Human capital and its effect on the farm business life cycle

Human capital has been identified as significant determinant of farm size growth. However, there are numerous measures for human capital. Traditional measures include age, experience, and education of the principal operator and a management measure. This study identifies three types of management capabilities: production, financial, and human resource, as human capital measures. Farm size growth is estimated over a 15 year time period, 1994-2009. Results indicate that age of principal operator, financial management, and human resource management are significant determinants of farm size growth.