Evaluation of Soil Test Information in Agricultural Decision‐Making

Bruce Babcock, Alicia L. Carriquiry and Hal S. Stern

Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series C, 1996, vol. 45, issue 4, 447-461

Abstract: The value of soil test information in planning application levels of fertilizer is determined by using agricultural field plot data to estimate the corn production function, to construct plausible prior distributions of nitrate levels and to determine the sampling distribution of soil test results. These quantities are used to determine the posterior distribution of soil nitrate concentrations given the results of a soil test. Optimal decisions concerning application levels of fertilizer are made with respect to this posterior distribution. Average reductions in fertilizer application rates range from 15% to 41%, depending on the form of prior information that is available. These reductions are achieved by increasing the variability of application rates over time. Disregarding the uncertainty that remains after soil testing significantly overstates the expected benefits of soil testing.

Date: 1996
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https://doi.org/10.2307/2986067

Related works:
Working Paper: Evaluation of Soil Test Information in Agricultural Decision Making, An (1996)
Working Paper: Evaluation of Soil Test Information in Agricultural Decision-Making (1996)
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