Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Agriculture Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 11 of 11

Full-Text Articles in Agriculture

A Decision Aid To Help Farmers Find The Minimum Cost Fertilizer Combination, Gregory Ibendahl Sep 2023

A Decision Aid To Help Farmers Find The Minimum Cost Fertilizer Combination, Gregory Ibendahl

Journal of Applied Farm Economics

Fertilizer recommendations are typically given as the pounds of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium needed per acre. Many crop budgets also list the fertilizer costs in terms of the N, P, and K. This can cause a problem for farmers as they must purchase their fertilizer in products that in some cases contain multiple nutrients. These multinutrient fertilizers make it difficult or impossible to calculate a price per unit of a nutrient. Thus, finding the minimum cost fertilizer combination by using a price per nutrient approach may not work. This paper shows how a linear programming approach will always give the …


Perennial Warm-Season Grass Forages Impact On Cow-Calf Profitability In The Fescue Belt, Kyle A. Brazil, Patrick D. Keyser, Andrew P. Griffith, Christopher N. Boyer, J. Travis Mulliniks Sep 2022

Perennial Warm-Season Grass Forages Impact On Cow-Calf Profitability In The Fescue Belt, Kyle A. Brazil, Patrick D. Keyser, Andrew P. Griffith, Christopher N. Boyer, J. Travis Mulliniks

Journal of Applied Farm Economics

Incorporating a perennial warm- season grass (WSG) into tall fescue (Lolium arundina-ceum [Schreb.] Darbysh.) forage systems in the fescue belt can help avoid the effects of fescue toxicosis on beef cattle (Bos taurus) reproduction and animal performance and provide forage during summer when fescue production is low. However, little information is available on the economics of incorporating WSG into fescue-based forage systems. We developed a simulation model to compare profitability of three forage systems—100% tall fescue, 70% tall fescue/30% bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon), and 70% tall fescue/ 30% switchgrass (Panicum virgatum)—while also comparing spring- …


Determining The Accuracy Of Holstein Bull Semen Prices With A Two-Tier Efficiency Model, Loren W. Tauer Oct 2021

Determining The Accuracy Of Holstein Bull Semen Prices With A Two-Tier Efficiency Model, Loren W. Tauer

Journal of Applied Farm Economics

The pricing accuracy of dairy bull semen available for artificial insemination is investigated using a price model cast in terms of a two-tier efficiency model, which allows estimating an overprice and underprice given the net return the bull’s daughter is expected to contribute to the farm based upon the transmittable trait characteristics of a bull. The estimation produces statistically significant coefficients, including the coefficients for the overpricing and underpricing of the semen. The average estimate of overpricing is around 25%, and the average estimate of underpricing is around 33%. As expected, low semen prices tend to be underpriced and high …


Hemp Production Network Effects: Are Producers Tipped Toward Suboptimal Varietal Selection By Their Neighbors?, Tanner Mccarty, Jeffrey Young Feb 2021

Hemp Production Network Effects: Are Producers Tipped Toward Suboptimal Varietal Selection By Their Neighbors?, Tanner Mccarty, Jeffrey Young

Journal of Applied Farm Economics

The 2018 farm bill removed industrial hemp from the Schedule 1 Controlled Substance List. In response, states scrambled to enact hemp legislation. Some hemp flower producers report their hemp fields were cross- pollinated by a neighbor growing a different hemp cultivar. For hemp flower crops, cross- pollination reduces cannabinoid concentration levels within the flower; these concentration levels dictate flower price. We show that in a repeated game, once a sufficiently large percentage of growers decide to plant hemp fiber/seed crops, cross-pollination forces flower growers to convert to fiber/seed to avoid the negative network externality. Over time, a stable, suboptimal Nash …


Producer Willingness To Pay For Enhanced Packaging To Prevent Postharvest Decay Of Strawberries, Brian Coffey, Valentina Trinetta, Londa Nwadike, Umut Yucel Apr 2020

Producer Willingness To Pay For Enhanced Packaging To Prevent Postharvest Decay Of Strawberries, Brian Coffey, Valentina Trinetta, Londa Nwadike, Umut Yucel

Journal of Applied Farm Economics

We surveyed specialty crop producers in Kansas and Missouri to determine producer willingness to pay for new active packaging technology that prevents postharvest loss and increases shelf life. The survey also asked demographic questions to determine the producer and operation traits for this growing segment of production agriculture. More than half of those surveyed were female, and 60% were under 50 years of age. Smaller operations tend to utilize direct marketing and social media activity more than larger operations. Parametric willingness to pay estimates are approximately $0.39 per cardboard flat to purchase the antifungal film that increases shelf life of …


Financial Implications From Contracting Avian Influenza In A U.S. Broiler Operation, Jordan M. Shockley, Tyler Mark, Kenneth H. Burdine, Levi Russell Apr 2020

Financial Implications From Contracting Avian Influenza In A U.S. Broiler Operation, Jordan M. Shockley, Tyler Mark, Kenneth H. Burdine, Levi Russell

Journal of Applied Farm Economics

This essay evaluates the on-farm financial impacts of an avian influenza outbreak on a U.S. commercial broiler operation. It investigates how the timing and length of the outbreak impacts farm financial performance for two different farmers, beginning and experienced. Results indicate that a beginning farmer is more susceptible to significant financial losses. Both farmers are financially impacted more when avian influenza is contracted early in the investment and when the contamination and eradication of the virus was prolonged. Furthermore, this essay highlights the problems of using standard financial measures for analyzing disease outbreaks under production contract arrangements and presents alternative …


Profitability Of Developing Beef Heifers On Stockpiled Winter Forages, Zachary David Mcfarlane, Chris Boyer, J. Travis Mulliniks Nov 2018

Profitability Of Developing Beef Heifers On Stockpiled Winter Forages, Zachary David Mcfarlane, Chris Boyer, J. Travis Mulliniks

Journal of Applied Farm Economics

We estimate the profitability of developing heifers on one stockpiled cool-season grass and two stockpiled warm-season grasses during the winter months by comparing distributions of net present value (NPV) over an 11-year useful life. Furthermore, distributions of payback period and the break-even price for each calf over the heifer’s production life were generated for each forage species. These results are compared across forages as well as to a simulated drylot system for heifer development. Data comes from a grazing experiment in Tennessee, where heifers grazed big bluestem and Indian grass combination (BBIG), switchgrass (SW), or endophyte-infected tall fescue (TF) pastures. …


Impact Of Automated Guidance For Mechanical Control Of Herbicide-Resistant Weeds In Corn, Terry Griffin, James M. Lowenberg-Deboer Oct 2017

Impact Of Automated Guidance For Mechanical Control Of Herbicide-Resistant Weeds In Corn, Terry Griffin, James M. Lowenberg-Deboer

Journal of Applied Farm Economics

This study evaluated the feasibility of reintroducing mechanical weed control as an alternative for herbicide-resistance weed infestations. The production practice tested included row cultivation with a separate banded spray application using high-accuracy automated guidance systems. A range of ground speeds were tested for the row cultivation operation, each with a different per acre cost and timeliness penalty. A typical eastern Corn Belt farm with a rotation of corn and soybean served as the base for the linear programming model. It was found that if the farmer was willing to reintroduce tillage, row cultivation conducted at higher operating speeds in conjunction …


Do Profitable Farms Remain Profitable? Transition Probabilities Using Markov Switching Models Applied To Kansas Farm Data, Jayce S. Stabel, Terry Griffin, Greg Ibendahl Oct 2017

Do Profitable Farms Remain Profitable? Transition Probabilities Using Markov Switching Models Applied To Kansas Farm Data, Jayce S. Stabel, Terry Griffin, Greg Ibendahl

Journal of Applied Farm Economics

Financial vulnerability has been observed across agricultural production regions; however, uncertainty regarding farms’ persistence within specific profitability categories exists. This study compared farm characteristics that persist in most and least profitable categories and then evaluated the probability that farms transitioned among profitability categories. Using 425 Kansas Farm Management Association (KFMA) farms that were present for the 20-year period 1994–2013, the persistence of remaining or transitioning to another profitability category was tested. Specifically, Markov transition probabilities were estimated for Kansas and the six regional KFMA regions. Comparisons of farms that persist in the highest and lowest profitability categories revealed no dramatic …


Application Of The Adjusted Weak Axiom Of Profit Maximization To New Zealand Dairy Farming, Anne E. Dooley, Nicola M. Shadbolt, Koohyar Khatami, Loren W. Tauer Oct 2017

Application Of The Adjusted Weak Axiom Of Profit Maximization To New Zealand Dairy Farming, Anne E. Dooley, Nicola M. Shadbolt, Koohyar Khatami, Loren W. Tauer

Journal of Applied Farm Economics

The weak axiom of profit maximization is a nonparametric, empirical approach that has been used in the United States to analyze dairy farmers’ production and profit behavior under input and output price changes to determine whether farmers effectively respond to these changes. The expectation is that profit calculated using the current year’s input and output combination will be greater than that calculated from the previous year’s combination with current prices more often than due to chance. This approach was replicated using New Zealand dairy farm data (1,785 pairs of records over five years). Current year’s profits were significantly greater in …


Succession Planning And Perceived Obstacles And Attractions For Future Generations Entering Beef Cattle Production, Lee L. Schulz, Georgeanne M. Artz, Patrick J. Gunn Apr 2017

Succession Planning And Perceived Obstacles And Attractions For Future Generations Entering Beef Cattle Production, Lee L. Schulz, Georgeanne M. Artz, Patrick J. Gunn

Journal of Applied Farm Economics

This study provides valuable insights into cow-calf producer and feedlot operator succession plans for transferring cattle operations upon exiting the industry. Across both cow-calf producers and feedlot operators, about 50% expect to be raising cattle for 10 more years or less; however, about 39% of these producers do not have a succession plan in place. Cow-calf producers view a rural lifestyle, self-employment, working with livestock, and working with family as the biggest attractions to future generations entering beef cattle production. Cow-calf producers view environmental regulations, land tax policy, and expansion of corn and soybean acres as the biggest obstacles. Feedlot …