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Industrialization and Contracting in U.S. Agriculture

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 April 2015

Mary Clare Ahearn ,
Penni Korb  and
David Banker
Mary Clare Ahearn
Affiliation:
Economic Research Service, USDA
Penni Korb
Affiliation:
Economic Research Service, USDA
David Banker
Affiliation:
Economic Research Service, USDA
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Abstract

This paper examines the industrialization process of U.S. agriculture by examining the trends in the number of farms, the concentration of production during the last decade, and the dynamics of farm survivability, entry, and exit underlying aggregate statistics. We next examine vertical coordination as part of the industrialization process and highlight contracting in the poultry industry. The analysis provides evidence that production is continuing to be concentrated on a smaller number of farms at a relatively rapid rate, in spite of the stability in the number of farms. Although contracting clearly dominates the broiler industry, it is less prevalent in egg and turkey production, where other forms of vertical coordination are likely established.

Keywords

broilerscontractingeggsindustrializationpoultrystructural changeturkeysvertical integrationD23D40L11L14L22L23Q12
Type
Invited Paper Sessions
Information
Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics , Volume 37 , Issue 2 , August 2005 , pp. 347 - 364
Copyright
Copyright © Southern Agricultural Economics Association 2005

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