The Australian Journal of Agricultural Resource Economics

Parish, Ross M.

doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8489.1969.tb00050.xpmid: N/A

Does the seemingly disproportionate growth in Australia of agricultural economics, relative to other branches of applied economics, represent a misallocation of educational and research resources? Probably not, since (i) it may be better–because of the existence of increasing returns–to concentrate one's limited resources of economist brainpower in a few fields than to spread them widely; and (ii) the growth of agricultural economics has helped to correct certain weaknesses–particularly in micro‐economics and econometrics–in the Australian economics profession as a whole. However, it is suggested that in the future agricultural economists might apply their skills increasingly to non‐agricultural problems.

Guise, John W.B.; Ryland, G.J.

doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8489.1969.tb00051.xpmid: N/A

An inter‐temporal equilibrium model is developed for the purpose of optimizing the scheduling of production in Australian sugar mills. An application of this quadratic programming model is then discussed, and the procedures used to estimate coefficients are outlined. Two tentative conclusions are that mills tend to commence crushing before the optimal starting date and that in many cases they would have been unable to cover their marginal processing costs when producing No.2 Pool sugar in recent seasons.

Mellor, John W.

doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8489.1969.tb00052.xpmid: N/A

A traditional agriculture operates in a relatively static physical, economic and cultural environment and as a consequence becomes relatively well adjusted to that environment. Modernization of agriculture occurs when substantial and continuing change in the decision‐making environment provides incentives to make new farming decisions. Farming then becomes dynamic as farmers attempt to reach constantly shifting points of equilibrium. Agricultural production economics in low income countries has been too much applied to a search for disequilibria within the given static environment and not enough to the possibilities and results of deliberately changing that environment.

Fuller, Wayne A.

doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8489.1969.tb00053.xpmid: N/A

The use of segments of polynomials to approximate production surfaces and time‐series trends is described and illustrated. These segmented curves are restricted to be continuous and have a continuous derivative(s) at the join points.

Mauldon, R.G.; Schapper, Henry P.; Treloar, D.W.G.

doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8489.1969.tb00054.xpmid: N/A

The accounting system of the Farm Management Service Laboratory of Western Australia is discussed. As a point of reference it uses the system approved by the National Workshop on Standardization of Terminology and Procedures in Farm Management Accounting in Australia. The Laboratory's system is expressly designed to provide a continuous flow of information to the farmer for his control, understanding and evaluation, planning and budgeting, and enhancing credit‐worthiness.

Longworth, John W.

doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8489.1969.tb00055.xpmid: N/A

The concept of a farm management game is explained, and the relationships between simulation, games and Monte Carlo techniques are discussed. The potential role of farm management games in improving the teaching of farm management is reviewed. The management game is presented as a dynamic case study.

McArthur, A.T.G.

doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8489.1969.tb00056.xpmid: N/A

The extent by which expected tax payments are increased by income variance is discussed in the New Zealand setting. The cases of both normal and rectangular distributions of income are examined. The absolute magnitude of the expected extra tax for income fluctuation is lower than was expected. In Australia income variance may be higher but the more rapidly progressive tax rates of New Zealand mean that for a given mean income and standard deviation the extra tax in that country would be higher.

doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8489.1969.tb00057.xpmid: N/A

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