Cost Structures, Productivities and the Distribution of Technology Benefits Among Producers for Major U.S. Field Crops
The purpose of this paper is to estimate the cost structures and resource productivities involved in production of four major U.S. field crops and to estimate the distribution among producers of benefits from production related technology. These field crops include corn, soybeans, wheat and cotton grown in selected homogeneous soil and rainfall areas of the U.S. The cost structure of each commodity is estimated relative to a Cobb-Douglas cost function. Productivity is assessed across time, regions and size of enterprise. The distribution of technology benefits is determined by region and enterprise size for each commodity.
The text is part of a series Agricultural Experiment Station>Evaluating Agricultural Research and Productivity, Proceedings of a Symposium, Atlanta, Georgia, January 29-30, 1987, Miscellaneous Publication 52 Number 50020