Jayson K. Harper

Crop Insurance and Disaster Assistance Designs for Wheat and Grain Sorghum

This study compares the effectiveness of two crop insurance and two disaster assistance program designs used in conjunction with a government commodity program and a linked crop insurance/government commodity program design. Stochastic dominance analysis of farm-level net return distributions is used to select the preferred design(s). The results indicate that the disaster assistance programs are preferred over the alternatives. The results also suggest that individual crop insurance is preferred to area crop insurance. A subsidy is required for risk-averse managers to prefer area crop insurance to individual crop insurance.

Facilitating IPM: The role of participatory workshops

Successful, long-term implementation of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) requires the integration of key technical and management activities and the participation of a wide range of stakeholders including farmers, researchers, extension officers, crop consultants, government agencies, and industry. A key issue that needs urgent attention is how to achieve the high quality interaction between these different groups which is necessary for sustained IPM. Problem specification and planning workshops (PSPWs) provide one means of facilitating an integrated strategy for tackling complex pest management issues. Since 1992, the Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Pest Management has facilitated over 20 PSPWs, focusing on different farming systems in Australia. This paper describes the philosophy, the process involved, and the impact that these PSPWs have had. It examines three specific cases to describe the relationship between plans and results and ways of improving impact. The results reinforce the major role that social scientists can play in providing mechanisms for collaborating with technical researchers and other partners to facilitate effective, participatory ventures in IPM.

DEVELOPING FLEXIBLE ECONOMIC THRESHOLDS FOR PEST MANAGEMENT USING DYNAMIC PROGRAMMING

The rice stink bug is a major pest of rice in Texas, causing quality related damage. The previous threshold used for assisting in rice stink bug spray decisions lacked flexibility in economic and production decision variables and neglected the dynamics of the pest population. Using stochastic dynamic programming, flexible economic thresholds for the rice stink bug were generated. The new thresholds offer several advantages over the old, static thresholds, including increased net returns, incorporation of pest dynamics, user flexibility, ease of implementation, and a systematic process for updating.

IMPACT OF RISK PREFERENCES ON CROP ROTATION CHOICE

Stochastic dominance analysis of five crop rotations using twenty-one years of experimental yield data returned results consistent with Pennsylvania cropping practices. The analysis incorporated yield risk, output price risk, and rotational yield effects. A rotation of two years corn and three years alfalfa hay dominated for approximately risk neutral and risk averse preferences, as did participation in government programs under the 1990 Farm Bill. Crop rotation selection appeared to impact net revenues more than the decision to participate in government programs.

Effect of Risk Preferences on Incorporation of Double-Crop Soybeans into Traditional Rotations

Six enterprise combinations, four including a double-crop sequence of wheat followed immediately after harvest by soybeans, were evaluated for southeastern Kansas given the requirements for participation in the government commodity program. Stochastic dominance analysis was used to select the preferred combination under six different classes of risk preferences. A two-year sequence of wheat double-cropped with soybeans followed by full-season soybeans was the preferred combination for all classes of risk preferences analyzed. Sensitivity analysis indicated that if labor, machinery, or field time constraints limit the number of acres of double-cropped soybeans and/or if farm yields are sufficiently less than those included in the data set, results would either favor rotations that do not double-crop or those that double-crop less than the maximum number of acres each year.

Velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti) interference and seed production in corn silage and grain

Studies were conducted during a 2-yr period measuring corn silage and grain yield and velvetleaf seed production in response to velvetleaf density. Velvetleaf densities of 0, 2, 5, 10, and 21 plants/m2 were established in conventionally tilled corn. The percent corn yield reduction in response to velvetleaf density was similar for both years despite differences in total corn yield. Corn grain and silage yield responded differently to velvetleaf interference. Although both were adversely affected, silage yield reductions were twice that of grain at the low velvetleaf densities. A hyperbolic yield model predicted a maximum yield loss for corn silage and grain of 36 and 37% with incremental losses of 7 and 3%, respectively, as velvetleaf density increased. Velvetleaf seed production ranged from 2,256 to 4,844 seed/m2 from the lowest to the highest density. This study demonstrates that corn silage yield is more sensitive than corn grain yield to velvetleaf interference, as well as how crop value plays an important role in determining economic thresholds. Finally, this research confirms the prolific nature of velvetleaf and shows that even at low densities, velvetleaf seed production could affect weed control decisions for many seasons to come. Nomenclature: Velvetleaf, Abutilon theophrasti Medicus #3 ABUTH; corn, Zea mays L. ‘Pioneer 3140’. Additional index words: Economic threshold, weed competition, weed interference, yield loss. Abbreviations: ET, economic threshold.

ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF IMPROVED MECHANICAL HARVESTING SYSTEMS FOR EASTERN THORNLESS BLACKBERRIES

Three blackberry production systems which combine a mechanical harvester employing a new shaking principle with open trellis designs (V-, Y-, and rotatable Y-trellises) were evaluated to determine profit potential. Given a single cultivar planting of 4.7 ha and current fresh-market prices, all three machine harvest systems are profitable. When compared to a hand-harvested I-trellis, fresh-market packouts of from 72 to 132% of total yield would be required for the machine harvesting systems to have equal profitability. The relative profitability of the I-trellis, however, is very sensitive to increases in hand-harvest cost and decreases in fresh-market price. A 20% fall in price would reduce breakeven packout for the mechanical harvester to 27 to 70%. A

Impact of Producer Risk Preferences on Selection of Fresh-Market Apple Training Systems

0.30/kg increase in hand harvest cost would reduce breakeven packout to 29 to 73%. The machine-harvesting systems are profitable under a greater range of price and yields than the I-trellis. Machine-harvesting systems are profitable at prices as low as

An Excel‐based decision aid for evaluating financing alternatives and the marginal cost of capital

0.48 to

Potential of Shorter Corn/Alfalfa Rotations for Dairy Farms

0.67/kg, while hand-harvesting systems need prices of at least