per acre before application, rj, Table 2, were calcu-
lated based on the amount of active ingredient pre-
sent. Application cost, v, by aerial spray was set at
$3.25 per application, and an annual 13 percent
interest rate was assumed. Other cash costs and
noncash costs, listed in Table 3, were based on a 1989
Georgia soybean budget (Given and Mills).
Risk Efficiency Criteria
A risk efficient set of insecticides is determined by
producers’ aversion to risk. In situations with un-
known producer preferences, this risk efficient set is
based on various approximations of the probability
distributions associated with profit, yield, and dam-
age for each alternative insecticide. Numerous effi-
ciency criteria specifying restrictions on preferences
and probability distributions are prevalent in the
literature. For a discussion of these alternative effi-
ciency criteria refer to Wetzstein et al. One effi-
ciency criteria popular in agricultural economics
literature and employed for this study is stochastic
dominance analysis. A necessary condition for one
|
Table 2. Cost of Alternative Chemicals used in Field Experiments | ||||
|
Chemical_________________ |
Formulation3 |
Dosage (lb. Al∕acre)b |
Cost per lb. Al |
Cost per acre |
|
Ambush |
2E |
0.1 |
$45.50 |
$4.55 |
|
Asana XL |
0.66E |
0.03 |
150.00 |
4.5 |
|
Baythroid |
2EC |
0.015 |
125.33 |
1.88 |
|
Cymbush |
3E |
0.04 |
90.25 |
3.61 |
|
Karate |
1EC |
0.015 |
190.00 |
2.85 |
|
M. Parathion |
4E |
0.5 |
4.50 |
2.25 |
|
Orthene |
75S |
0.75 |
9.47 |
7.10 |
|
Penncap M |
2FM |
0.5 |
8.80 |
4.40 |
|
Scout Xtra_______________ |
0.9EC |
0.016_________ |
244.38 |
3.91 _____ |
|
aEC, S, FM, and E denote emulsifiable concentrate, sprayable, flowable, and emulsifiable, respectively. | ||||
Table 3. Per Acre Soybean Costs Excluding Insecticide Costs
|
Category______________________ |
_______Unit________ |
_______Price I Unit |
No. of Units |
Cost/Acre |
|
Cash ∞sts Seed (including inoculant |
bu. |
13.00 |
0.80 |
$10.40 |
|
Lime |
ton |
22.00 |
0.33 |
7.26 |
|
Fertilizer Phosphate (P2O3) Potash (K2O) |
lb. |
0.25 0.15 |
45.00 90.00 |
11.25 13.50 |
|
Herbicides |
appl. |
20.00 |
1.00 | |
|
Insect Control Scouting (for season) |
acre |
3.00 |
1.00 |
3.00 |
|
Machinery Repair and maintenance |
gal. |
0.75 20.00 |
10.00 1.00 |
7.50 20.00 |
|
Machinery tax |
acre |
3.00 |
1.00 |
3.00 |
|
Land rent |
acre |
20.00 |
1.00 |
20.00 |
|
Interest on operating |
0.13 | |||
|
Noncash costs Machinery: Depreciation |
acre |
35.00 |
1.00 |
35.00 |
|
Unpaid family labor_______________ |
__________hr.___________ |
_________5.50________ |
2.50 |
13.75 |
aInterest on operating capital is calculated based on the total of cash costs other than insecticides for a duration of six
months.
86