Farm business management : analysis of farming systems

463 Pages·2011·3.945 MB·English

by  P L Nuthall

F B m
arm usiness anagement
Analysis of Farming Systems
This page intentionally left blank
F B m
arm usiness anagement
Analysis of Farming Systems
Peter L. Nuthall
Lincoln University, New Zealand
CABI is a trading name of CAB International
CABI Head Office CABI North American Office
Nosworthy Way 875 Massachusetts Avenue
Wallingford 7th Floor
Oxfordshire OX10 8DE Cambridge, MA 02139
UK USA
Tel: [phone] Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone] Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.cabi.org
©CAB International 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced in any form or by any means, electronically, mechanically, by photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owners.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library, London, UK.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Nuthall, P.L. (Peter Leslie)
Farm business management : analysis of farming systems / Peter L. Nuthall.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-84593-839-0 (alk. paper)
1. Farm management--Decision making. 2. Agricultural systems--Mathematical
models. I. Title.
S561.N87 2011
630.68--dc22
2011001257
ISBN-13: 978 1 84593 839 0
Commissioning editor: Sarah Hulbert
Editorial assistant: Alexandra Lainsbury
Production editor: Fiona Chippendale
Typeset by SPi, Pondicherry, India.
Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY.
Contents
The Author vii
Acknowledgements ix
1 Introduction 1
2 The Environment Under Which Farming Systems Exist 14
3 Decisions Under Non-certainty – Probability, Methods
and Models 31
4 Cost–Benefit Analysis – Recognizing Input–Output Timing 70
5 More on Decision Making and Utility (Objectives) 114
6 Farm Surveys – Uses, Procedures and Methods 118
7 Improving Farming Systems Using Survey Data;
and Information Systems 156
8 Constructing Improved Systems 187
9 Methods and Models of Income Variability
Reducing Techniques 194
10 Budgeting – The Simplest Form of Farm Systems Analysis 215
11 L inear Programming – The Farm Model and Finding
an Optimal Solution 232

v
vi Contents
12 L inear Programming – Using the Solution
and Creating Realistic Farm Models 269
13 Dynamic Programming 297
14 Systems Simulation 328
15 The Structure and Analysis of Specific Part-Farm Problems 362
16 Concluding Comments – Review and Summary 399
Appendix 1: A Synopsis of Production Economics 407
Appendix 2: Example of the Output From an Individual Farm
‘End of Year’ Analysis 422
Appendix 3: Solving Linear Programming Problems 431
Appendix 4: An Example of a Schematic LP Matrix for a
Simple Lamb-Producing Farm 440
Index 443
The Author
Peter Nuthall has spent many years teaching and researching aspects of farm manage-
ment. In addition he has developed and managed a team involved in producing and
supporting computer aided management systems used by large numbers of farmers.
While most of his time has been at Lincoln University in Canterbury, New Zealand, he
has also researched and/or taught at the University of Queensland, Purdue University
(Indiana), the University of Kent and the University of Edinburgh. He has also worked
for the UK Meat Marketing Board while based at the University of Nottingham (Sutton
Bonnington). Many institutions involved in researching and teaching farm management
have been visited to gather ideas in both the developed and developing world. He also
has experience of agriculture in a diverse range of situations including Russia, India, Fiji,
Australia, NZ, USA and the UK. Nuthall has published widely in scientific journals
throughout the world, and in monographs as well as having many research results taken
up by the popular farming press.

vii
This page intentionally left blank
Acknowledgements
Many people and systems have contributed to the material in this book through the
author’s general reading and research. They include researchers around the world,
farmers similarly, consultants and text book authors. Grateful thanks is offered to all
these people.

ix
This page intentionally left blank