SOUTHERN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS JULY, 1975 AN EXAMINATION OF MAJOR CROP ACREAGE RESPONSE

In recent years, several studies have examined 3) cotton, 4) grain sorghum, 5) barley, 6) oats, acreage response of major crops to various eco- and 7) wheat.: ' Variables were included to repre-nomic, technical, and institutional stimuli. These sent own price or policy effects, competing uses studies focused primarily upon the influence of for production resources, and factors hypothesized government farm programs on producers ' produc- to uniquely affect crop acreage. tion decisions. ' While the influence of government Government farm program provisions are usu-programs has recently diminished and market ally assumed to be relevant supply response vari-forces are more direct determinants, this less stable ables in addition to product market prices. The situation has likely increased informational needs "expected price " variables used in this study are on potential production response. Previously de- intended to reflect the combined influence of veloped response models require updating, addi- market prices and policy actions. For programs on tional refinement, or reformulation for continued corn, grain sorghum, cotton, oats, and barley, the usefulness in the current situation. concept of an "effective " or "weighted " price de-This paper describes a model 2 recently as- veloped by Ryan and Abel [9] is used as a means sembled for the two-fold purpose of examining of incorporating both acreage restrictions an