Many studies on the adoption of precision technologies have generally used logit models to explain the adoption behavior of individuals. This study investigates factors affecting the number of specific types of precision agriculture technologies adopted by cotton farmers. Particular attention is...

Producers lack information about the profitability of variable rate technology (VRT) for agricultural sprayers. An economic framework was developed to evaluate the returns required to pay for VRT investments. Payback variables included input savings, yield gains, and reduced application costs....

Revised version of the paper submitted 2/11/2010

We used survey data collected from cotton farmers in 12 southern U.S. states to identify factors influencing cotton farmers’ decisions to adopt precision farming. Using a seemingly unrelated ordered probit model, we found that younger, educated and computer literate farmers chose precision...

This paper evaluated differences between yields of no-tillage compared to conventional or reduced tillage and their associated downside risk. Six crops were evaluated along with how those yields and risks differed by various environmental factors such geographic location, precipitation, soil...

Native warm-season grasses (NWSGs) have demonstrated potential to reduce summer forage variability in the region, and there has been growing interest in the use of NWSGs as a lignocellulosic biomass crop. The objectives of this research were to determine if there was a difference in beef yield...

This article examines what differentiates "socially responsible" farmers (i.e., those who rank environmental benefits higher than profit, based on a Likert style ranking) from farmers who make decisions based solely on financial criteria. A proportional odds model (POM) is proposed to estimate...

Irrigation is expensive in Tennessee because of small, irregular fields. We calculated the breakeven corn prices for irrigated corn in Tennessee. Breakeven prices were $4.02-$7.94/bu depending on field size, energy source, and energy price. At current prices, irrigated corn is profitable, but...

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...