Arkansas is the top domestic rice producer, representing nearly half of total U.S. rice production. Rice is a high-cost crop relative to other field crops in Arkansas, and production costs for rice have increased significantly since the mid 2000s due to rapidly increasing fuel and fertilizer...

Large expenses associated with rice production and dependence on energy related inputs like fuel and fertilizer in particular compel rice producers to use management practices that are input efficient and result in least cost. This study uses data envelopment analysis (DEA) to calculate...

Irrigation fuel costs represent a significant portion of rice production expenses. Multiple inlet (MI) irrigation represents a water saving alternative to conventional flood irrigation. This study uses simulation to calculate the range of monetary benefits to MI in rice production. Water savings...

Arkansas is the top domestic rice producer, representing nearly half of total U.S. rice production. Sediment is one of the major pollutants in rice producing areas of Arkansas. In order to mitigate this problem no-tillage management is often recommended. No-tillage is not well understood by...

Farmers around the world rely on IPM practices in order to increase their yields and reduce their losses due to pests. Assessing the impacts of previous IPM CRSP studies is crucial for successful continuance of the program and to provide meaningful recommendations to farmers. This thesis...

Rice in Arkansas is typically produced using intensive tillage. No-till rice has been studied, but the research focus has been limited to impacts on yields and per acre net returns. This analysis evaluates the profitability of no-till rice at the whole-farm level using both enterprise budget...

No-till (NT) has been shown to reduce fuel, labor, and machinery costs compared to conventional-till (CT) but very few rice producers in Arkansas practice NT. The low adoption rate is most likely due to difficulties in management but also limited information on the profitability and risk of NT....

This study evaluates both the profitability and risk efficiency of grazing stocker steers on conservation tillage winter wheat pasture using simulation and stochastic efficiency with respect to a function (SERF). Average daily gains are simulated for steers grazed on conventional tillage (CT),...