Dennis, Elliott J.

September, 2022

By: Chen, Bowen ; Dennis, Elliott J. ; Featherstone, Allen M.
Many studies have explored the determinants of technical efficiency in crop production, but fewer have examined how weather might change technical efficiency over time. We estimate weather effects on technical efficiency using data from 540 Kansas winter wheat farms from 2007/08 to 2016/17 using a panel stochastic frontier model that controls for farm-specific heterogeneity with farm fixed effects. Results show that precipitation is nonlinearly related to technical efficiency and that extreme temperature is associated with lower technical efficiency. Improving resilience to precipitation shocks is key to sustained efficient wheat production in Kansas.

May, 2018

By: Dennis, Elliott J.; Schroeder, Ted C.; Renter, David G.; Pendell, Dustin L.
Although several studies have estimated economic impacts of antimicrobials for growth promotion, little is known about economic impacts of the common animal health management strategy known as metaphylaxis: administering antimicrobials to groups of animals to prevent disease. This article develops a new framework to map animal disease to producer profitability and determine societal economic impacts surrounding metaphylactic use of antimicrobials in beef cattle production. Results indicate the direct net return value of metaphylaxis to the U.S. fed cattle industry is at least $532 million. Beef producer surplus losses of $1.8 billion would be associated with eliminating metaphylaxis.