The Effects of Uncertainty on Optimal Nitrogen Applications

Bruce Babcock

Review of Agricultural Economics, 1992, vol. 14, issue 2, 271-280

Abstract: Optimal nitrogen fertilizer rates for risk-neutral producers may increase if uncertainty about the weather or uncertainty about soil nitrogen levels exist. Decision criteria such as, "fertilizing for the good years" or "applying a little extra fertilizer just in case it is needed," may be consistent with expected profit maximization. These results contrast with the standard prescription that producers should reduce fertilizer applications because nitrogen fertilizer typically increases yield variance. The motivation for increasing nitrogen fertilizer applications is self-protection: farmers find it profitable to reduce the probability that they might be "caught short" of fertilizer.

Date: 1992
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (72)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.2307/1349506 (application/pdf)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
Working Paper: Effects of Uncertainty on Optimal Nitrogen Applications (The) (1992)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:revage:v:14:y:1992:i:2:p:271-280.

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://academic.oup.com/journals

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Review of Agricultural Economics from Agricultural and Applied Economics Association Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP, UK. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Oxford University Press ( this e-mail address is bad, please contact ) and Christopher F. Baum ().