Duality methods utilizing a profit function framework are employed to estimate the output elasticity of ambient ozone levels on cash grain farms in Illinois. While duality methods have been recommended as a cure to many of the statistical problems of direct estimation of production functions,...

Concepts associated with stochastic process containing multiple transition matricies are discussed. It is proved that under certain conditions, a process with m transition matrices has m unique limiting probability vectors. This result extends the notion of discrete Markov processes to problems...

Results of comparing updating versus nonupdating modeling assumptions call into question the use of models based on nonupdating strategies as valid representations of actual farmer actions. If farmers are sequential updaters, the results indicate that models assuming no updating are inaccurate....

Large-scale brush-control programs are being proposed in Texas to increase off-site water yields. Biophysical and economic simulation models are combined to estimate the effects of brush control on representative ranches in four ecological regions of the Edwards Plateau area of Texas. Net...

Yield correlations between 380 different counties are calculated for non-irrigated wheat. Using this data, a function is estimated that shows the relationship between correlation and changes in geographic and climate data. In addition movement variables are included added to the specification to...

Impacts of alternative specifications for heteroscedastic error structures are examined by estimating various production functions for corn in Central Texas. Production- and profit- maximizing levels of input and the shape of the profit equation obtained from models not corrected for...

Use of seasonal climate forecasts is a rapidly evolving area. Effective research and application of climate forecasts require close cooperation between scientists in diverse disciplines and decision makers. Successful collaboration requires all players to at least partially understand each...

The rice stink bug is a major pest of rice in Texas, causing quality related damage. The previous threshold used for assisting in rice stink bug spray decisions lacked flexibility in economic and production decision variables and neglected the dynamics of the pest population. Using stochastic...