A multiperiod linear programming analysis of net farm income goal attainment in Manitoba Crop District Number 10
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Date
1972
Authors
Mitchell, Ronald
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Abstract
In developing this thesis, it was pointed out that the Agricultural Industry is faced with many severe problens. One of the most persistent of these, and one which attracts much discussion, is the problem of low net farm incomes. Evidence that incomes are low is amp1e. For example, over the period 1963 to 1969 Manitoba farmers averaged only 3,772 dollars net farm income. Another group of one hundred and thirty-six farmers, who were members of the Manitoba Farm Business Group Program, earned an average of 6,992 dollars net farm income in 1969. An income goal or target was selected at a level of 10,000 dollars annual net farm income, to serve as a standard for comparison of results of the multiperiod linear programming models developed in the thesis. It was deemed that this value of income would give most farmers a reasonable return on their labor, management, and investment. The objective of this study therefore, was to determine whether optimum organization of a farm's resources and enterprises, within the existing institutional framework, would allow the farmer's net farm income to grow to the leve1 of 10,000 dollars annually by 1980. Several factors were studied. for their effects on the growth of net farn income. Among them were: initial size of farm unit in terms of acres of land base, supply of working capital for the operation of the farm, opportunity to rent or purchase land, and ability to limit personal withdrawals from the farm business... It was concluded from the results of the multiperiod linear programming solutions for the three representative farm sizes, that only the large size farm, over 760 acres initial size, had a consistant opportunity of earning the target income of 10,000 dollars or more net farm income per year by 1980. The major impediment to the growth of all...