We consider how to organize the processing and marketing of an agricultural product when farming costs are known only by the individual farmers. We show that when marginal costs are un-correlated and the market for final goods is competitive, the socially optimal production levels may be...

We introduce simple non-parametric models to estimate the potential gains from merging production units. Three effects are distinguished. A merger may affect technical efficiency. It also affects the size of the operation which may or may not be advantageous depending on the return to scale...