While controversy surrounds skewness attributes of typical yield distributions, a better
understanding is important for agricultural policy assessment and for crop‐insurance rate
setting. Day (1965) conjectured that crop yield skewness declines with an increase in
nitrogen use at low levels but not at higher levels. Employing four corn yield experimental
plot datasets, we investigate the conjecture by introducing (a) a flexible Bayesian extension
of the Just–Pope technology to incorporate skewness and (b) a quantile‐based measure of …

While controversy surrounds skewness attributes of typical yield distributions, a better
understanding is important for agricultural policy assessment and for crop insurance rate
setting. Day (1965) conjectured that crop yield skewness declines with an increase in low
levels of nitrogen use, but higher levels have no effect. In a theoretical model based on the
law of the minimum (von Liebig) technology, we find conditions under which Day's
conjecture applies. Employing four experimental plot datasets, we investigate the conjecture …