Technical efficiency and farmers' attitudes toward technological innovation: The case of the potato farmers in Quebec

The research reported in this paper uses a deterministic statistical fronti er production function to estimate the Quebec potato farmers' technical eff iciency.. Also, the relationship between technical efficiency and conservat ion technologies adoption is estimated Results show that the average potato farm is 80% efficient, implying that some improvements in technical effici ency are still possible. In addition, farming experience and the adoption o f conservation technologies are both significant variables for improving te chnical efficiency. Furthermore, efficient farmers are more likely than oth ers to invest in conservation practices.