Brent A. Gloy

Dairy Farm Management and Long-Term Farm Financial Performance

The financial performance and relationships between several management factors and financial performance are examined in a panel of 107 New York dairy farms. A panel regression model with fixed effects is estimated in an effort to identify management factors that influence profitability. The model is estimated with two-stage least squares to account for endogenous farm size and debt use variables. Production management factors such as farm size, rate of milk production, and milking system had a positive impact on farm profitability. Financial management variables for the type of accounting system used and the debt use were also significantly related to profitability. Unlike the findings of many other studies, measures of human capital did not have a statistically significant impact on profitability.

COMPUTER AND INTERNET ADOPTION ON LARGE U.S. FARMS

The adoption of the personal computer and the Internet is studied within a sample of large U.S. farms. Factors such as age and education influence the adoption of both technologies. Likewise, strong relationships exist between the adoption of each technology and the sophistication of farm management and the complexity of the farm business. After controlling for computer adoption, the results suggest there remain several factors limiting Internet adoption. It appears that producers are unsure as to how the Internet can best be used to create value in their farm businesses.

The Impact of Ethanol Plants on Cropland Values in the Great Plains

Corn ethanol plants consume large amounts of corn and their location has the potential to alter local crop prices and surrounding agricultural land values. The relationship between ethanol plant location and agricultural land prices is examined using data obtained from the Agricultural Credit Survey administered by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. The findings indicate that the portion of land price changes attributable to location is consistent with previous estimates of basis changes associated with ethanol plant location. As a result, the land markets appear to be rationally adjusting to the location of ethanol plants.

Segmenting the Commercial Producer Marketplace for Agricultural Inputs

A cluster analysis procedure was used to develop a market segmentation of U.S. crop and livestock farms with annual sales in excess of

SOURCES OF INFORMATION FOR COMMERCIAL FARMS: USEFULNESS OF MEDIA AND PERSONAL SOURCES

100,000. The segments were developed based on the importance of six factors that producers evaluate when selecting input suppliers. The results indicate that four distinct segments exist: Convenience buyers, Balance buyers, Price buyers, and Performance buyers. Differences in preferences across these segments have important implications for the marketing strategies of agricultural input suppliers.

Financial management practices and farm profitability

The usefulness of several information sources is examined for U.S. farms with sales in excess of

Customer Lifetime Value: An application in the rural petroleum market

100,000. The results indicate that crop/livestock-specific magazines and general farm magazines are the most useful information sources. Analyses indicate that the types and number of different commodities that the farm produced, as well as Internet use, are the most consistent predictors of attitudes toward various information sources. However, characteristics that explain attitudes toward different information sources vary substantially across the information sources considered.

Financial barriers to the adoption of anaerobic digestion on US livestock operations

The adoption of several basic financial management practices is examined for a group of New York dairy farms. The study provides estimates of the extent to which various business analysis and control, investment analysis and decision making, and capital acquisition practices have been adopted. Many practices, such as net present value analysis, are not widely adopted by farmers. The relationship between the adoption of financial management practices and farm profitability is also examined. Results suggest that the adoption of financial management practices, such as using investment analysis techniques, significantly impacts farm financial performance.

Credit risk assessment

As building long term customer relationships becomes paramount to the success of agricultural input marketers, a question of focus is raised: Which customers should the firm attempt to build such relationships with? Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is a concept some marketers have employed to better understand the long-term profit potential of specific customers or groups of customers. CLV is the net present value of the cash flow stream a customer is expected to generate for a firm over time. In this study, the CLV concept was employed to better understand the profitability of customers in the rural petroleum market. Findings suggest that customers in this market vary dramatically in the level of profits they generate for a firm. In addition, customer retention is important in this market with small reductions in customer retention rates leading to large reductions in CLV. A framework and modeling approach is also developed that marketers in other agribusiness industries may find useful as they attempt to measure and use customer lifetime value.

A comparison of criteria for evaluating risk management strategies

Purpose - Anaerobic digestion (AD) of livestock waste is a potential source of renewable energy and can reduce the methane emissions associated with livestock waste storage. Because AD is capital intensive, lenders will play a key role in the adoption of this technology. The purpose of this paper is to describe some of the barriers that currently make lenders reluctant to finance AD systems and provide recommendations for public policies that would reduce these barriers, making financing more available and encouraging farmers to adopt digester systems. Design/methodology/approach - This paper describes some of the barriers that currently make lenders reluctant to finance AD systems and makes recommendations for public policies that would reduce these barriers, thus making finance available. Findings - AD systems face a number of financial barriers which make lenders reluctant to finance them. Many of these barriers can be overcome by adopting policies and programs designed to improve the understanding of the financial situation associated with AD adoption and establishing markets that reward livestock operations for achieving the benefits associated with AD installation. Some of the more important potential solutions include developing mechanisms to collect and analyze data associated with AD system economics and developing markets that reward livestock operations for producing the non-market outputs of renewable energy and methane emission reductions. Originality/value - The ability to attract financing is a key barrier to the widespread adoption of anaerobic digester systems. This paper describes these challenges and identifies solutions which would reduce these barriers and lead to greater adoption of AD on the US livestock operations.