IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/aaea12/126929.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Multifunctional Agriculture and Farm Viability in the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Brown, Jason P.
  • Goetz, Stephan J.
  • Fleming, David A.

Abstract

Multifunctionality of agriculture is being heralded as a way to achieve food and fiber production while simultaneously providing ecological services and promoting rural development through the establishment of new enterprises. However, in order for multifunctional agriculture to achieve these objectives it must be viable. To date there have been no empirical studies assessing the current regional distribution of multifunctional activities in the U.S. Using the 2002 and 2007 Census of Agriculture we use regional econometric models to estimate the impact of county-level measures of multifunctional activities on farm viability as measured by the change in the number of farms. Results indicate that direct sales for human consumption were associated with increases in the number of farms only in New England. An increase in income from agritourism and recreational services within a county was associated with reduced farm viability nationally and in three regions. In three of the eight regions results confirm previous findings that off-farm labor income is a means of diversifying and potentially stabilizing total income of farm households, and that it may also serve as a financial platform for new entrants into farming.

Suggested Citation

  • Brown, Jason P. & Goetz, Stephan J. & Fleming, David A., 2012. "Multifunctional Agriculture and Farm Viability in the United States," 2012 Annual Meeting, August 12-14, 2012, Seattle, Washington 126929, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:aaea12:126929
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.126929
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/126929/files/bgf_AAEA.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.126929?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mishra, Ashok K. & Holthausen, Duncan M., 2002. "Effect of Farm Income and Off-Farm Wage Variability on Off-Farm Labor Supply," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 31(2), pages 187-199, October.
    2. Roth, Monika, 1999. "Overview Of Farm Direct Marketing Industry Trends," Agricultural Outlook Forum 1999 32905, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Outlook Forum.
    3. Ashok K. Mishra & Barry K. Goodwin, 1997. "Farm Income Variability and the Supply of Off-Farm Labor," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 79(3), pages 880-887.
    4. Jean-Paul Chavas & Bradford Barham & Jeremy Foltz & Kwansoo Kim, 2012. "Analysis and decomposition of scope economies: R&D at US research universities," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(11), pages 1387-1404, April.
    5. Hoppe, Robert A. & MacDonald, James M. & Korb, Penelope J., 2010. "Small Farms in the United States: Persistence Under Pressure," Economic Information Bulletin 58300, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    6. Arild Vatn, 2002. "Multifunctional agriculture: some consequences for international trade regimes," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 29(3), pages 309-327, July.
    7. Hoppe, Robert A. & Banker, David E., 2010. "Structure and Finances of U.S. Farms: Family Farm Report, 2010 Edition," Economic Information Bulletin 291950, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    8. White, Gregory K., 1996. "Factors Influencing Consumers' Likelihood Of Purchasing Specialty Food And Drink Products On-Line: Results Of Consumer Reviews Of 12 Selected Sites," Journal of Food Distribution Research, Food Distribution Research Society, vol. 27(3), pages 1-10, October.
    9. Kimhi, Ayal & Bollman, Ray, 1999. "Family farm dynamics in Canada and Israel: the case of farm exits," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 21(1), pages 69-79, August.
    10. Batie, Sandra S., 2003. "The Multifunctional Attributes of Northeastern Agriculture: A Research Agenda," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association, vol. 32(1), pages 1-8, April.
    11. Kinsey, Jean D. & Senauer, Benjamin, 1996. "Food Marketing In An Electronic Age: Implications For Agricultural Producers," Working Papers 14303, University of Minnesota, The Food Industry Center.
    12. Stephan J. Goetz & David L. Debertin, 2001. "Why Farmers Quit: A County-Level Analysis," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 83(4), pages 1010-1023.
    13. Jean-Paul Chavas & Salvatore Di Falco, 2012. "On the Productive Value of Crop Biodiversity: Evidence from the Highlands of Ethiopia," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 88(1), pages 58-74.
    14. Hoppe, Robert A. & Korb, Penelope J. & O'Donoghue, Erik J. & Banker, David E., 2007. "Structure and Finances of U.S. Farms: Family Farm Report, 2007 Edition," Economic Information Bulletin 59032, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    15. Irwin, Elena G. & Nickerson, Cynthia J. & Libby, Lawrence W., 2003. "What are Farmland Amenities Worth?," Choices: The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resource Issues, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 18(3), pages 1-4.
    16. Chavas, Jean-Paul & Kim, Kwansoo, 2010. "Economies of diversification: A generalization and decomposition of economies of scope," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(2), pages 229-235, August.
    17. Batie, Sandra S., 2003. "The Multifunctional Attributes of Northeastern Agriculture: A Research Agenda," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 32(1), pages 1-8, April.
    18. Bagi, Faqir Singh & Reeder, Richard, 2012. "Farm Activities Associated With Rural Development Initiatives," Economic Research Report 262232, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    19. Hellerstein, Daniel & Nickerson, Cynthia J. & Cooper, Joseph C. & Feather, Peter & Gadsby, Dwight M. & Mullarkey, Daniel J. & Tegene, Abebayehu & Barnard, Charles H., 2002. "Farmland Protection: The Role Of Public Preferences For Rural Amenities," Agricultural Economic Reports 33963, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Marasteanu, I. Julia & Jaenicke, Edward C., 2013. "Agglomeration and Spatial Dependence in Certified Organic Operations in the United States," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 149551, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    2. Marasteanu, I. Julia & Liang, Chyi-Lyi (Kathleen) & Goetz, Stephan, 2014. "Spatial and Cluster Analysis for Multifunctional Agriculture in New England Region," 2014 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2014, Minneapolis, Minnesota 170314, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    3. Barnes, Andrew P. & Thomson, Steven G. & Ferreira, Joana, 2020. "Disadvantage and economic viability: characterising vulnerabilities and resilience in upland farming systems," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    4. Marasteanu, I. Julia & Liang, Chyi-Lyi (Kathleen) & Goetz, Stephan & Ahearn, Mary Clare & Brown, Jason P., 2013. "The Identification and Formation of Clusters of Northeastern United States Farms Participating in Multifunctional Activities," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 149573, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    5. Marasteanu, I. Julia & Jaenicke, Edward C., 2014. "Clusters of Organic Operations and their Impact on Regional Economic Growth in the United States," 2014 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2014, Minneapolis, Minnesota 170336, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Moon, Wanki, 2012. "Conceptualizing Multifunctional Agriculture from a Global Perspective," 2012 Annual Meeting, February 4-7, 2012, Birmingham, Alabama 119751, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    2. Väre, Minna & Heshmati, Almas, 2004. "Perspectives on the Early Retirement Decisions of Farming Couples," IZA Discussion Papers 1342, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Joshua M. Duke & Lori Lynch, 2006. "Farmland Retention Techniques: Property Rights Implications and Comparative Evaluation," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 82(2), pages 189-213.
    4. Hoppe, Robert & Korb, Penni, 2013. "Characteristics of Women Farm Operators and Their Farms," Economic Information Bulletin 148543, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    5. Moon, Wanki & Griffith, Jacob Wayne, 2011. "Assessing holistic economic value for multifunctional agriculture in the US," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 455-465, August.
    6. Xuan Chen & Jing Chen & Chien-Yu Huang, 2019. "Too Risky to Focus on Agriculture? An Empirical Study of China’s Agricultural Households’ Off-Farm Employment Decisions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-18, January.
    7. Kallas, Z. & Gómez-Limón, J.A., 2007. "Valoración De La Multifuncionalidad Agraria: Una Aplicación A Través Del Método De Los Experimentos De Elección/Agricultural Multifunctionality Valuation: A Case Study Using The Choice Experiment," Estudios de Economia Aplicada, Estudios de Economia Aplicada, vol. 25, pages 107-144, Abril.
    8. Chen, Xuan & Vuong, Nguyen, 2018. "Climate and Off-farm Labor Supply of Agricultural Households: Evidence from Rural Vietnam," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274187, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    9. Zein Kallas & José A. Gómez‐Limón & Manuel Arriaza, 2007. "Are citizens willing to pay for agricultural multifunctionality?," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 36(3), pages 405-419, May.
    10. Raimondi, Valentina & Curzi, Daniele & Bertoni, Danilo & Olper, Alessandro, 2013. "Off-farm Labour Decision of Italian Farm Operators," Factor Markets Working Papers 173, Centre for European Policy Studies.
    11. Berna Türkekul & Canan Fisun Abay, 2024. "Understanding Why Farmers Leave: Validating Key Indicators for Farm Exit in İzmir, Türkiye," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-20, July.
    12. Ibirénoyé Romaric Sodjahin & Fabienne Femenia & Obafemi Philippe Koutchade & A. Carpentier, 2022. "On the economic value of the agronomic effects of crop diversification for farmers: estimation based on farm cost accounting data [Valeur économique des effets agronomiques de la diversification de," Working Papers hal-03639951, HAL.
    13. Marie Dervillé & Gilles Allaire & Élise Maigné & Éric Cahuzac, 2017. "Internal and contextual drivers of dairy restructuring: evidence from French mountainous areas and post†quota prospects," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 48(1), pages 91-103, January.
    14. Burns, Christopher & Prager, Daniel, "undated". "Do Direct Payments and Crop Insurance Influence Commercial Farm Survival and Decisions to Expand?," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235693, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    15. Dewbre, Joe & Mishra, Ashok K., 2002. "Farm Household Incomes And U.S. Government Program Payment," 2002 Annual meeting, July 28-31, Long Beach, CA 19780, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    16. Roeder, Norbert & Kilian, Stefan, 2009. "Regional differences in the determinants for structural change in German agriculture," 2009 Conference, August 16-22, 2009, Beijing, China 51463, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    17. Eder, Andreas, 2017. "Cost efficiency and economies of diversification of biogas-fuelled cogeneration plants in Austria: a nonparametric approach," MPRA Paper 80369, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Alessandro Corsi & Vito Frontuto & Silvia Novelli, 2021. "What Drives Farm Structural Change? An Analysis of Economic, Demographic and Succession Factors," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-24, May.
    19. Bouchakour, Radhia & Saad, Mohammed, 2020. "Farm and farmer characteristics and off-farm work: evidence from Algeria," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 64(2), April.
    20. Jin‐Tao Zhan & Yan‐Rui Wu & Xiao‐Hui Zhang & Zhang‐Yue Zhou, 2012. "Why do farmers quit from grain production in China? Causes and implications," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 4(3), pages 342-362, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Community/Rural/Urban Development;

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:aaea12:126929. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aaeaaea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.