SERA35: Delta Region Farm Management and Agricultural Policy Working Group
(Multistate Research Coordinating Committee and Information Exchange Group)
Status: Active
SERA35: Delta Region Farm Management and Agricultural Policy Working Group
Duration: 10/01/2020 to 09/30/2025
Administrative Advisor(s):
NIFA Reps:
Non-Technical Summary
Statement of Issues and Justification
The lower Mississippi River Delta region of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, along with adjacent production regions in those states, comprise one of the largest and most diverse agricultural production areas in the United States and is an area advantageous for commercial crop production. Its topography is well suited for large-scale mechanized agriculture consisting of, but not limited to corn, rice, and soybeans. These commodities represent the major agricultural row crops produced in the region, along with sizeable crop acreage devoted to the production of cotton, sorghum, and wheat as well. There are extensive surface water resources with more than 99,000 acres of perennial streams and lakes along with Oxbow lakes, created from past streams and river meanderings, are prevalent throughout the region. These lakes serve as water resources utilized for purposes of irrigation and recreation as well as flood control.
Commercial farming operations across the region share many similar characteristics of production and face common challenges. Although some differences exist across the region, machinery implements and production cost structures are relatively similar for major crops produced by states in the region. In addition, farming operations across the region also face similar current challenges related to the long term economic viability of row crop agricultural production. Some of these challenges or issues include: (1) adopting new production technologies to reduce per unit production costs, (2) determining optimal enterprise mix and farm size as production costs and commodity market opportunities change over time, (3) assessing and anticipating the impacts of rising fuel and fertilizer prices on farm profitability, and (4) understanding the changes in the recently passed farm bill and how those changes will affect on-farm management and crop production decision making.
Agricultural economists in the region have been meeting annually for many years to discuss ongoing research and extension activities being conducted at the various universities to address these issues. Recently, issues pertaining to conservation initiatives on marginal productive agricultural lands, sustainable production initiates, and communication of extension research have been identified as emerging issues for stakeholders in the region. The purpose of the Delta Region Farm Management and Agricultural Policy Working Group (SERA-35) has been to address these and other relevant issues and to analyze the impact of such issues on the economic viability of commercial farming operations in the region from a farm management and risk management perspective.
Objectives
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Host an annual meeting for the purpose of communicating ongoing research and extension programs in farm management and production economics, identify research and extension needs, and discuss approaches for addressing those needs.
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Continue the development of computer software and databases to support the estimation and publication of production costs for major agricultural commodities in the Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi Delta and adjacent production areas in other states as needed.
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Evaluate implications of new production technologies, farm policy changes and other factors on the production economics of major crops in the region, including corn, cotton, rice, sorghum, soybeans, sugarcane, and wheat.
Procedures and Activities
This SERA group would include participants in the farm management area of the agricultural economics discipline. The activity would be a multi-state effort with primary research and extension participants from the states of Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Research activities will focus on the production economics of major agricultural row crops in the region. This activity is primarily related to three of the five federal-state partnership goals as specified by the Southern Association of Agricultural Experiment Station Directors (Goals 1, 4, and 5). These three goals, with relevant activities from this proposed SERA group identified, include: Goal 1: An agricultural system that is highly competitive in the global market (integrated and sustainable agricultural production systems, precision agriculture, competitiveness in international markets), Goal 4: Greater harmony between agriculture and the environment (multiple uses of agricultural lands, nutrient management in agricultural systems, environmental policy and regulations), and Goal 5: Enhanced economic opportunity and quality of life for Americans (economic and policy analysis of agricultural industrialization, risk management and assessment in agricultural systems). Extension activities will be in the area of production agriculture, focusing on research and the development and dissemination of educational information and programs which can assist producers facing farm management and crop production decisions contributing to the long term economic viability of production agriculture across the region.
Expected Outcomes and Impacts
- Objective one encompasses one of primary activities of this group, that is, to meet annually for the purpose of information exchange related to research and extension activities in the area of farm management and production economics. Members will have the opportunity to give presentations on various research and extension efforts in their respective states, both in terms of general objectives as well as specific research and/or extension activities. Through group discussion, research and extension needs in the farm management/production economics area will be identified along with potential approaches to address these needs
- Objective two will be accomplished through the continuation of ongoing collaborative work related to the estimation of production costs for major agricultural commodities in the region. The Mississippi State Budget Generator will continue to be the primary quantitative tool used in developing production cost budgets for various crop production systems commonly found across the region. Much of the current focus is on developing spreadsheet-based software capable of estimating projected values of variable and fixed production costs for agricultural enterprises in the region. Furthermore, as new crop production technologies are developed and adopted, enterprise budgets will need to be developed to reflect production practices associated with this technology as well as the expected production costs. Expected outcomes from this activity will include development of agricultural production databases which can be utilized for research and analysis of various farm management and policy issues as well as the annual publication of estimated production costs for major row crops and production technologies.
- Objective three represents a collection of efforts through research and extension to address a variety of issues and factors which become relevant over time and have a direct impact on the economic viability and financial performance of agricultural farming operation. Examples such as the development of new crop production technologies, changes in farm program provisions, changes in commodity supply and demand market structures represent the types of factors which would be evaluated. A variety of research methods, including whole farm financial simulation, would be utilized to identify likely economic outcomes. This research would then provide information which could be communicated to agricultural producers through a variety of extension efforts.
Projected Participation
View Appendix E: ParticipationEducational Plan
Research and extension information will be disseminated to stakeholder groups through means of publication and presentations. A web site will be developed which will provide electronic copies of all analyses, reports and publications developed. Presentations of analysis results of specific issues addressed will be given to clientele groups as requested
Organization/Governance
A chairman for the SERA group will be selected on an annual basis. An executive board of the SERA group will form the primary decision making body. Each of the three states (Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi) shall have a representative on the executive board.
This group will have a formal meeting annually to be held at a mutually agreed upon time and location. Furthermore, additional meetings may be held on an as needed basis to facilitate collaborative research and extension activities of the group.
One of the primary activities of this group will be to seek external funding opportunities to support the group’s research and extension objectives. Potential external funding sources will include competitive grants as well as external funding from stakeholder groups and other sources.
Literature Cited
Deliberto, M. and D. Harrell. Economics of Furrow Irrigated Rice in Northeast Louisiana. Louisiana State University Agricultural Center. Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness. Staff Report No. 2020-18, March 2020.
Deliberto, M. “Lowering Production Costs Through Land Grading and Fallow Weed Control Alternatives.” The Sugar Bulletin. American Sugarcane League. Vol. 98, No. 6. March 2020.
Deliberto, M. and B. Hilbun. Estimating 2019 ARC-CO Farm Program Payments for Corn and Soybeans Using USDA NASS Yield Data Proxies. Louisiana State University Agricultural Center. Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness. Staff Report No. 2020-17, January 2020.
Deliberto, M. and B. Hilbun. Cotton, Corn, and Soybean Net Return Comparison Decision Tool. Louisiana State University Agricultural Center. Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness. Staff Report No. 2020-04, January 2020.
Deliberto, M. and B. Hilbun. Rice Rental Arrangements under the PLC Program in the 2014 Farm Bill. Louisiana State University Agricultural Center. Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness. Staff Report No. 2020-03, January 2020.
Deliberto, M. and B. Hilbun. Projected 2019 Rice Farm Cash Flow Model. Louisiana State University Agricultural Center. Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness. Staff Report No. 2020-02, January 2020.
Deliberto, M. and B. Hilbun. 2020 Projected Sugarcane Production Farm Costs and Returns Model. Louisiana State University Agricultural Center. Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness. Staff Report No. 2019-01, January 2020.
Deliberto, M. and B. Hilbun. Projected Costs and Returns Crop Enterprise Budgets for Corn Production in Louisiana, 2019. Louisiana State University Agricultural Center. Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness. Agricultural Economic Information Report Series Publication No. 341. January 2020.
Deliberto, M. and B. Hilbun. Projected Costs and Returns Crop Enterprise Budgets for Cotton Production in Louisiana, 2019. Louisiana State University Agricultural Center. Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness. Agricultural Economic Information Report Series Publication No. 340 January 2020.
Deliberto, M. and B. Hilbun. Projected Costs and Returns Crop Enterprise Budgets for Rice Production in Louisiana, 2019. Louisiana State University Agricultural Center. Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness. Agricultural Economic Information Report Series Publication No. 346. January 2020.
Deliberto, M. and B. Hilbun. Projected Costs and Returns Crop Enterprise Budgets for Sorghum Production in Louisiana, 2019. Louisiana State University Agricultural Center. Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness. Agricultural Economic Information Report Series Publication No. 344. January 2020.
Deliberto, M. and B. Hilbun. Projected Costs and Returns Crop Enterprise Budgets for Soybeans Production in Louisiana, 2019. Louisiana State University Agricultural Center. Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness. Agricultural Economic Information Report Series Publication No. 342. January 2020.
Deliberto, M. and B. Hilbun. Projected Costs and Returns Crop Enterprise Budgets for Sugarcane Production in Louisiana, 2019. Louisiana State University Agricultural Center. Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness. Agricultural Economic Information Report Series Publication No. 345. January 2020.
Deliberto, M. and B. Hilbun. Projected Costs and Returns Crop Enterprise Budgets for Wheat Production in Louisiana, 2019. Louisiana State University Agricultural Center. Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness. Agricultural Economic Information Report Series Publication
Falconer, Larry, et al., Rice 2015 Planning Budgets, Department of Agricultural Economics, Mississippi State University, Budget Report 2014-04, October 2014.
Falconer, Larry, et al., Soybeans 2015 Planning Budgets, Department of Agricultural Economics, Mississippi State University, Budget Report 2014-02, October 2014.
Flanders, Archie, et al., 2015 Crop Enterprise Budgets, Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, Northeast Research and Extension Center, University of Arkansas, AG-1302, March 2015.
Riley, John Michael, et al., Cotton 2015 Planning Budgets, Department of Agricultural Economics, Mississippi State University, Budget Report 2014-01, October 2014.
Falconer, L., and T. Walker, “Comparison of Survey Results and Budget Recommendations for Mississippi Rice Production,” Proceedings of the Thirty-Fifth Rice Technical Working Group Meeting, p. 150, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, 2014.
Flanders, Archie, Input Cost Trends for Arkansas Field Crops, 2008-2014, Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, Northeast Research and Extension Center, University of Arkansas, AG-1301, August 2014.
Flanders, Archie, Trends in Net Returns for Arkansas Field Crops, 2007-2013, Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, Northeast Research and Extension Center, University of Arkansas, AG-1298, February 2014.
No. 343. January 2020.