Determinants of Return on Equity in U.S. Local Farm Supply and Grain Marketing Cooperatives

Farm supply cooperatives are an important component of the retail agribusiness industry in the United States. The objective of this research is to identify financial variables that are determinants of return on equity in these cooperatives. Firm effects are important and their effect is the result of managerial decision making and director policy. The estimated coefficient on asset size was not statistically significant, suggesting that return on equity is invariant to size over this period.