International Comparison of Cost and Efficiency of Corn and Soybean Production

The objective of this paper was to examine the cost efficiency of corn and soybean production for typical farms involved in the cash crop agri benchmark network. Using a data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach, efficiency indices were computed for 35 corn farms, representing 15 countries including Argentina, Bulgaria, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay, Vietnam, and South Africa. Average technical efficiency was 0.497, average allocative efficiency was 0.487, and average cost efficiency was 0.310. Efficiency indices were also found for 18 soybean farms, representing 9 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Italy, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay, and South Africa. Average technical efficiency was 0.533, average allocative efficiency was 0.553, and average cost efficiency was 0.340. Correlation analysis shows that seed input cost shares were the most correlated with cost efficiency for soybeans, while fixed capital cost shares were the most correlated with cost efficiency for corn production. OLS regression indicated that land, labor and other direct services were under-utilized for corn production, and that seed was over-utilized for soybean production.