between mean return on assets (ROA) minus an assumed 5% risk-free ROA, and the standard deviation of ROA was calculated from 300 combinations of climate, milk, and feed price, land appreciation, and interest rate. Four scenarios of autumn and spring supplementation of pasture were considered at each geographical location; imported maize silage (Base), a crop of maize silage grown on the milking platform (MSC; area used to produce milk), a crop of FB grown on the milking platform (FBC), and a FB crop with an outbreak of acute (1% stock fatality) and subacute ruminal acidosis (5% decline of feed intake) across the entire herd (FBAC). The MSC scenario improved EFS by 5.8% compared with Base in both the irrigated and the dryland system. The predicted response to MSC reflected greater milk production, lower feed expenses, and shorter crop rotation, compared with either Base, FBC, or FBAC. While FBC increased EFS by 4.8% compared with Base under irrigation, EFS was similar to Base under dryland conditions ($2711 and $2759/ha, respectively). The limited advantage of growing FB under dryland conditions reflect reduced herbage supply due to the extended crop duration of FB compared with maize silage. Model predictions suggest that FBAC will increase the financial risk by reducing milk production and EFS by 6.5% (irrigated) and 7.1% (dryland) compared with Base. In the absence of any adverse health risks, farm performance from the FBC scenario was comparable to that of MSC under irrigated conditions. However, in dryland conditions, and when the potential economic cost of acute and sub-acute ruminal acidosis is considered, there is little advantage to growing FB on the milking platform.

Comparative Analysis of Cost and Profitability in the Irrigated and Non-irrigated Chestnut Farming: Case of Aydin Province, Turkey

The objective of this paper was to examine comparatively the cost and profitability of chestnut farming in the irrigated and non-irrigated farms in Aydin Province. The data of this study was collected with face to face surveys from 99 chestnut farms using the stratified sampling method. Partial budgeting analysis was applied to 27 irrigated and 72 non-irrigated farms in order to explain the cost and profitability of chestnut production. The results of the study highlighted that the average production cost of chestnut per kilogram was US $1.26 in the irrigated farms, whereas it was US $1.21 in the non-irrigated farms. The chief element of cost was labor, and the share of labor in the total cost was 70.77% in the irrigated farms and 69.24% in the non-irrigated ones. The gross production value per decare and per tree were US $422.62 and US $47.01 in the irrigated farms, while they were US $270.83 and US $39.77 in the non-irrigated farms, respectively. In the irrigated farms, the gross profit and net profit were US $259.08 and US $158.14, whereas in the non-irrigated farms, they were US $184.50 and US $95.92, respectively. The rate of return was 1.60 in the irrigated farms and 1.55 in the non-irrigated ones. The results of the study confirmed that the chestnut production cost of the farms could be lessened via utilization of irrigation and the effective use of inputs particularly labor.

Interweaving protected areas and productive landscapes in Aotearoa New Zealand: Using design to explore multifunctionality in the Mackenzie Basin

The distinctive form of New Zealand’s protected areas developed out of rapid environmental changes during nineteenth-century colonization practices, and is based on valuing endemic nature as something separate from human culture. This binary division has resulted in a ‘fortress conservation’ approach, which separates protected areas from productive landscapes in ways that can limit their potential. Insight in international approaches offers the possibility to integrate protected areas in multifunctional landscapes and social-ecological systems. This study examines these land-use tensions in the context of the Mackenzie Basin in New Zealand’s South Island, where traditional non-irrigated sheep farming, tourism and newly established irrigated dairy farms compete for influence in the region’s future ecological and aesthetic makeup. The authors consider how landscape architecture design methods of scenario development, programme design, mapping and communication strategies might unsettle current norms that separate protective and productive land uses to achieve more integrated expressions of landscape.

Is irrigated farm more efficient than non-irrigated no-tillage farm and non-irrigated conventional farm for a sample of Kansas corn farmer?

The corn farmer has benefited from high corn price. However, the corn price falls from its high price in 2012 to as low as $ 4.46 per bushel in 2013. The drop in corn price and intense competition from the global grain markets make farms that are non-efficient struggle economically. Pure technical, overall, allocative and scale efficiency were measured to analyze the competitiveness of a sample of Kansas corn farmers. Farmers increased their relative efficiency during drought in 2012. Government payment was found to be negatively correlated with efficiency for non-irrigated farms. Interest expenditure might have negative impact on input allocation for irrigated and non-irrigated conventional farms. Irrigated farms should focus on increasing acreage land to increase overall efficiency. On the other hand, non-irrigated conventional farm should focus their effort to enhance overall efficiency by increasing seed inputs.

Temporal and spatial water use on irrigated and nonirrigated pasture-based dairy farms.

Robust information for water use on pasture-based dairy farms is critical to farmers' attempts to use water more efficiently and the improved allocation of freshwater resources to dairy farmers. To quantify the water requirements of dairy farms across regions in a practicable manner, it will be necessary to develop predictive models. The objectives of this study were to compare water use on a group of irrigated and nonirrigated farms, validate existing water use models using the data measured on the group of nonirrigated farms, and modify the model so that it can be used to predict water use on irrigated dairy farms. Water use data were collected on a group of irrigated dairy farms located in the Canterbury, New Zealand, region with the largest area under irrigation. The nonirrigated farms were located in the Manawatu region. The amount of water used for irrigation was almost 52-fold greater than the amount of all other forms of water use combined. There were large differences in measured milking parlor water use, stock drinking water, and leakage rates between the irrigated and nonirrigated farms. As expected, stock drinking water was lower on irrigated dairy farms. Irrigation lowers the dry matter percentage of pasture, ensuring that the amount of water ingested from pasture remains high throughout the year, thereby reducing the demand for drinking water. Leakage rates were different between the 2 groups of farms; 47% of stock drinking water was lost as leakage on nonirrigated farms, whereas leakage on the irrigated farms equated to only 13% of stock drinking water. These differences in leakage were thought to be related to regional differences rather than differences in irrigated versus nonirrigated farms. Existing models developed to predict milking parlor, corrected stock drinking water, and total water use on nonirrigated pasture-based dairy farms in a previous related study were tested on the data measured in the present research. As expected, these models performed well for nonirrigated dairy farms but provided poor predictive power for irrigated farms. Partial least squares regression models were developed specifically to simulate corrected stock drinking water, milking parlor water, and total water use on irrigated dairy farms.

Evaluating Productive Capacity of Irrigated and Non-Irrigated Farming: A Panacea for Sustainable Rice Production in Patigi, Nigeria

Evaluating Productive Capacity of Irrigated and Non-Irrigated Farming: A Panacea for Sustainable Rice Production in Patigi, Nigeria

Strategi Nafkah dan Kesejahteraan Keluarga Pada Keluarga Petani Tadah Hujan

Creating several livelihood strategies by families is an effect of limitation faced by families. This study aimed to analyze livelihood strategies and their effects on the welfare of non-irrigated farm families in Playen District of Gunung Kidul Regency. Region that is used as a location of study was an area which was far from the capital of district and nearby area of the capital of district. The study involved 100 families interviewed using a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive analysis and binary logistic regression. Based on indicator of family welfare level from BKKBN, the study found that the prosperous family is as much as 57.0 percent and the rest is not prosperous. Overall, the study found that majority of farmer family has mix livelihood strategies. The results showed that the age of husband which is younger, the increase of spending cost per capita, and the increase of physical capital of a family directly affect the welfare of the family. On the other hand, the kind of coping strategies of farmer family and also the location of the family does not affect the family welfare. These results indicate the absence of the influence of coping strategies towards family welfare of non-irrigated farm family in this study.

English

The discharge of untreated solid and liquid wastes containing toxic heavy metals (Cr, Pd, Ni, Hg and As) from municipal and industrial activities has deteriorate the potential of Beressa River water mainly for irrigation purpose and affect the chemical property of soils and vegetables grown along the bank. Thus, this work was conducted to assess the concentrations of both essential nutrients (Ca, Mg, K, P, N, Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn) and heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Pd, Ni, Hg and As) in potato tubers and lettuce leaves produced along the bank of river using irrigation. Depending on their position and extent of water pollution, three different farms were identified and representative plant samples were collected from each farm for laboratory analysis. The vegetables from the non-irrigated farm were characterized by their lower contents of Ca, Mg, K, P, N, Mn, Fe, Zn and Cu. There was no detection of heavy metals in the potato tubers collected from farms 1 and 2, and except Cd, the lettuces of farm 3 had the highest concentration of toxic heavy metals. Apart from the lettuce leaves harvested from the irrigated farms, all the vegetables were safe for consumption and had a good essential nutrient content than the non-irrigated farm. Eventually, it is important to protect and mitigate the quality of the environment through creating awareness and conducting different studies of natural resources pollution remediation and controlling. Key words: Potato, lettuce, nutrients, heavy metals, water pollution, Beressa River.

Agro-ecosystems impact malaria prevalence: large-scale irrigation drives vector population in western Ethiopia

BackgroundDevelopment strategies in Ethiopia have largely focused on the expansion of irrigated agriculture in the last decade to reduce poverty and promote economic growth. However, such irrigation schemes can worsen the socio-economic state by aggravating the problem of mosquito-borne diseases. In this study, the effect of agro-ecosystem practices on malaria prevalence and the risk of malaria transmission by the primary vector mosquito, Anopheles arabiensis, in Ethiopia were investigated.MethodsIn three villages in western Ethiopia practising large-scale sugarcane irrigation, traditional smallholder irrigation and non-irrigated farming, cross-sectional parasitological surveys were conducted during the short rains, after the long rains and during the dry season. Entomological surveys were undertaken monthly (February 2010-January 2011) in each village using light traps, pyrethrum spray collections and artificial pit shelters.ResultsMalaria prevalence and the risk of transmission by An. arabiensis assessed by the average human biting rate, mean sporozoite rate and estimated annual entomological inoculation rate were significantly higher in the irrigated sugarcane agro-ecosystem compared to the traditionally irrigated and non-irrigated agro-ecosystems. The average human biting rate was significantly elevated by two-fold, while the mean sporozoite rate was 2.5-fold higher, and the annual entomological inoculation rate was 4.6 to 5.7-fold higher in the irrigated sugarcane compared to the traditional and non-irrigated agro-ecosystems. Active irrigation clearly affected malaria prevalence by increasing the abundance of host seeking Anopheles mosquitoes year-round and thus increasing the risk of infective bites. The year-round presence of sporozoite-infected vectors due to irrigation practices was found to strengthen the coupling between rainfall and risk of malaria transmission, both on- and off-season.ConclusionThis study demonstrates the negative impact of large-scale irrigation expansion on malaria transmission by increasing the abundance of mosquito vectors and indicates the need for effective vector monitoring and control strategies in the implementation of irrigation projects.

Which farmers benefit the most from Bt corn adoption? Estimating heterogeneity effects in the Philippines

AbstractThe potential contributions of new biotechnologies to sustainable food and income security have been the subject of widespread discussions around the turn of the 21st century. But distributional issues of which segments of adopters of genetically modified (GM) crops benefit the most have not been given ample attention). Using propensity scores, we apply the (a) stratification‐multilevel method of estimating heterogeneous treatment effects; and the (b) matching‐smoothing method of estimating heterogeneous treatment effects proposed by Xie et al. We find that the incidence of higher yields, lower insecticide use, and reduced seed utilization in the Philippines diminishes progressively as a farmer's propensity to adopt Bt corn increases. Farmers with a low propensity to adopt Bt are those who farm smaller, nonirrigated farms located farther from seed suppliers and farmers without previous training on pest identification. In most cases, while these farmers are typically poorer farmers in smaller parcels, cannot afford irrigation and are situated in remote areas away from easily accessible seed suppliers, there is no evidence, however, that profits differ across farmers with varying propensities to adopt the Bt variety.

A MODEL FOR ESTIMATING PREMIUMS TO REDUCE IRRIGATION ON FARMS

Abstract This paper aims to determine the minimum agri‐environmental premium per hectare that farmers should receive to reduce crop irrigation.To this end, the authors develop a mixed‐integer quadratic model using a new methodology based on traditional positive mathematical programming, which allows the inclusion in the model of crop variants that are not present in the baseline situation of the farms.What is shown is that the results obtained with this new methodology, using the cost average approach of calibration, are the same as those obtained with an empirical method, when there is no change of crop distribution after the changeover from irrigated to nonirrigated farms.The theoretical results are compared with those obtained using the calibration with exogenous elasticities and are illustrated numerically for a representative farm of an area around Spain's Tablas de Daimiel in which the use of groundwater for crop irrigation has led to the ongoing deterioration of wetlands that depend on the same source of water, endangering the region's environmental sustainability.

Influence of Irrigation and Organic/Inorganic Fertilization on Chemical Quality of Almond (Prunus amygdalus cv. Guara)

The chemical quality of almonds variety Guara cultivated in nonirrigated farming (NI) and drip-irrigated farming (DI) conditions with different fertilizing treatments, two organic treatments (T1 and T2) and a mineral treatment (C), all of them with a N-P-K proportion of 1-2-1, is studied. Almonds obtained in irrigated farming showed higher content in sugars and organic acids and a better quality of oil. Among the fertilizing treatments employed, the organic ones have shown the best results related to chemical quality, regardless of the quantity of fertilizer employed (9.5 kg per T1 tree vs 4.5 kg per T2 tree). The organic treatments produced almonds with a higher content of sugar, organic acids and fiber and a similar fat content. These results are interesting from a commercial point of view since the consumers, even under the same conditions of chemical quality, prefer those products cultivated under organic conditions due to their benefits for health and because these practices are environment-friendly.

Assessment of Spatial Variability of Tambons Based on Farming Systems Characteristics for Scaling-up of Diversification in Khon Kaen Province, Thailand

Data from 174 non-irrigated farms in 50 tambons (sub-districts) in Khon Kaen Province, Thailand, taken by the Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE) on land area by type of agricultural use and income source by agricultural activity were combined with data from the Soil Survey Laboratory of the Land Development Department (LDD) on predominant soil types in each tambon. Farms were assigned to agricultural activity types based on combinations of primary agricultural income source (≥ 50% of total agricultural income) and secondary agricultural income sources (10-49% of total agricultural income). A diversification index was calculated as the sum of the number of primary and secondary income sources. Soils were characterized by texture, slope, drainage, and pH of each soil type. Six clusters of tambons were formed based on similarities among these variables. Three clusters contained 86% of the tambons: the rice-based farm cluster (31%), the field crop-based farm cluster (22%) and the cluster combining animal and vegetable-based production (33%). A fourth cluster (8%) combined field crop and animal production. The remaining two clusters (6% together) represented non-traditional and highly diversified farms, respectively. There was regional specialization in emphasis on rice (South) versus field crops (South Central, North), but tambons combining animal and vegetable production were distributed throughout all regions of the province. Tambons with heavier soils, less slope and poorer drainage had proportionally more land area in rice. These tambons also had proportionally more income from animal production. Conversely, tambons with lighter soils, more slope and better drainage had proportionally more land area in field crops and more income from field crops. Soil characteristics were not indicative of diversification. No spatial gradient either East-West or North-South was found for land use, income or diversification variables. Differences among clusters were more important than spatial differences. Stepwise regression indicated that six variables accounted for 76% of the variation in income. Three variables accounted for 65% of the variation in income: total land area (39% of variation), percentage of income from animal production (14%) and proportion of land area in field crops (13%). Three other variables contributed the remaining 11% of variation explained by the model: drainage (negative contribution); proportion of land area in other crops; and farms with their proportion of income from vegetable production greater than 50%. Animal production may be an indicator of potential for diversification-oriented research to increase the income contribution of horticultural production in farming systems.

Cotton Farmers' Technical Efficiency: Stochastic and Nonstochastic Production Function Approaches

Technical efficiency for cotton growers is examined using both stochastic (SFA) and nonstochastic (DEA) production function approaches. The empirical application uses farm-level data from four counties in west Texas. While efficiency scores for the individual farms differed between SFA and DEA, the mean efficiency scores are invariant of the method of estimation under the assumption of constant returns to scale. On average, irrigated farms are 80% and nonirrigated farms are 70% efficient. Findings show that in Texas, the irrigated farms, on average, could reduce their expenditures on other inputs by 10%, and the nonirrigated farms could reduce their expenditures on machinery and labor by 12% and 13%, respectively, while producing the same level of output.