Renovating mountain hay meadows: An economic analysis

ABSTRACT:

Costs and returns for four levels of hay meadow improvement were estimated using 1979 data to determine if such improvement is justified from a rancher's point of view. Personal interviews with ranchers were the principal means of identifying alternative improvement practices and associated costs and returns. The net return per hectare was obtained by deducting production and harvest costs from gross returns for each level of meadow improvement. Economic feasibility for each level of meadow improvement was determined by discounting net returns to a common base year. The results of this analysis showed that, except in a few situations, ranch income could be improved by renovating mountain hay meadows.