J. Thomas McGuckin

A Generalized Production Frontier Approach for Estimating Determinants of Inefficiency in U.S. Dairy Farms

This article investigates farm-level efficiency of U.S. dairy farmers by estimating their technical and allocative efficiency. Technical inefficiency is assumed to be composed of a deterministic component that is a function of some farm-specific characteristics and a random component. By doing this we extend the stochastic frontier methodology in which determinants of technicial inefficiency are explicitly introduced in the model. Given the inputs, variations in efficiency of farms are then explained by both deterministic and random components of technical inefficiency. The empirical results indicate that (a) levels of education of the farmer are important factors determining technical inefficiency and (b) large farms are more efficient (technically) than small and medium-sized farms. Both technical and allocative inefficiency are found to decrease with increase in the level of education of the farmer.

Optimal Control of Irrigation Scheduling Using a Random Time Frame

A dynamic programming model of irrigation scheduling is developed which accounts for stochastic weather conditions, results in simple irrigation decision rules, and can be operated on current microcomputers. The model employs heat unit intervals instead of chronological time to define the dynamic equations of the crop-soil system. Procedures are outlined for estimating the transition probabilities of climate within the heat unit intervals. When compared to maximum yield irrigation scheduling, the model increases net returns of corn, sorghum, and cotton by

WATER CONSERVATION IN IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE A STOCHASTIC PRODUCTION FRONTIER MODEL

10.00 to

Technical efficiency, risk attitude, and adoption of new technology: The case of the U.S. dairy industry

30.00 per acre.

Economics of the Wet Fractionation System in Alfalfa Harvesting

A stochastic production frontier model of irrigation is used to analyze sources of economic inefficiency in irrigation practices of Nebraska com producers and the extent that field information from soil moisture monitoring, commercial scheduling and/or weather reports increases economic efficiency. The results indicate that farm irrigation practices have an average technical efficiency of 81% (defined as the ratio of actualized production to maximum potential production for a level of inputs). Field information from moisture sensors can improve technical efficiency by 3.9%. The value of information provided by moisture sensors depends on the technical efficiency of the farmer and ranges from

On the economics of desalination of brackish household water supplies

58.23 per hectare for an efficient farmer to

Institutional Adjustments for Coping with Prolonged and Severe Drought in the Rio Grande Basin

40.29 for an inefficient producer. The elasticity of derived demand for water is estimated to be −1.095.

Market Exchange Impact on Water Supply Planning with Water Quality

Abstract This article analyzes the separate effects of technical efficiency and risk attitudes on the adoption of new technologies. We develop a model of firm behavior that incorporates both risk preferences and inefficiency into input and output decisions of the firm. The separate effects of risk aversion and inefficiency on adoption deicisions are estimated econometrically. In the first step, we estimate technical inefficiency using the stochastic frontier approach. These inefficiencies, along with the variables representing risk preferences, are used in the second step to explain adoption of new technologies. This framework is applied to explain adoption decisions of U.S. dairy farmers.

Biotechnology, Anticipated Productivity Increases and U.S. Dairy Policy

The Wet Fractionation System nearly eliminates the risk of weather damage and harvesting delays by substituting mechanical dewatering for field drying in the low moisture silage harvesting process. Bid prices for the wet fractionation are estimated based on stochastic dominance over conventional techniques. Results indicate that the wet fractionation system has significant potential only on large, highly productive Wisconsin dairy farms, but has little economic potential for the majority of dairy farms.

INSTITUTIONAL ADJUSTMENTS FOR COPING WITH PROLONGED AND SEVERE DROUGHT IN THE RIO GRANDE BASIN NEW MEXICO WRRI Technical Completion Report No. 317

Abstract Chemical constituents dissolved in household water supplies can cause economic damages in the form of reduced life of water-using appliances and pipes. Technological advances in reducing desalination costs and improved measures of damages have changed the conditions under which desalination of brackish water supplies can be considered to be economically feasible. The analysis shows that estimated benefits of desalination exceed costs for some communities with high saline native waters, such as are found in the Arkansas River Valley of eastern Colorado and elsewhere in the Southwest.