Comparison of Productivity and Profitability Trends of Major Crops in the Texas Northern High Plains

The Panhandle District is the only region in Texas where corn dominates both irrigated acreage and water use. Cotton, winter wheat, and grain sorghum are other major irrigated crops in the region. The productivity of these crops continues to show significant increase with time, primarily driven by technological progress and increased adoption of modern farming technologies. However, the increase in productivity may not translate directly to profitability due to the variability in commodity prices and production costs. This study uses historic production data to compare the yield trends of irrigated corn, cotton, winter wheat, and grain sorghum in the Texas Panhandle district for the last 30 years. The yield data is used along with historic price and cost data from respective extension budgets for the district to analyze the trends in returns above direct expenses per acre. The trends in nominal profits are also compared with trends in real profit by inflating the profit data to 2014 values using the price index for farm machinery.