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...

This paper discusses the recent increases in the returns to crop production as well as trends in land rental rates and the types of rental agreements used in the Midwest. The concept of a flex cash lease and an approach to defining the terms of such a lease, relative to the current fixed cash or...

Georgia vegetable farmers are pressed for time to make the transition to new fumigation methods as use of methyl bromide (MeBr) will be completely banned soon. This study focuses on alternative fumigation methods for Georgia's bell pepper production with production efficiency matching MeBr....

Farm financial performance measures are evaluated for producers across five age groups. The debt-to-asset ratio is highest for farmers in the lessthan- 30 age group, 45.5 percent, and decreases across age groups. Repayment capacity is strongest for farmers in the less-than-30 age group, 2.1:1,...

Succession planning is a component of a household’s risk management strategy for its farm business in as much as it is aimed at continuity of the business' management team. The family farm sector relies heavily on intergenerational succession. Succession and retirement are inter-linked...

Considerable public attention has recently focused on agrosecurity, especially from the perspective of national security and aggregate production. This article reviews a series of biosecurity breaches stemming from criminal activity affecting a Minnesota dairy. Present and future economic losses...

This paper discusses a farm financial analysis program, along with four features of the program that have facilitated its use by farm managers. The four features that appear to increase farm manager interest in the program are Performancebased, Accrual-adjusted income statement, System of...

This paper examined sustained competitive advantage for a sample of 377 Kansas Farm Management Association farms with continuous data from 1988-2007. Technical, allocative, scale and overall efficiency indices were calculated for each farm and year. Approximately 30 percent of the farms...

A case study is presented about the financing arrangements, contract terms, and business relationships of a set of contract hog producers whose loans from community banks have been guaranteed by the Illinois Farm Development Authority. The results reflect the maturity and stability of contract...

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...