Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / Arlo Biere / With a large portion of U.S. farm production expenditures related to the cost of
fertilizer, seed, and chemicals, producers within the Corn Belt region are looking for new
methods and/or planting processes that would deliver higher levels of production
efficiencies and lower operating costs. Specifically within the planting operation, Corn Belt
producers are faced with the challenge to better manage the higher cost of crop inputs in
order to sustain profitability. The primary objective of this thesis is to examine new
planting technologies that would better manage planting applications while directly
lowering related input costs. Another objective is to understand through regression analysis
how various planting variables affect yield potential. Results from the regression analysis
illustrate how the various planting variables affect yield and show the importance of “realtime”
planter management, advancements possible only with the new planter technology.
Customer surveys and several on-site customer visits were conducted throughout
the Corn Belt to better understand the actual needs of producers for new planting
technologies. Throughout the customer visits, specific questions about the producers’
planting operation were asked to find new ways for precision technology to help increase
overall productivity and ultimately profitability. Producer comments and feedback were
analyzed through Quality Functional Deployment (QFD) practices and aligned into product
development programs. The products developed from the customer research will help
producers in the Corn Belt to reduce corn production inefficiencies and, potentially,
increase profit margins, assuming profit levels remain steady and/or increase in lieu of
reduced input costs.Farm level net present value (NPV) analyses of new planting technologies were
performed. Corresponding yield data from efficiencies gained in seed corn placement and
control during “real-time” planting applications were integrated into the NPV analyses
along with the precision technology costs. The NPV results were positive.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:KSU/oai:krex.k-state.edu:2097/14045 |
| Date | January 1900 |
| Creators | Turner, Steven Dale |
| Publisher | Kansas State University |
| Source Sets | K-State Research Exchange |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
Page generated in 0.0274 seconds