1. General Model Information

Name: Costs and Returns Estimator

Acronym: CARE

Main medium: terrestrial
Main subject: agriculture, agriculture, agriculture
Organization level: Socio-Ecosystem, Not applicable
Type of model: static-algebraic equations
Main application: decision support/expert system
Keywords: crop, economy, budget, financial planning, land treatment alternatives

Contact:

David Buland
USDA/NRCS/NRIAI,
Blackland Research Center / Grassland Research Center
808 East Blackland Road,
Temple, TX 76502, USA

Phone: 254-770-6522
Fax: 254-770-6561
email: buland@brc.tamus.edu

Homepage:
David Buland: http://www.statlab.iastate.edu/survey/NRIAI/dbuland.html
CARE Staff: http://waterhome.brc.tamus.edu/care/staff/index.html

Author(s):

USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service

Abstract:

The Costs and Returns Estimater(CARE) system has been designed for the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) United States Department of Agriculture to generate costs and returns for crop enterprises. Cost and return estimates are critically important to SCS for the formulation and evaluation of land treatment alternatives as part of getting land treatment measures on the ground. The software is also part of a broader effort to provide computer based decision making to the farmer. The CARE system's full features budget generating capabilities will be useful for agencies providing farm financial, planning, and program assistance as well as loan analysis. It also has wide usage as the economic partner with field, regional, and national environmental models like EPIC, SWAP, AGNAPS, and HUMUS.

CARE operates equally well in the UNIX and MS-DOS (including Windows) environments with a Lotus-like user interface and complete context sensitive pop-up help facilities. It will work within CAMPS, beside FOCS on all NRCS computers. The CARE system relies upon a set of databases that store information on the farming activity. Farming activities can be assembled by the user in a flexible manner that encompasses variations in ownership, usage patterns, and machinery complement. The farm input and output information that is within the control of the user either by direct entry or via screen selection from supplemental data has been orginized into five databases. These databases (described in greater detail in the User Manual and in completly in the CARE Technical Reference Manual) are accessed via the initial CARE menu. Full Documentation, model software, and budgets for 48 states are available on the WEB at http://waterhome.brc.tamus.edu/care/index.html

II. Technical Information

II.1 Executables:

Operating System(s): DOS/Windows/Unix (multible versions) http://waterhome.tamu.edu/care/graphics/programs/index.html

III. Mathematical Information

III.1 Mathematics

http://waterhome.brc.tamus.edu/care/graphics/documents/technicalreference/index.html

III.2 Quantities

III.2.1 Input

On-farm crop production operations.CARE was written so that most farmers can use it for their fields. It also has wide usage as the economic partner with field, regional, and national environmental models like EPIC, SWAT, AGNPS, and HUMUS.

III.2.2 Output

Costs of Production, Profits, Time for Field Operations, List of Field Operations for input to EPIC, SWAT,and HUMUS imput data.

IV. References

http://waterhome.brc.tamus.edu/care/index.html

V. Further information in the World-Wide-Web

VI. Additional remarks

Last review of this document by: T. Gabele : dec 9 1997
Status of the document: Contributed by David Buland
last modified by Tobias Gabele Wed Aug 21 21:44:40 CEST 2002