Technical efficiency, technological change and output growth of wheat farms in Saskatchewan

This paper utilizes recent advances in stochastic decomposition methodology to examine the level and the driving forces of technical efficiency for an unbalanced panel data set of 100 wheat farms in Saskatchewan during the pe riod 1987-95. The contributions of resource use and total factor productivi ty to the output growth of these farms are also investigated. The analysis indicates moderate levels of technical efficiency and a considerable variat ion of efficiency ratings among Saskatchewan farms. The ownership status, c omposition of labor employed, participation in crop insurance and governmen t income transfer programs, participation in Top Management Workshops, degr ee of specialization, level of intensification and mechanization of product ion, type of land used, and the farm debts account for differences in effic iency across wheat farms. Even though the productive efficiency of the farm s has been increasing over time, the results show that technological progre ss was the main source of productivity, and output growth during the study period.