Testing the Impact of Corporate Farming Restrictions on the Nebraska Hog Industry

This paper evaluates the implications of corporate restrictions on production agriculture using the case of the Nebraska hog industry. Corporate farming restrictions prohibit the acquisition or operation of agricultural land by nonfamily farm or ranch corporations. A partial adjustment model with a variable coefficient of adjustment is used to study the policy change. The results of the study support the hypothesis that the corporate farming restrictions in Nebraska have reduced the Nebraska hog industry's ability to adjust its inventory to target levels. A significant shift in inventory adjustment behavior is shown to coincide with the enactment of the corporate restrictions.