Relationships between cotton export sales and export shipments are examined, and a quarter-specific lag structure is estimated. Two econometric systems are estimated, one employing export shipments and the other using export sales. Results indicate that sales are more sensitive to changes in economic variables than shipments and that stocks net of outstanding export sales are more responsive to price and interest rate changes than gross stocks. Sales and shipments are different variables and cannot substitute for one another in econometric modelling. Use of export sales data should be considered in estimation of export demand and stock demand parameters.

A conceptual link among mean-variance (EV), stochastic dominance (SD), mean-risk (ET), and Gini mean difference (EG) is established for determining risk efficient decision sets. The theoretical relations among the various efficiency criteria are then empirically demonstrated with a soybean and wheat double-crop simulation model. Empirical results associated with extended Gini mean difference (EEG) and extended mean-absolute Gini (EEΓ) for risk analysis are encouraging.

The 1986 Tax Reform Act established a first year $10,000 expensing option and, for most farm equipment, a 7-year depreciation schedule. Under a profit maximization criterion, these tax law features can lead to multiple optima dependent upon discount and marginal tax rates. For example, the economically efficient time to reinvest under a 2 percent after-tax discount rate is at 4, 8, and 30 years for the grower in a 33 percent tax bracket. Thus, the profit maximization behavioral rule needs to be supplemented with knowledge about a farmer's objectives in order to select the “correct” optimal reinvestment interval.