The Combined Economics Deprtment: A Report on the State of the Union

The Economics Department is an immensely productive group. Our endeavors are probably more diverse than any department on campus. This is a short review of major areas in the department. Research. We have research that ranges from the most applied, localized service type work to concerns with international monetary systems and trade. To be sure the major portion of our effort is highly localized and policy oriented. We thought you might be interested in a listing of publications for the past couple of years. An earlier couple of years is also there. Perhaps if we have a shortcoming in our research it is in (to use President Cazier\u27s words) celebrating our successes and accomplishments to those who have political prominence in the state. We contend that we are indeed a great department in our research work. Especially, I bel ieve we have developed the capacity and facility to do interdisciplinary research as well as any group of Economists and Ag Economists in the world. Our publications list joint work with engineers, sociologists, many agricultural scientists, and a host of others. I don\u27t know of any group that even comes close to us in this respect. This ability and willingness is fundamental in addressing real world problems. It also carries over to teaching and extension

The role of Systems Analysis in Water Supply Planning: Avoiding the Fallacy of Composition

Things are not always as they seem. Presented here are a few examples of first impressions and possible errors in thought patterns. As an example, by some means the size of the earth is to be increased by one foot in diameter. Transcontinental Airlines and others are concerned with how much further it will be around the circumference of the earth. What is your answer? Quick! What\u27s your answer

The Inefficiency and Inequity of the Proposed Rules and Regulations on Acreage Limitation on Bureau of Reclamation Projects

Consider various countries in the world. Those where the standard of living is high are where the farm sector has been sufficiently productive to release most of the manpower to the industrial and service sectors. Developing countries that include most of the people of the world are bound down to a majority of productive workers in the country producing the basic food and fiber for the rest of the country

AN ECONOMIC INTERPRETATION OF IMPACT OF PHENOLOGICALLY TIMED IRRIGATION ON CORN YIELD

An economic production function was derived in an analysis of water application to corn by phonological time periods. The quantities of use of water by growth periods as delineated by physical stages were tested for influence on final output of dry matter and grain. Several yearsÂ’ data for three locations were utilized. The results tend to confirm the conceptual models and previous work in this type of analysis. Certain periods of growth were more critical than others.Crop Production/Industries,

Nitrogen Source and Application Method: Does It Matter?

Irrigation management has a greater effect on the amount of nitrate that is leached out of the root one than does the type of nitrogen applied

Studies on the Allocation of Water Over Space and Among Users in an Arid Environment

After a decade in a long-tenn research program at Utah State Univers\u27ity it is appropriate to review the concepts, progress and possible changes in direction. In the late 1960\u27s grants were received froln the Office of Water Resources and Technology and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Funding was also received from the Utah Center for Water Resources and the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station. These grants enabled a beginning of the research using extensive linear programming models that is still underway, many grants and many people later. The list of publications at the end of this paper fonn the basis for this report, but are not cited herein. A number of studies in other departments also drew from the program

Normative supply functions and optimum farm plans for northeastern Iowa

This study is part of a regional study in adjustments and supply responses in dairy production. It has two major objectives. One is the application of linear programming to specify optimal organization of typical farms representative of all farms in northeastern Iowa. The second objective is to compute normative supply functions for milk and hogs. As a further step in the latter objective, the results of this study will be combined into a regional study in which normative supply response for milk is aggregated over parts of five states. In the Iowa portion of the study, reported here, farm plans and normative supply functions were derived by parametric (variable-pricing) linear programming for each of 10 representative farms. The technical coefficients used were designed to reflect a level of management and farm technology considered attainable by farmers in 1965. Prices also were estimated for 1965. However, prices for milk and hogs were varied to derive supply functions from optimal farm plans. These normative supply functions reflect optimal levels of production for the various prices

Irrigation Management To Control Nitrate Leaching: What Is In It For The Framer?

Managing irrigation application is an important tool in controlling the amount of nitrate that leaches out of the root zone

Managing to Reduce Nitrate Leaching: What is in it for the Farmer?

Nitrates leached into groundwater may be associated with the following: (1) methemoglobinemia (blue baby) in humans and other mammals; (2)cardiovascular collapse and shock in horses; (3) possibility of cancer (EPA); and (4) eutrophication of water bodies (IFIA) when nitrate contaminated groundwater reaches surface water through wells or springs. Nitrate leaching is not only a possible source of environmental damage but also the loss of an input before it is used in production

Issues in Water Planning For Utah

Utah is at the crossroads in water resources planning. Quality of water, transfers in uses interbasin transfers, and use of our entitlement in the Colorado River are among the important issues. Utah is in a position to exercise some control of water use policies and is doing so. In this short presentation, we can only call attention to some issues where things may not always seem clear at first glance . Hopefully some thoughts can be presented to stimulate appropriate courses of action