Measuring the Risk of Crop Rotation Alternatives in the Louisiana Delta

This research measures the impact that alternative corn, cotton, and soybean-based rotational production systems have on the risk-return framework of producers located in the Mississippi River Delta region of Louisiana. By using multiple price and yield scenarios for the 2013 crop year, distributions of the net returns above variable costs are used to provide comparative estimates of the expected risk associated with each crop rotation selection. Simulation of prices, yields, and input parameters are based on the previous ten-years of production data which are representative of a typical farming operation located in north Louisiana.