attributes associated with both business arrangements. The benefits to growers from contracting (such as risk reduction) may be … estimate (1) the difference in expected net returns between contracting and independent production, (2) the premium a …

This study presents evidence that contracting is positively associated with the scale of production for six major U … likelihood of an operation contracting increases with its scale. This relationship is strongest in the cattle and hog sectors … scale and contracting are proposed, including imperfect capital markets, contractor transaction costs, input leverage …

examines whether changes in the prevalence of contracting at the county level are correlated with changes in the spot market … contracting prevalence. Results are sufficiently precise to rule out an economically significant negative relationship between … contracting prevalence and the spot price as statistically unlikely. …