THE SOCIAL VALUE OF PUBLIC INVESTMENT IN CANADIAN WHEAT BREEDING RESEARCH

The level and distribution of the social benefits from public investment in Canadian wheat breeding research and extension activities are examined for the period 1946 to 1979. In addition, average and marginal rates of return are calculated. The results reveal that society has benefited substantially from such public investments, with producers receiving the greatest share of the benefits.Crop Production/Industries, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Prairie Crop Diversification

The Canadian prairies traditionally have been dominated by spring wheat production. Crop diversification is now being advocated to enhance farm-level risk management, ecological benefits, nutrient cycling, and pest and disease control, and to reduce the farm economy’s reliance on income from a single crop. There has always been interest in diversifying away from wheat, but until recently, economically feasible alternatives have been limited, and government policies may have constrained the shift to other crops. Knowing the impact of prices and policies on crop diversification is essential to understanding producer response and to determining strategies to enhance cropping diversity.Marketing,

Do irrigated companion oat crops reduce alfalfa yield and profits?

Non-Peer ReviewedEstablishment of 'Anchor' alfalfa with a companion oat crop was compared to direct-seeding the alfalfa on a sprinkler-irrigated site in 1982, 1983, and 1985. 'Beaver' alfalfa was added to the treatments in 1983 and 1985. An oat crop monoculture treatment was also included. Alfalfa-oat mixtures exhibited significant (P < 0.05) oat grain yield reductions of 9, 24, and 18 % in the three seeding years, respectively. Oat forage yields tended to be reduced in oat-alfalfa mixtures by 3, 12, and 8 %, respectively, but these reductions were not statistically significant (P > 0. 05). The forage yields of direct-seeded alfalfa were 26, 20 and 20 % higher (significant at P < 0.05) in the first production year (year following seeding) than oat-alfalfa mixture stands. In the second production year, yields were 22 % higher (P < 0.05) only in the 1982 seeding. Establishment method effects on stand density were significant (P < 0. 05) in the 1982 and 1983 seedings where the direct-seeded alfalfa had 50 and 25 % higher plant densities, respectively. Economic analysis of net returns per hectare indicated that the establishment method with the best returns varied among the three seedings years

ORDINARY AND GENERALIZED STOCHASTIC DOMINANCE: A PRIMER

Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,