Is Site-Specific Yield Response Consistent over Time? Does It Pay? |
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| Authors: | Yanyan Liu Scott M Swinton Neil R Miller |
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| Institution: | Yanyan Liu is doctoral candidate and Scott M. Swinton is professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Michigan State University, and Neil R. Miller is director, World Hunger Relief, Inc. Seniority of authorship is shared by the first two authors. When the research was conducted, Neil Miller was a partner in Agri-Business Consultants, Inc., of Birch Run, MI. |
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| Abstract: | This study examines the profitability and stability of site-specific (SS) nitrogen fertilizer recommendations using an empirical model of SS yield response to controlled inputs, stable site characteristics, and time-varying weather factors. Using a three-year panel of on-farm corn yield experiments and new, continuous variables to describe site characteristics, both spatial and ordinary least squares regression models show clear evidence of SS corn yield response to nitrogen fertilizer. Yield response is predictable only on irrigated fields. Even there, bootstrapped confidence intervals for profitability gains on selected fields indicate that SS nitrogen application would rarely cover its costs. |
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| Keywords: | corn yield response fertilizer recommendations nitrogen precision agriculture spatial regression site-specific farming |
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