Abstracts of Selected Papers

Abstract

This study examines the economic effects of crop field operation management on dairy farm businesses. Crop rotation and field operation schedules under efficient and inefficient field operation management scenarios for var­ ious representative farms are analyzed through the use of budgeting and linear programming. The effects on crop yields and quality, the feeding program, milk pro­ duction levels, purchased feed expenses, crop expenses, and crop sales are determined. The resulting effects on profitability are measured. Inefficient crop management is shown to decrease profits from $1,400 to $21,700 depending on the inefficient scenario. Critical time pe­ riods and field operations are also analyzed through the use of shadow prices. Finally, the value of increasing the field capacity of machinery is determined. and utilizing a combi­ nation of support price changes and annual cow removals. Annual equilibrium values for supply, demand, and prices are generated for the farm sector and fluid and manu­ factured dairy product retail markets. Estimates of gov­ ernment purchases of dairy products and government costs for each year are reported. The results suggest that a combination of price changes and cow re­ movals is the most attractive policy scenario in terms of government costs and producer profits. financial standing in 1984. The results of the logit regres­ sion suggest that production per cow, expenditures per cow, milk price, non-milk sources of farm income, farm size, farm location, and whether or not an operator had made recent investments in land are statistically signif­ icant determinants of financial performance. Moreover, a simulation exercise indicated that output per cow has the largest impact on financial performance. Economic Implications of Environmental Policy.” Agricultural production in the United States has an off-farm environmental impact. This paper examines the impact of agricultural externalities on U.S. water re­ sources. Also discussed are policy options for controlling agricultural contamination, issues relevant to these pol­ icy options, and an agenda for further economic research.