A Method for Setting Standard Values of Production Indices in Farm Management

Contrivance and Application of Alternate Optimum Mean as Mode

Abstract

Agriculture is heavily influenced by the conditions of the natural environment. Consequently, abnormal values may appear in agricultural production indices, such as yields and working hours. In addition, these indices may lack symmetry in data distribution. In farm management, mode is the preferred choice for standard value and can be considered as the true value of production indices. However, previous studies have reported that the conventional mode calculation method involves creating a histogram for calculation. The obtained mode value is not unique and depends on the selection of anchor positions. Although some of the available methods for calculating mode do not rely on histograms (e.g., kernel density estimation and core median methods), each method has its own disadvantages and limitations. Therefore, we have developed a new, practical mode estimation method that uses the alternate optimum mean (AOM) without histograms. AOM refers to the mean of the alternate optimal solutions of the location parameter having maximized rectangular frequency function. A spreadsheet software was employed to estimate AOM. Moreover, this paper presents both the advantages and the points for consideration when using AOM for actual farm production data.