Producer perceptions and attitudes toward hog marketing contracts

The objective of this research is to use survey respondent perceptions and demographic data to assess factors affecting producer's attitudes towards hog marketing contracts. Six statements related to marketing contracts were presented to subjects to measure their attitudes toward the dominant method used by packers to procure hogs. The results suggest that the profitability of the producer, marketing method employed by the producer and the number of packers to whom the producer sold hogs significantly influences attitudes towards marketing contracts. These results suggest that low-cost producers who market hogs via individual or group marketing contracts are more positive, or in some cases less negative, in their attitudes towards marketing contracts. Although prior nonparametric analyses provide some insight into factors influencing producers' views of marketing contracts, this analyses allows inference of statistical significance. [EconLit citations: D400, L100]. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.