Chavas, J. P.; Kliebenstein, James

American Journal of Agricultural Economics Vol. 67 no. 3 (August 1985)

Crop and livestock production processes are typically dynamic and involve growing biological assets which are eventually marketed. This study presents a production model of biological growth based on a differential equation specification. Economic implications for optimal input use and optimal replacement policy are discussed in this context. The approach is applied to the growing-finishing phase of a swine production enterprise. The results demonstrate that the knowledge of the growth function is crucial in evaluating dynamic production decisions.