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Technical Efficiency of New York Dairy Farms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 May 2017

Loren W. Tauer  and
Krishna P. Belbase
Loren W. Tauer
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics, Cornell University
Krishna P. Belbase
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics, Cornell University
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Abstract

The technical efficiencies of New York dairy farms were estimated using a frontier production function. The average farm was 69 percent efficient. Individual farm efficiency was regressed on variables not considered inputs to explain why a farm was not on the frontier. Favorable location in the state and larger size (cows) as proxies for technology lead to greater efficiency. Participation in the Dairy Herd Improvement Cooperative and use of mail-in computerized records as proxies for management result in a reduction in efficiency. However, only 9 percent of variation in farm efficiency could be explained.

Type
Research Article
Information
Northeastern Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics , Volume 16 , Issue 1 , April 1987 , pp. 10 - 16
Copyright
Copyright © 1987 Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association 

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Footnotes

The helpful comments by B. F. Stanton and T. D. Mount are acknowledged.

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