This study combines whole farm economic analysis with biophysical simulation techniques in order to achieve a twofold objective. First, the study seeks to develop a multiple enterprise vegetable farm model with a production and marketing decision interface and, second, to determine optimal...

Producers lack information about the profitability of variable rate technology (VRT) for agricultural sprayers. An economic framework was developed to evaluate the returns required to pay for VRT investments. Payback variables included input savings, yield gains, and reduced application costs....

The purpose of this study is to compare and contrast the profitability of different dairy management practices through precision livestock farming. Feed analysis and crop yields were simulated. Mathematical model was used for profit maximization. The results indicated that the proposed...

Precision deep tillage allows for lower use of tillage though recognized variation with in a field. Comparative enterprise budgets, breakeven, and sensitivity analysis were preformed to prove that under long-term no-till conditions precision deep tillage can be a profitable form of tillage that...

This paper explores, in the context of social capital theory, why farmers choose to use sustainable agricultural practices. The hypothesis tested is that farmers who exhibit higher levels of social capital will adopt such practices more often than those who exhibit lower levels of social capital.

This paper evaluated the impact of the adoption of less tillage practices on the overall efficiency of a sample of Kansas farms. The paper also explored the relationship between overall efficiency, farm size, and less tillage. Farms that have adopted less tillage practices were relatively more...

This paper examined the relative importance of farm size, farm type, managerial ability, capital structure, operator age, family size, and off-farm income in explaining farm growth rates. Farm type, managerial ability, and operator age were significantly related to farm growth rates.

The majority of pig farms in North Carolina use a lagoon-sprayfield system to manage manure. Although economical, the lagoon-sprayfield system is sensitive to weather conditions. This study examines the cost of manure management under extreme weather and scrutinizes National Resource...

Replaced with revised version of paper 02/09/04.

Because of policy interest in the size distribution of farms, there is an interest in understanding the causes of changing farm sizes. This paper addresses an overlooked issue in the literature on the determinants of farm size, namely, the empirical specification of farm size. We examine 5...