• Benjamin F. Blair - Assistant Professor of Economics, Mississippi State University
• Kevin E. Rogers - Assistant Professor of Economics, Mississippi State University
• Alireza Tahai - Professor of Quantitative Methods, Mississippi State University
• Janie M. Phelps - Assistant Professor of Economics, Mississippi State University

1. Develop a procedure for estimating the current and potential market for information provided by remote sensing technology.
2. Collect information and data needed to compute these estimates for upland cotton, soybeans, and corn in Mississippi and other large producers of these crops.
3. Use the procedure to construct estimates of the current and potential market for remote sensing technology information in Mississippi and in other areas that produce upland cotton, soybeans, and corn.

A potential supplier of remote sensing technology (RST) information must make a crucial economic decision before entering the industry. Entrance requires a reasonable expectation that the benefits (revenues) from supplying remote sensing information exceed the costs. In capital budgeting terminology, participation in this industry must have a positive net present value. A proper decision then, depends on reliable estimates of the benefits and costs of supplying remote sensing information. While the supplier may have an accurate view of the costs of providing remote sensing information, it may not be able to construct estimates of the potential revenues. Since the use of RST in commercial applications is relatively new, reliable estimates of the potential revenues are not readily available.

Agriculture is one area in which the commercial use of RST is growing rapidly. Potential benefits to society of the use of RST include more efficient use of resources and reduced strains on the environment due to better use of pesticides, herbicides, etc. In order to make sound business decisions, a supplier of RST information will need estimates of the potential revenues it could generate by providing RST information to the agriculture industry. The purpose of this project is to provide initial estimates of the potential market for RST information in selected areas of the agriculture industry. In the future, the procedures developed here can be used to estimate the potential market for RST information in other areas of agriculture as well as other industries such as forestry and transportation.