An Empirical Evaluation Of Yield Performance And Cross-Crop Yield Correlation

This analysis considers two aspects of yield performance using a large sample of data collected from individual U.S. farms. In the first, observable farm and operator characteristics are related to relative yield perofmance. In general, larger, more diversified farms have higher relative yields. In addition, more intensive use of productive inputs tends to be associated with higher yields. In a second segment of the analysis, we focus on the extent to which yield performance for different crops on a single farm tend to be correlated. Our results suggest that farms in major growing regions tend to have greater correlation of crop yields. In addition, larger, more specialized farms tended to have more consistent yield performance across crops. Implications for whole-farm insurance contracts are discussed.