AGBU Rangeland Economics

Week of February 9

Project Topics:

Pre-Spring Break

  1. Range Monitoring: 2-3 days (20 students per group) - 3-4 weeks pre-springbreak

  2. Watershed Project: 4-6 students (overnight component) - 3-4 weeks pre-springbreak

Post-Spring Break

  1. Invasive Species Management

  2. Grazing Management

  3. Rangeland Carbon Sequestration

Topics Discussed:

  • Law of Diminishing Returns: relationship between inputs (time, energy, money) and outputs/productivity, suggesting that after a certain point, more inputs (time, energy, money) yields progressively smaller increases in output.

  • Production Function: a mathematical representation of the relationship between the quantity of inputs used in production and the resulting quantity of output produced. It illustrates how varying levels of input can affect productivity, emphasizing the efficiency of resource allocation in maximizing output levels.

  • Average: outputinput\frac{output}{input}

  • Marginal Productivity: the change in output per change in input; as time increases, the additional output generated may start to decline

  • 3 Stages of Production:

  • Stage I. Increasing Returns: Initial growth where adding more inputs results in proportionately higher outputs, fostering efficiency and productivity.

  • Stage II. Constant Returns: A stage where output increases are proportional to the additional inputs; resources are being utilized efficiently, maintaining a steady state.

  • Stage III. Decreasing Returns: The final phase where additional inputs contribute less to overall output, reflecting the law of diminishing returns and highlighting the need for optimizing resource allocation.

Week of February 16

Project Logistics:

Feb.18th & Feb. 25th will be prep days (Wednesdays)

Feb 18th: Watershed Conservation

Feb. 25th: Ranch Trip

Topics Discussed:

  • Law of Diminishing Returns

  • Total Revenue

  • Marginal Revenue

  • Total Fixed Cost: costs that don’t change (e.g. lease agreement)

  • Average Fixed Cost: TotalFixedCostTotalProduction\frac{TotalFixedCost}{TotalProduction} Total Fixed Cost / Total Production

  • Variable Cost: costs that change within production, inputs tied to level of production

  • Total Cost: Total Fixed Cost + Total Variable Cost

  • Average Total Cost: “Break-Even cost”

  • Margical Cost: TotalCostProduction\frac{TotalCost}{Production} Total Cost / Production

  • Profit Maximum Point: MC = MR

  • Intensity of Production

  • Optimum Intensity of Production

Week of February 23

Topics Discussed:

  • Production Function

  • Fixed Cost

  • Variable Cost

  • Change in Total Cost = MC

  • MC = MR means profit $

Ted Talk Assignment:

  1. Ecological Risks:

  • Competition with wildlife

  • Potential for overgrazing

  • Livestock loss due to predation

  • Eutrophication

  • Soil Compaction

  • Loss of species

  • Water redistribution

  1. Economic Principles:

  • Production function of biological and economic processes. Grass reaches reproductive stage of life cycle and begins oxidizing, following law of diminishing returns.

  • Fixed Cost + Variable Costs = Total Costs. Adding more animal units, variable costs do not go up as much.