Stats Solutions

(Steps Shown) You are (still) the same crop consultant as in problems 1 and 2, but now you are determining the economically optimal number of corn seeds

Question: You are (still) the same crop consultant as in problems 1 and 2, but now you are determining the economically optimal number of corn seeds to plant per acre using UW recommendations. This will just be using the simple publication Dr. Joe Lauer (the UW corn agronomist) has developed. Specifically, see the publication "Getting a Handle on Corn Seed Costs" (http://corn.agronomy.wisc.edu/AA/pdfs/A073.pdf). Using this publication, answer the following questions:

Suppose your seed price is $320/bag and each bag has 80,000 seeds.

What is the cost for 1000 seeds?
If the price of corn is $5.50/bu, what is the ratio of the seed cost ($/1000 seeds) over the price of corn?
How does your ratio compare to the ratios in Table 3 of Getting a Handle on Corn Seed Costs?
Using Figure 1 and this price ratio, what is the economically optimal number of seeds to plant per acre?

b) If you notice, the publication "Getting a Handle on Corn Seed Costs" is from 2009, so may be a little out of date. Pioneer has a web page you can use to estimate optimal seeding densities for corn (obviously, only Pioneer hybrids) that is current:

https://www.pioneer.com/home/site/us/agronomy/tools/planting-rate-estimator.

Under the "Select Product" choose hybrid P9917 (the very end of the list on the pull down menu). There are many Pioneer hybrids, but this one is grown in Central WI. Note that P9917 also has biotech versions: P9917 AMX/LL/RR2 which has the Optimum® AcreMax® Xtra Insect Protection system (corn borer and rootworm Bt), Liberty Link® and Roundup Ready® 2 genes, and P9917R has the Roundup Ready® 2 gene.