The following graphics display average production efficiency for each North Dakota county for the six business cycles since 1969. Bureau of Economic Analysis county-level data on labor, capital (repair and operation of machinery, depreciation, interest, rent, and taxes), farm-produced inputs (feed, livestock, and seed purchases) and manufactured inputs (fertilizer and lime, and petroleum products) were used to evaluate if counties in the state of North Dakota are achieving production efficiency in producing crops and livestock. Even though, some of the management, growing conditions and soil productivity variables are yet to be incorporated, the analysis is a first step in that direction.

If the firm or farm is on the theoretical production frontier, it will have a score of 1 (maximum efficient use of input resources to produce output). If the entities are not on the theoretical frontier, the score will be less than 1. In this study, the theoretical production frontier is defined each year by the several counties with the highest production efficiency that year. No county, over time, is always on the theoretical production frontier, so each county has an efficiency of less than 1.

Map users or visitors can compare the production efficiency number across the six business cycles by clicking on the county on the six maps. Clicking on the county of interest will reveal the name of the county as well as the production efficiency number. The number that appears indicates the production efficiency of county relative to the theoretical production efficiency. For example, Barnes County in the first business cycle (Map on the top left corner) is 0.871, i.e., agricultural producers achieved 87.1 percent efficiency in the use of inputs relative to a theoretical maximum production efficiency. Barnes county production efficiency in the sixth business cycle (Map on the bottom right corner) is 0.875 or 87.5 percent efficiency. Comparison of production efficiency between the first and the sixth business cycle suggest Barnes County producers improved their collective production efficiency.

For more information see Spotlight on Economics: Is There Room for Improved Farm Production Efficiency?.