We investigate the importance of an appropriate representation of behavior, risk attitude, and related characteristics for owner-managers making marketing decisions. We assess whether managerial/firm characteristics directly affect the decisions or if their influence occurs indirectly through...

With a declining share of the domestic meat market, some beef producers are becoming more attentive to opportunities for value-added products tailored to the desires of certain consumer segments. Using a survey of St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri meat consumers, this study investigates...

Originating from a bold idea, Organic Valley currently reigns as the largest organic cooperative in North America. In 1988, from the non-glaciated, hilly part of Southwestern Wisconsin, seven progressive rural entrepreneurs started a courageous and visionary journey. The founders’ original...

In this paper, we address the issue of financial constraints in agricultural cooperatives. We estimate an augmented Q investment model for a large sample of US agricultural cooperatives and test whether cooperative investment is sensitive to cash flow. Empirical results suggest that agricultural...

Little information exists on grain merchandisers, their characteristics, and the skills needed to be successful. This research contributes toward filling this gap. A summary of survey responses from 230 experienced grain merchandisers quantifies personal characteristics, skills perceived as...

Ethanol mandates have led to an increase in the production of distillers dried grains (DDGs), a co-product of ethanol production that is incorporated into livestock rations. As with most competitive industries, there is some level of price risk in handling DDGs, and there is no DDG futures...

The storage-at-a-loss paradox—stocks despite inadequate price growth to cover storage costs—is an unresolved issue of long-standing interest to economists. Alternative explanations include risk premiums for futures market speculators, convenience yields from holding stocks, and...

The grain/oilseed industry is undergoing considerable structural change through mergers and new value-added businesses, which raises price-related questions. We analyze the level of price integration prior to and following a merger between two grain firms and the start-up of a producer-owned...

This paper examines agricultural cooperative organizational models from an ownership rights perspective. Building upon property rights and incomplete contracts theories of the firm, the paper adopts a definition of ownership rights comprising both residual claim and control rights. We argue that...