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Relationship between farm size and ability to pay for irrigation water. Idaho agricultural research progress report no. 112 Item Info

This study was conducted in the Dry Lake area at Nampa, Idaho, where 5 or 6 companies are pumping irrigation water from the Snake River to a plateau 500 to 600 feet above the river surface. Irrigation development costs of bringing the water to the headgates of the farms are not included in this phase of the study. Data was secured for 8 farms by interviewing each farm operator and land owner. To make comparisons between farms and also between enterprises, the data were broken down into per acre variable costs, fixed costs, total returns, net income and the cost of producing a dollar's worth of output. The term "cost per dollar of output" is the ratio of costs to returns. This ratio makes it possible to compare high-valued crops with low-valued crops on a per acre basis. This is a very sensitive measurement. For ex-ample, one cent change in the ratio for potato enterprise means a change in net income of $3.25 per acre. The budgeting method of estimating water values in irrigation was used in this study. Long-run planning cost curves were estimated from the budgets by using simple curve linear regression. From the regression equations for each of the four enterprises (grain, sugar beets, potatoes and alfalfa seed), 12 model farms were constructed. The long-run average total cost curve for the model farms, which incorporates a long-run rotation and long-run price and yield expectations, indicated economies of size up to a farm size of 2,400 acres. Net income--the measurement of how much money is left over to pay for irrigation water after all expenses, including remuneration for management, land and investment, have been paid--varied from about $50 to $57 per acre for all model farms.

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Title:
Relationship between farm size and ability to pay for irrigation water. Idaho agricultural research progress report no. 112
Authors:
Coffing, Arthur; Lindeborg, Karl H.
Date Created (ISO Standard):
1966
Description:
This study was conducted in the Dry Lake area at Nampa, Idaho, where 5 or 6 companies are pumping irrigation water from the Snake River to a plateau 500 to 600 feet above the river surface. Irrigation development costs of bringing the water to the headgates of the farms are not included in this phase of the study. Data was secured for 8 farms by interviewing each farm operator and land owner. To make comparisons between farms and also between enterprises, the data were broken down into per acre variable costs, fixed costs, total returns, net income and the cost of producing a dollar's worth of output. The term "cost per dollar of output" is the ratio of costs to returns. This ratio makes it possible to compare high-valued crops with low-valued crops on a per acre basis. This is a very sensitive measurement. For ex-ample, one cent change in the ratio for potato enterprise means a change in net income of $3.25 per acre. The budgeting method of estimating water values in irrigation was used in this study. Long-run planning cost curves were estimated from the budgets by using simple curve linear regression. From the regression equations for each of the four enterprises (grain, sugar beets, potatoes and alfalfa seed), 12 model farms were constructed. The long-run average total cost curve for the model farms, which incorporates a long-run rotation and long-run price and yield expectations, indicated economies of size up to a farm size of 2,400 acres. Net income--the measurement of how much money is left over to pay for irrigation water after all expenses, including remuneration for management, land and investment, have been paid--varied from about $50 to $57 per acre for all model farms.
Subjects:
farms water supply irrigation
Location:
Snake River
Latitude:
43.46
Longitude:
-116.6
Collection:
Boise Basin
Series:
Idaho agricultural research progress report
IWRRI number:
196602
Rights:
Rights to the digital resource are held by the University of Idaho. http://www.uidaho.edu/
Publisher:
Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Idaho, College of Agriculture
Contributing Institution:
University of Idaho
Type:
Text
Format:
application/pdf
Cataloger:
jh
Date Digitized:
2008-01-17

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Source
Preferred Citation:
"Relationship between farm size and ability to pay for irrigation water. Idaho agricultural research progress report no. 112", Idaho Waters Digital Library, University of Idaho Library Digital Collections, https://www.lib.uidaho.edu/digital/iwdl/items/iwdl-196602.html
Rights
Rights:
Rights to the digital resource are held by the University of Idaho. http://www.uidaho.edu/
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