Farmer productivity by age was estimated, allowing for differences because of efficiency and returns to scale. Using Census of Agriculture data, estimates vary by state, but returns to scale average 1.07. Efficiency increases average 4.5 percent every ten years of age, to the age interval 35 to...

The Dixit entry/exit real option model was applied to the entry/exit decisions of New York dairy farmers. For the cost structure of a 500-cow farm the entry milk price is $17.52 per hundredweight (cwt.) and the exit milk price is $10.84. For the 50-cow farm cost structure the entry price is...

Production and profit impacts from the use of recombinant Bovine Somatotropin (rbST) on dairy farms were estimated using switching regression, with separate regressions for rbST-using farms and non-rbST-using farms. To correct for potential self-selection bias, a probit adoption function was...

Average net farm income was $36,614 in 2001 for the 207 farms included in this annual report of the Southwestern Minnesota Farm Business Management Association. This is a sharp drop (55%) from the average net farm income of $81,750 in 2000 (Figure 1). As in previous years, the actual profit...

Average net farm income was $81,750 in 2000 for the 212 farms included in this annual report of the Southwestern Minnesota Farm Business Management Association. The median or middle income was $69,414. This is the second annual increase from the extremely low levels of 1998. Almost all of the...

Average net farm income was $96,404 in 2003 for the 175 farms included in this annual report of the Southwestern Minnesota Farm Business Management Association. This is a 38% increase over the average income of $70,007 in 2002. In constant dollars, 2003 was the most profitable year for...