PRODUCTION RISK REVISITED IN A STOCHASTIC FRONTIER FRAMEWORK: EVALUATING NOISE AND INEFFICIENCY IN COVER CROP SYSTEMS

This paper investigates both risk and technical inefficiency in a general stochastic frontier framework that is consistent with the Just-Pope framework. After applying the model to two separate cash crop-cover crop systems, the more general stochastic frontier model is found to reorder the noisiness of alternative cover crop regimes.Crop Production/Industries, Risk and Uncertainty,

FARMERS' PERCEPTIONS OF SPATIAL YIELD VARIABILITY AS INFLUENCED BY PRECISION FARMING INFORMATION GATHERING TECHNOLOGIES

This study evaluated how farmers' perceptions of spatial yield variability are influenced by precision technologies. Farmer estimates from a mail survey were regressed on use of alternative information technologies and personal characteristics. Results indicate that farmers who adopted yield monitors with GPS for cotton perceived significantly higher spatial yield variability.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

COTTON CULTIVAR, PLANTING, IRRIGATING, AND HARVESTING DECISIONS UNDER RISK

Producers in southwest Oklahoma lack adequate information about optimal planting decisions for cotton. This study uses a cotton growth simulation model to evaluate alternative cultivar, planting date, irrigation, and harvest choices. Effects of using information about soil moisture at reproduction and revenue loss at harvest in making cultivar and planting data decisions are evaluated. Using soil temperature information to plant at an early date produced high net revenue some years, but reduced mean net revenue and increased risk. Producers maximizing expected net revenue should plant a short-season cultivar in late May and use soil moisture information to schedule irrigation at reproduction.Crop Production/Industries,

Scholarship on Religion and Communities of Faith

When I was asked to participate in this panel, two comments came to mind that, in my view, are pertinent for my own thinking regarding the issue of Scholarship on Religion and Communities of Faith

ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF INCOME PROTECTION CHOICES FOR WEST TENNESSEE CORN PRODUCERS

Farmers need information about the expected value and variability of net revenues for alternative crop insurance and futures hedging strategies to manage risk. Specifically, the model will determine which risk management strategies are most desirable under various levels of risk aversion. The unstable futures basis relation in the data used in the simulation model contributed to increased variability of net revenues. In general, none of the crop insurance or hedging strategies markedly reduced variability of net revenue and relative riskiness when compared with the cash strategy. Revenue Assurance strategies were the most effective at setting a floor on net revenues. As a result, Revenue Assurance products may perform well for extremely risk averse producers.Marketing, Risk and Uncertainty,

Risk and Return for Bioenergy Crops under Alternative Contracting Arrangements

This study evaluated the potential to supply biomass feedstocks under alternative contract arrangements for a northwest Tennessee 2,400 acre grain farm. The four potential types of contracts analyzed in this study offer different levels of biomass price, yield, and production cost risk sharing between the representative farm and the processor.Farm Management, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

The Affect of an Individual\u27s Membership Segment on Attitude Orientation, Values, and Political Participation

The purpose of this study is to discover the effect of a voluntary association on the individual\u27s political behavior, attitudes, and values. If the process of internalizing norms, attitudes and values of the association does occur, it should occur in relation to the various types of psychological membership segments of the relationship-space model. In addition, the purpose of the study is to relate the membership segments of the r-space model to reference group theory. The voluntary associations of Grand Forks, listed with the Chamber of Commerce, were grouped according to the classification scheme of Gordon and Babchuk: degree of accessibility; status conferring capacity; and the function of the association. This scheme must be modified by subjective determination of the values and orientation of the associations. From this cluster of associations, four voluntary associations were selected for study. The entire membership of the voluntary association received a mailed questionnaire. The hypothesis that the membership segments are significantly related to the attitude orientation, values, and political behavior received some support. In addition, membership segments appear to function as reference groups to some degree and this received slight support from the data collected. In conclusion, a voluntary association can be represented by the r-space model. Membership in a voluntary association can be formal and psychological which indicates the presence of membership segments. Voluntary associations affect individual behavior, but the degree is dependent to some slight extent on the membership segment of the individual