The 1996 Farm Act and the 1994 Crop Insurance Reform Act are recent examples of policy changes that have increased risks for U.S. farmers. New products are emerging to help farmers manage risks. This article examines some of the policy changes, farmer responses, and new risk-sharing products....

The risks confronted by grain and cotton farmers are of particular interest, given the changing role of the Government after passage of the 1996 Farm Act. With the shift toward less government intervention in the post-1996 Farm Act environment, a more sophisticated understanding of risk and risk...

This study provides a comprehensive view of the organization, management, and financial performance of U.S. broiler farms. Using data from USDA's Agricultural Resource Management Study (ARMS, formerly known as the Farm Costs and Returns Survey), we examine farm size, financial structure,...

The Economic Research Service (ERS) developed a farm typology which categorizes farms into more homogeneous groups than do classifications based on sales volume alone, producing a more effective policy development tool. The typology is used to describe U.S. farms.

We have two objectives for this paper. The first is to develop an index reflective of farmers' attitudes towards risk. In addition, we show how the risk indices are distributed by size of farm and other farm and operator characteristics, providing information as to how risk management tools may...

Forward contracting of inputs in production agriculture is becoming increasingly important as more farmers attempt to manage risk. Using a logit model and farm-level data, this analysis estimates the effect of factors on the probability of a producer using forward input contracting. Results...