Management model as a tool for studying the worth of data

Groundwater simulation modeling, mathematical programing, and decision theory are combined to plan and manage an irrigated farm, subject to variation in economic factors such as pumping costs and crop prices, in hydrologic factors such as transmissivity and storage coefficient, and in physical factors such as the choice of a physical model of the groundwater system. Those factors that are most critical to planning and managing the farm are identified and analyzed. The results of the analysis are a decision on cropping and pumping patterns over a design period, a choice of a physical model of the groundwater system that meets the needs of the farm, a ranking of data by the worth to the farm (worth being related to the regret incurred by the farm when an undesirable decision is made), and a ranking of data by priority for further data collection activities.