Optimal Stocking Density for Dual-Purpose Winter Wheat Production

Dual-purpose winter wheat production is an important economic enterprise in the southern Great Plains of the United States. Because of the complex interactions involved in producing wheat grain and beef gain from a single crop, stocking density is an important decision. The objective of the research is to determine the stocking density that maximizes expected net returns from dual-purpose winter wheat production. Statistical tests rejected a conventional linear-response plateau function in favor of a linear-response stochastic plateau function. The optimal stocking density of 1.48 steers/ha (0.60 steers/acre) is 19% greater with a stochastic than with a nonstochastic plateau.