Changes in the risk environment and tools available to manage risk have resulted in an increased need for risk management skills among farmers and ranchers. In response the USDA initiated a risk management education competitive grants program in the spring of 1998. This is the first report from...

A multinomial logit is utilized to model the choice of whether to purchase yield or revenue insurance using subjectively elicited survey data. Our results indicate that the demand for crop insurance is inelastic (-0.40), consistent with most earlier yield elasticity estimates, but the elasticity...

Results from a Tobit model showed a complementary relationship between marketing inputs and the decision to hire farm managers. According to the results, as farmers increase expenditure on marketing consultants and information systems, their expenditure on farm managers increase as well.

This article examines farmers’ preferences for various risk management information sources. Our results suggest that information from risk management experts, in-depth materials studied on their own, and popular press outlets tend to be preferred and are ranked highly by producers. Using...

Forward pricing behavior of random samples of Indiana, Nebraska, and Mississippi crop producers was analyzed using Heckman’s two-step limited information maximum likelihood estimation procedure. Producers who forward priced during the 1995-1998 period generally expected to forward price...

Risk management education has been a focus of U.S. farm policy since 1996. In support of significant ongoing United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) educational efforts, this study examines agricultural producers’ educational needs and interests. Data obtained through a survey of...

We study the relationship between the off-farm labor decision and the limited-resource farmers’ and spouses’ off-farm experience, education, and sources of income. We found that farmers’ and spouses’ off-farm experience and wages are significant factors in explaining...

Hog producers in Indiana and Nebraska were surveyed about sources of risk, effectiveness of risk management strategies, and prior participation in and desire for additional risk management education. Ownership of hogs by the producer, size of the operation, and age did have significant effects...

A univariate Tobit model of extension educators' provision of risk management educational training was conducted in Mississippi, Texas, Indiana, and Nebraska. A complementary relationship exists between percent of time devoted to agricultural responsibilities and the provision of risk management...

This paper examines the use of market consultants and market information systems by grain and cotton producers. A model of producer demand for marketing information and consultants is proposed that decomposes price received into exogenous and endogenous components. The analysis is based on a...