A Stochastic Dominance Analysis of Tillage and Crop Insurance Practices in a Semiarid Region

Stochastic dominance analysis for tillage systems in the semiarid conditions of the central Great Plains indicates that risk‐averse managers would prefer conservation tillage systems for wheat and grain sorghum with and without the use of crop insurance instead of the traditional conventional dryland wheat‐fallow cropping system. Higher yields in conjunction with reduced fuel, labor, and repair costs more than offset increased chemical costs of the conservation systems. Increased yields generally are attributed to the soil moisture conservation characteristic of the conservation tillage systems.