FARM MANAGEMENT Lecture.1 By Dr. Mahmoud Arafa Lecturer of Agricultural Economic, Cairo Un. Contacts: W.S:

Introduction the study of how limited resources can best be used to fulfill unlimited human wants. Economics is defined as..

Farm means.. Farm means a piece of land where crops and livestock enterprises are taken up under common management and has specific boundaries. Farm is a socio economic unit which not only provides income to a farmer but also a source of happiness to him and his family.

Farm Farm also a decision making unit where the farmer has many alternatives for his resources in the production of crops and livestock enterprises and their disposal. Farms are the micro units of vital importance which represents Centre of dynamic decision making in regard to guiding the farm resources in the production process.

Management is.. Management is the art of getting work done out of others working in a group. Management is the process of designing and maintaining an environment in which individuals working together in groups accomplish selected aims.

Management Management is the key ingredient The manager makes or breaks a business. Management takes on a new dimension and importance in agriculture which is mechanized, uses many technological innovations, and operates with large amounts of borrowed capital.

Farm Management 3. Farm management is The art of managing a Farm successfully, as measured by the test of profitableness is called farm management. 1. Farm management is defined as the science of organization and management of farm enterprises for the purpose of securing the maximum continuous profits. 2. Farm management may be defined as the science that deals with the organization and operation of the farm in the context of efficiency and continuous profits.

Farm Management 5. Farm management is a branch of agricultural economics which deals with wealth earning and wealth spending activities of a farmer, in relation to the organization and operation of the individual farm unit for securing the maximum possible net income. 4. Farm management is defined as the study of business phase of farming.

outlines Production With One Variable Input Profit Maximization with One Input and One Output Costs, Returns and Profits on the Output Side Production with Two Inputs Maximization in the Two-Input Case Maximization Subject to Budget Constraints Returns to Scale, Homogeneous Functions, and Euler’s Theorem The Cobb-Douglas Production Function Other Agricultural Production Functions

outlines The Elasticity of Substitution The Demand for Inputs to the Production Process Variable Product and Input Prices Production of More Than One Product Maximization in a Two-Output Setting Two Outputs and Two Inputs General Multiple-Product and Multiple-Input Conditions Linear Programming and Marginal Analysis

Production With One Variable Input What Is a Production Function? A production function describes the technical relationship that transforms inputs (resources) into outputs (commodities). A mathematician defines a function as a rule for assigning to each value in one set of variables (the domain of the function) a single value in another set of variables (the range of the function).

A general way of writing a production function is where y is an output and x is an input. All values of x greater than or equal to zero constitute the domain of this function.

Suppose the simple function For each value of x, a unique and single value of y is assigned. For example if x = 2, then y = 4; if x = 6 then y = 12 and so on. The domain of the function is all possible values for x, and the range is the set of y values corresponding to each x. each unit of input (x) produces 2 units of output (y).

Now consider the function It is not possible to take the square root of a negative number and get a real number. Hence the domain (x) and range (y) of equation only those numbers greater than or equal to zero. Here again the function meets the basic definition that a single value in the range be assigned to each value in the domain of the function. This restriction would be all right for a production function, since it is unlikely that a farmer would ever use a negative quantity of input. It is not clear what a negative quantity of an input might be.

Functions might be expressed in other ways. The following is an example: Notice again that a single value for y is assigned to each x. Notice also that there are two values for x (30 and 50) that get assigned the same value for y (60). The mathematician's definition of a function allows for this. But one value for y must be assigned to each x. It does not matter if two different x values are assigned the same y value.

Table represents the relationship and provides specific values for the general production function y = f(x). For each nitrogen application level, a single yield is defined. The yield level is sometimes referred to as the total physical product (TPP) resulting from the nitrogen that is applied.

From Table 160 pounds of nitrogen per acre will result in a corn yield or TPP of 123 bushels per acre. The concept of a function has a good deal of impact on the basic assumptions underlying the economics of agricultural production.

From Table Another possible problem exists with the interpretation of the data contained in Table The exact amount of corn (TPP) that will be produced if a farmer decides to apply 120 pounds of nitrogen per acre can be determined from Table, but what happens if the farmer decides to apply 140 pounds of nitrogen per acre? A yield has not been assigned to this nitrogen application level. A mathematician might say that our production function y = f(x) is discontinuous at any nitrogen application level other than those specifically listed in Table.

From Table A simple solution might be to interpolate between the known values. If 120 pounds per acre produces 115 bushels of corn, and 160 pounds of nitrogen produces 123 bushels of corn, the yield at 140 pounds might be ( )/2 or 119 bushels per acre.

From Table The first 40 pounds of nitrogen applied produces 25 additional bushels, for a total of 75 bushels, the next 40 pounds produces 30 bushels of corn, for a total of 105 bushels, but the productivity of the remaining 40 pound increments in terms of corn production declines. The next 40 pounds increases yield by only 10 bushels per acre, the 40 pounds after that by only 8 bushels per acre, and the final 40 pounds by only 5 bushels per acre.

Suppose instead that the relationship between the amount of nitrogen that is applied and corn yield is described as where y = corn yield (total physical product) in bushels per acre x = nitrogen applied in pounds per acre

The Equation has some advantages over the tabular function presented in Table. The major advantage is that it is possible to calculate the resultant corn yield at any fertilizer application level. For example, the corn yield when 200 pounds of fertilizer is applied is 0.75(200) (2002) (2003) = 134 bushels per acre.

The corn yields (TPP) generated by the production function in Table are not the same as those presented in Table.

The Law of Diminishing Returns The law of diminishing returns is fundamental to all of production economics. It should be called the law of diminishing MARGINAL returns, for the law deals with what happens to the incremental or marginal product as units of input or resource are added.

The law of diminishing marginal returns states that as units of an variable input are added to units of one or more fixed inputs, after a point, each incremental unit of the variable input produces less and less additional output. As units of the variable input are added to units of the fixed inputs, the proportions change between fixed and variable inputs. The law of diminishing returns has sometimes been referred to as the law of variable proportions.

The production function y = 2x has no curvature at all. The law of diminishing returns does not hold here. Each incremental unit of input use produces the exact same incremental output, regardless of where one is at on the function. A slightly more general form of this function is

The production function ………………..……. represents another kind of relationship. Here each incremental unit of x produces more and more additional y. Hence the law of diminishing returns does not hold here either. Notice that as the use of input x is increased, x becomes more productive, producing more and more additional y A slightly more general form of the function might be

The production function ………………. represents the law of diminishing returns throughout its range. Here each incremental unit of x produces less and less additional y. Thus each unit of x becomes less and less productive. Another way of writing equation A slightly more general form of the function is

Marginal and Average Physical Product The marginal physical product (MPP) refers to the change in output associated with an incremental change in the use of an input. The incremental increase in input use is usually taken to be 1 unit. Thus MPP is the change in output associated with a 1 unit increase in the input. The MPP of input xi might be referred to as MPPxi. Notice that MPP, representing the incremental change in TPP, can be either positive or negative.

Average physical product Average physical product (APP) is defined as the ratio of output to input. That is, APP = y/x. For any level of input use (x), APP represents the average amount of output per unit of x being used.

Suppose that the production function is y=f(x) One way of expressing MPP is by the expression ………………………………..denotes change. The expression ………. can be read as "the change in y(…..) with respect to a change in x( ……) “ For the same function APP is expressed either as y/x or as f(x)/x.

For the production function y = 2x MPP is equal to 2. The change in y with respect to a 1 unit change in x is 2 units. That is, each additional or incremental unit of x produces 2 additional or incremental units of y. For each additional unit of x that is used, TPP increases by 2 units. In this example APP equals y/x, or APP equals 2x/x, or APP equals 2. For this simple production function MPP = APP = 2 for all positive values for x.

For the production function y = bx MPP is equal to the constant coefficient b. The change in y with respect to a change in x is b. Each incremental or additional unit of x produces b incremental or additional units of y. That is, the change in TPP resulting from a 1 unit change in x is b. Moreover, APP = bx/x. Thus, MPP = APP = b everywhere.

Marginal and average physical products for the tabular data XDelta XYDelta YMPPAPP 0_50_#DIV/0!

MPP and the Marginal Product Function The MPP represents the slope or rate of change in the production function. The production function itself is sometimes referred to as total physical product (or TPP) function. The MPP function refers to the function representing the rate of change in the TPP function. If the slope of the TPP function were to be graphed, the result would be the MPP function, representing the rate of change in the TPP or the underlying production function as the use of variable input x is varied.

Given the TPP function (or production function), the MPP function (or marginal product function) might easily be obtained. Suppose again that the TPP or production function is represented by Y = 2x Again, the incremental increase in y associated with a 1 unit increase in the use of x is 2 units. Hence MPP = 2. Moreover, = 2. In this case the marginal product function is equal to the constant 2.

For functions that do not have a constant slope, the expression can only approximate the slope of the function at a given point

Suppose that the exact MPP at point D is desired. A line is drawn tangent to the production function at D. which intersects the vertical axis at point B. The exact MPP at point D is equal to the slope of this line. This slope can be expressed as BC/OA. A better way might be to find the first derivative of the production function. The first derivative of the production function is defined as the limit of the expression as approaches zero. As becomes smaller and smaller, becomes a better and better approximation of the true slope of the function. The first derivative, dy/dx, represents the exact slope of the production function at a particular point. In Figure, at point D, dy/dx = BC/OA. o

For the production function y = f(x), dy/dx = f´(x) or f1, dy/dx = f´(x) = f1 = dTPP/dx = MPP The first rule states that the derivative of any constant value in a function is 0. In this case, the derivative of 50 is 0. The second rule is that the derivative of any function of the general form For y = 2x dy/dx = dTPP/dx = MPP = 2

suppose that the production function is represented by the equation The MPP of x for this function is not the same for every value of x. To calculate the MPP at a particular value for x, not only the derivative of the production function is needed, but also how much x is applied. Two simple rules can be used to find the derivative of any production function similar to the one above.

MPP's calculated by two methods The first method computes the rate of change in the yields for 40 pound fertilizer increments as was done in the earlier example. The second method inserts values for nitrogen application levels into the MPP function obtained by taking the derivative of the original production function. The values chosen are at the midpoints (20, 60, 100, 140 and 180 pounds of nitrogen per acre). the results using the two methods are not the same.

Method 1 provides the approximate MPP at the midpoint.

Assignment assume that the production function describing corn yield response to nitrogen fertilizer is the one used as the basis for the data shown below That function was And if you have X=0;20;40;60;80;100;120;140;160;180;200;220;240 In a table, Calculate TPP, APP, MPP(by two Methods, second in the midpoints)