Some Evidence on Pecuniary Economies of Size for Farm Firms

Economies of size for farm firms in the United States are a traditional interest of agricultural economists (Heady). Continued interest in this topic is related to the implication of economies of size for the size structure of farm firms. The structure issue has the potential to affect not only current farm firms but also agricultural marketing firms, rural communities, and consumers of agricultural commodities (Krause and Kyle). In the past, the relationship between economies of size and farm firm growth was the basis for research. More recently, the relationship of economies of size to public policy issues has gained attention (Bardnam, Hall and LeVeen, Seckler and Young).