An application of linear programming to the study of supply responses in dairying

This study is an application of continuous capital and variable price programming to an analysis of the farm supply of milk and cream. Sioux County, Iowa, was selected as the region to be studied because of its varied farming programs and the importance of dairy production in the area. The 160-acre farm selected for consideration is typical of the soil type, farm size, livestock and cropping programs, farm machinery and building facilities for the locale. The basic enterprises considered are five dairy activities, five cattle feeding enterprises, spring and fall hog farrowing systems, a supplementary poultry enterprise and five crop rotation systems with four levels of fertilization. Cream production, grade B milk in cans and in bulk, and grade A milk in cans and in bulk are the dairy activities assumed feasible for producers in the area. (In this bulletin manufacturing grade milk is referred to as such or as grade B milk.) The initial plans in this study are restricted to the resources available to the typical farmer. These resource restrictions include 135 acres of rotated land, 17 acres of permanent pasture, 390 hours of operator\u27s labor for each of June, July and August and 260 hours for each of the remaining months, housing for 200 poultry, 15 litters of spring and fall pigs and 30 dairy cows. Some of these restrictions are relaxed in later phases of the analysis