This study is part of a regional study in adjustments and supply responses in dairy production. It has two major objectives. One is the application of linear programming to specify optimal organization of typical farms representative of all farms in northeastern Iowa. The second objective is to compute normative supply functions for milk and hogs. As a further step in the latter objective, the results of this study will be combined into a regional study in which normative supply response for milk is aggregated over parts of five states.

In the Iowa portion of the study, reported here, farm plans and normative supply functions were derived by parametric (variable-pricing) linear programming for each of 10 representative farms. The technical coefficients used were designed to reflect a level of management and farm technology considered attainable by farmers in 1965. Prices also were estimated for 1965. However, prices for milk and hogs were varied to derive supply functions from optimal farm plans. These normative supply functions reflect optimal levels of production for the various prices.