Farmers must earn revenues that both cover costs and provide adequate returns. The goal of this research was to understand how diversified farmers measure their cost of production and determine prices. We conducted in-depth interviews of diversified Vermont farmers and used the constant...

The Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Farm Business Plan was used to compare the characteristics of beginning farmers receiving direct Farm Ownership (FO) loans in fiscal 2005 by the type of delivery mechanism. Regular FO loans were commonly used by small and intermediate size family farming...

Identifying the least-cost strategy of obtaining a technology is important. This study determined the break-even cropped area necessary to economically justify the purchase of Precision Agriculture (PA) equipment versus the custom hiring of the PA services. The results suggest that a commercial...

Real returns to farm operators have been at the highest level since 1973. However, indications from the USDA and Federal Open Market Committee are that returns are not projected to remain at those levels and interest rates will rise in the next decade. This paper evaluates the potential impact...

Volatile net farm incomes and potential for higher interest rates has strengthened the importance of managing liquidity. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of increasing liquidity levels as a means of reducing repayment risk for agricultural firms. Using a base case farming operation and...

This investment analysis evaluates a 320-acre mixed enterprise farm involved in producing broilers, hay, and pine tress over a 30-year planning horizon. A net present value analysis was conducted to determine the feasibility of this investment, A sensitivity analysis was also performed to...

Land prices in Western Kansas are analyzed using regression to estimate the influence of rainfall, sales method, and time of sale. The estimates from regression indicate that land prices decreased about $27 for each range that was farther west which can be converted to about $75 per inch of...

Farmers and other buyers and sellers of commodities use options in their marketing strategies. A cost of buying put and call options is the decay in option premium that occurs from the time an option position is established until the time the option position is closed out. This article finds...

Utilizing an input-output approach, this paper reports the local economic impacts from the expansion of an ethanol plant in Missouri. With the expansion ofthe U.S. ethanol industry in the form of both new and expandingplants both types of growth should be taken into account. This research...

This paper examines the preferred share arrangement for both landlords and tenants producing grain in the Texas High Plains (based on risk preference), and determines the sensitivity to changing input costs and market prices. Results of the analyses show that tenants and landlords prefer...