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DERIVATION OF OPTIMAL LIVESTOCK RATIONS USING QUADRATIC PROGRAMMING
Author(s) -
Townsley Robert
Publication year - 1968
Publication title -
journal of agricultural economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.157
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1477-9552
pISSN - 0021-857X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1477-9552.1968.tb01343.x
Subject(s) - livestock , production (economics) , quadratic programming , linear programming , mathematical optimization , function (biology) , path (computing) , computer science , mathematics , economics , microeconomics , biology , ecology , evolutionary biology , programming language
Linear programming has been used extensively as a procedure for formulating least‐cost livestock rations. More recently attention has heen focused on the incorporation of information on animal performance into the linear programming derivation of optimum livestock rations. Where the production is a quadratic function of nutrient inputs and where there are a large number of possible ration ingredients, parametric quadratic programming is shown to be an efficient computational technique for the derivation of “expansion path” rations. The region of economic interest along the expansion path is identified for the liveweight gain interval described by the production function. The rise of information contained in programming solutions to evaluate the economic significance of nutrient requirements and to aid in the search for possible ration ingredients is briefly discussed.