Farm System Modeling

Introduction to LP Modeling
(Exercise 2)

Taken from Ragsdale, Ch.2 (2008: Q12, 2004: Q21)

 Exercise

Formulate the LP problem!

 Farm Planning Problem
A farmer in Georgia has a 100-acre farm on which to plant
watermelons and cantaloupes.
Every acre planted with water melons requires 50 gallons of water
per day and must be prepared for planting with 20 pounds of
fertilizer. Every acre planted with cantaloupes requires 75 gallons
of water per day and must be prepared for planting with 15 pounds
of fertilizer.
The farmer estimates that it will take 2 hours of labor to harvest
each acre planted with watermelons and 2.5 hours to harvest each
acre planted with cantaloupes.
He believes that that watermelons will sell for about $3 each and
cantaloupes will sell for about $1 each. Every acre planted with
watermelons is expected to yield 90 salable units. Every acre
planted with cantaloupes is expected to yield 300 salable units.
 Farm Planning Problem
The farmer can pump about 6,000 gallons of water per day for
irrigation purposes from a shallow well.
He can buy as much fertilizer as he needs at a cost of $10 per 50-
pound bag. Finally, the farmer can hire laborers to harvest the fields
at a rate of $5 per hour.

If the farmer sells all the watermelons and

cantaloupes he produces, how many acres of
each crop should the farmer plant to maximize
profits?