Resource productivities from a sample of light plains farms, Canterbury, New Zealand : a production function study

Abstract

This thesis is concerned with the derivation of a production function for the sheepfarms on an area of light land of the Canterbury Plains, New Zealand. This portion of plains land is an area of Lismore soils situated between Darfield and Burnham. The locality was chosen chiefly because it contained a substantial area of essentially similar soils and an adequate number of farms exhibiting the necessary degree of homogeneity required for a study of this nature. Briefly, the purpose of this study was:- (1) To determine the practicability of estimating a production function from farm survey data. (2) To explain in detail the methods and difficulties in estimating a production function from farm data. (3) To assess the usefulness of the production function technique especially in relation to other methods of estimating resource productivity. (4) To derive marginal productivities for certain inputs or resources used in the group of sheepfarms in this present study, based on data for the 1955/56 season.