Preliminary estimates of technical efficiency based on USDA data for 1997 through 2001 indicate that independent operations were significantly more efficient than contract operations. Preliminary estimates also indicate that both types of operations exhibited increasing returns to scale with...

The industrialization of the food system is proceeding at a rapid rate and contracting is a key element in that industrialization. The purposes of this paper are to summarize contract terms in agricultural contracts for major commodities and to assess the determinants of variations in contract...

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,...

Article Titles: "Little Original Under Farm Policy Sun"; "Direct Government Farm Program Payments Distribution Targeted To Production"; "Targeting Is The Latest Bumper Sticker"; "Targeting Farm Payments in the 100th Congress"; "Congress Lacks A Clear Consensus on Farm Policy Goals"; "'Decouple'...