Analysis of Cropping Behavior and Factor Input Relationship in the Large-Scale Upland Farms

Abstract

　The purpose of this paper is to give a quantitative analysis for the change of factor input relationship caused by the recent increase of wheat preference by the large-scale dry farms in Tokachi, Hokkaido, and to clarify an economic rationality of crop selection from the aspect of the factor input and land utilization. The main points mentioned in this paper are as follows :
　1) The increase of wheat acreage caused the ratio of fee cost in the management cost to shift upward because of a need for collective action in the wheat harvest and dry processing. This can be understood as progress of external activity in the dry farming management.
　2) We set up a management function which consists of two production processes―land-using process and profit-realization process―and analyze change of the factor input relationship.
　3) The results point out that the larger the land scale, the greater the preference for wheat, and the economy of scale is gradually increasing in recent years, which suggests that the economy of scale mainly comes from the wheat preference. However, the increase of wheat, whose price is supported by the government with little reflection of market conditions and higher fluctuation of wheat yield under bad weather conditions, has weakened the original income compensation effect in a poor harvest year.
　4) We estimate the marginal cost of the planting ratio of major crops. The result shows that the increase of wheat ratio exerts a saving effect on management cost, which can be considered as a defensive performance by way of crop selection under the depressive price policy era.