Effect of Water Price on the Multicrop Production Decision: Appling Fixed Allocatable Input Model in Georgia

This study applies the fixed allocatable input model to test the effect of water price on the multiple production decision in Georgia, U.S. The limited dependent variable models are applied and intensive data are analyzed in this study to estimate the decision for crop choice, land allocation, product supply, and water demand functions at crop-level. In order to investigate the effect of water price on crop-level demand, the total water price effect on farm water demand is decomposed the intensive margin and extensive margin.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Evaluating Agricultural Banking Efficiency Using the Fourier Flexible Functional Form

This study applied more flexible cost functional form, Fourier Flexible Functional Form, and tested the validity of the Translog cost functional form as to estimate the cost function incorporating risk and loan's quality for banking industry. Meanwhile, the study extended four different cost efficiency measures for banking industry not only among different sized banks but also between commercial banks and agricultural banks. And thereafter, by evaluating these efficiency measures, banks will identify sources of inefficiency, which should aid banks in developing approaches to improve their operational policies, procedures, and performance.Agricultural Finance,

Managing Crop Production Risk with Crop Index Insurance Products

Index crop insurance products can eliminate the asymmetric information problem inherent in farm-level multiple peril crop insurance. Purchasers of index insurance products are, however, exposed to basis risk. This study examines the feasibility of various index insurance products for corn farms in southern Georgia. Index insurance products considered are based on county yields, cooling degree days, and predicted yields from a crop simulation model.Risk and Uncertainty,

DISCRETE AND CONTINUOUS TIME MODELS FOR FARM CREDIT MIGRATION ANALYSIS

This paper introduces two continuous time models, i.e. time homogenous and non-homogenous Markov chain models, for analyzing farm credit migration as alternatives to the traditional discrete time model cohort method. Results illustrate that the two continuous time models provide more detailed, accurate and reliable estimates of farm credit migration rates than the discrete time model. Metric comparisons among the three transition matrices show that the imposition of the potentially unrealistic assumption of time homogeneity still produces more accurate estimates of farm credit migration rates, although the equally reliable figures under the non-homogenous time model seem more plausible given the greater relevance and applicability of the latter model to farm business conditions.Agricultural Finance,

Evaluating the Efficiency of Crop Index Insurance Products

Index crop insurance products can eliminate the asymmetric information problem inherent in farm-level multiple peril crop insurance. Purchasers of index insurance products are, however, exposed to basis risk. This study evaluates the efficiency of various index insurance products to reduce farm yield loss for representative corn farms in southern Georgia. Index insurance products considered are based on county yields, cooling degree days, and predicted yields from a crop simulation model.Crop Production/Industries, Risk and Uncertainty,

Determinants of Irrigation Farmers\u27 Crop Choice and Acreage Allocation Decisions: Opportunities for Extension Service Delivery

A survey of Georgia irrigators focused on the determinants of farmers\u27 crop choice and crop acreage allocation decisions was conducted. The survey also addressed farmer interest in open-access information and decision support programs delivered by the University of Georgia via the Internet. Results indicate crop choice and acreage decisions are heavily influenced by rotational considerations, but such considerations are not viewed as strict constraints. Crop futures prices and expected input costs are also important factors. Farmers expressed considerable interest in accessing information relevant to their crop choice and acreage allocation decision on the Internet at a university-run Web site

Towards Collaborative Plan Acquisition through Theory of Mind Modeling in Situated Dialogue

Collaborative tasks often begin with partial task knowledge and incomplete initial plans from each partner. To complete these tasks, agents need to engage in situated communication with their partners and coordinate their partial plans towards a complete plan to achieve a joint task goal. While such collaboration seems effortless in a human-human team, it is highly challenging for human-AI collaboration. To address this limitation, this paper takes a step towards collaborative plan acquisition, where humans and agents strive to learn and communicate with each other to acquire a complete plan for joint tasks. Specifically, we formulate a novel problem for agents to predict the missing task knowledge for themselves and for their partners based on rich perceptual and dialogue history. We extend a situated dialogue benchmark for symmetric collaborative tasks in a 3D blocks world and investigate computational strategies for plan acquisition. Our empirical results suggest that predicting the partner's missing knowledge is a more viable approach than predicting one's own. We show that explicit modeling of the partner's dialogue moves and mental states produces improved and more stable results than without. These results provide insight for future AI agents that can predict what knowledge their partner is missing and, therefore, can proactively communicate such information to help their partner acquire such missing knowledge toward a common understanding of joint tasks

Effect of Water Price on the Multicrop Production Decision: Appling Fixed Allocatable Input Model in Georgia

This study applies the fixed allocatable input model to test the effect of water price on the multiple production decision in Georgia, U.S. The limited dependent variable models are applied and intensive data are analyzed in this study to estimate the decision for crop choice, land allocation, product supply, and water demand functions at crop-level. In order to investigate the effect of water price on crop-level demand, the total water price effect on farm water demand is decomposed the intensive margin and extensive margin

Evaluating Agricultural Banking Efficiency Using the Fourier Flexible Functional Form

This study applied more flexible cost functional form, Fourier Flexible Functional Form, and tested the validity of the Translog cost functional form as to estimate the cost function incorporating risk and loan's quality for banking industry. Meanwhile, the study extended four different cost efficiency measures for banking industry not only among different sized banks but also between commercial banks and agricultural banks. And thereafter, by evaluating these efficiency measures, banks will identify sources of inefficiency, which should aid banks in developing approaches to improve their operational policies, procedures, and performance

Irrigation management strategies in Georgia

Water use distribution across space, time, and crops is important to irrigation management strategies. A survey of Georgia irrigators was administered to collects information about crop choices and irrigated acreages allocation under different irrigation management strategies, factors affecting the decision to irrigate, farmers’ interest in open-access information, and decision support programs. Results indicate that the choice of crops affects the irrigation management strategy applied. Weather, soil, plant visual condition, germination, and growth stage are the most cited factors affecting the decision to turn on the pump. The quantity of irrigated water is typically measured by visual inspection and general experience. Farmers expressed considerable interest in accessing information relevant to their crop choice, acreage allocation, and irrigation strategies through the internetSponsored by: Georgia Environmental Protection Division U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Water Science Center U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Water Resources Institute The University of Georgia, Water Resources Facult