| Farmers are likely to be motivated by alternative goals besides profit maximization. Goal structure is highly influential in farmer enterprise selection decisions. This paper addresses the roles of goal structure, location, financial situation, and socio-demographic variables and their influence on farmers' farm enterprise selection decisions. This study uses the 2003 Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS), a national farm-level data, and Tobit method to examine the impacts of goal structure and resource availability on enterprise choice. Results indicate that goal structure significantly influences enterprise selection. Farmers who indicated their primary reason for becoming a farm operator was to "Take over operation of the farm from a family... |
