The Difference between Maximum Profit and Maximum Production

 

Nitrogen fertilizer (N) is commonly used as a production input to increase crop yields. It is included as one of the six Testing Ag Performance Solutions (UNL TAPS) program decision choices and contributes much to productivity as well as costs. Its use, however, is not without controversy. The over-application of N gets into the groundwater and nearby waterways becoming a pollutant. Excessive use does little or nothing to increase revenue but can inflate costs, thereby reducing profit.

 

For these reasons and others, using the right amount of N has become a popular and important topic among those that use and/or study it. The main problem in using this nutrient is determining the right amount to use and apply. Like many natural processes, at some usage level N exhibits a diminishing marginal effect that is, at a specific level of use the next added unit returns less than the previously applied unit.

 

 

In this week's Cornhusker Economics Nebraska Extension Agricultural Economist Matt Stockton looks at corn yield response to N and provides an economic analysis of N application. Using data from the UNL TAPS trials and considering three factors — the biological relationship of N to corn grain yield, N costs, and the value of the grain being sold  — Stockton analyzes the data and explores how to determine the economically optimal quantity of N for individual fields.

 

Video: Finding a Balance of Innovation and Regulation - Dr. Peter Facchini

Regulations help markets and industry exist on level playing fields, keeping consumers safe and innovation from going too far. However, incredibly strict regulations can stunt innovation and cause entire industries to wither away. Dr. Peter James Facchini brings his perspective on how existing regulations have slowed the advancement of medical developments within Canada. Given the international concern of opium poppy’s illicit potential, Health Canada must abide by this global policy. But with modern technology pushing the development of many pharmaceuticals to being grown via fermentation, is it time to reconsider the rules?

Dr. Peter James Facchini leads research into the metabolic biochemistry in opium poppy at the University of Calgary. For more than 30 years, his work has contributed to the increased availability of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic genes to assist in the creation of morphine for pharmaceutical use. Dr. Facchini completed his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto before completing Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biochemistry at the University of Kentucky in 1992 & Université de Montréal in 1995.