Direct materials efficiency, mix, and yield variances. Nature’s Best Nuts produces s...

Direct materials efficiency, mix, and yield variances. Nature’s Best Nuts produces specialty nut products for the gourmet and natural foods market. Its most popular product is Zesty Zingers, a mixture of roasted nuts that are seasoned with a secret spice mixture and sold in 1-pound tins. The direct materials used in Zesty Zingers are almonds, cashews, pistachios, and seasoning. For each batch of 100 tins, the budgeted quantities and budgeted prices of direct materials are as follows:

Changing the standard mix of direct material quantities slightly does not significantly affect the overall end product, particularly for the nuts. In addition, not all nuts added to production end up in the finished product, as some are rejected during inspection. In the current period, Nature’s Best made 2,500 tins of Zesty Zingers in 25 batches with the following actual quantity, cost, and mix of inputs:

1. What is the budgeted cost of direct materials for the 2,500 tins? 2. Calculate the total direct materials efficiency variance. 3. Why is the total direct materials price variance zero? 4. Calculate the total direct materials mix and yield variances. What are these variances telling you about the 2,500 tins produced this period? Are the variances large enough to investigate?