should the price of soybeans rise farmers will have an incentive to plant less corn and more soybeans and the total quantity of soybeans on the market will increase 
the degree to which rising prices translate into rising quantity is called supply elasticity or price elasticity of supply if a 50 rise in soybean prices causes the number of soybeans produced to rise by 50 the supply elasticity of soybeans is 1 on the other hand if a 50 rise in soybean prices only increases the quantity supplied by 10 the supply elasticity is 0 2 the supply curve is shallower closer to horizontal for products with more elastic supply and steeper closer to vertical for products with less elastic supply 1special considerationsthe terminology surrounding supply can be confusing quantity or quantity supplied refers to the amount of the product or service such as tons of soybeans bushels of tomatoes available hotel rooms or hours of labor in everyday usage this might be called the supply but in economic theory supply refers to the curve shown above denoting the relationship between quantity supplied and price per unit other factors can also cause changes in the supply curve such as technology any advances that increase production and make it more efficient can cause a shift to the right in the supply curve similarly market expectations and the number of sellers or competition can affect the curve as well 