Agritourism and off‐farm work: survival strategies for small farms

Abstract

This study considers agritourism and off-farm work as income diversification choices simultaneously and analyzes factors influencing such choices. Further, the study assesses the impact of agritourism, off-farm work, and both on gross cash farm income and total farm household income. We utilized large set of nationwide farm survey data and selectivity-based multinomial choice model. An important finding of our study is that small farms have higher household income if they choose both income diversification strategies rather than a single strategy. Results suggest that education, age of the operator, financial condition, and location of the farm are important factors driving income diversification alternatives. Finally, our study indicates that accounting for selectivity is essential to ensure unbiased and consistent estimates. JEL classifications: C25, D13, Q12, Q14

Linking apple farmers to markets

“…However, Lee's method estimates a single selectivity effects for all choices together and DMF method establishes M-1 selection terms for the M choices, which cannot fully address the selection bias issues arising from multiple choices of marketing contracts. Therefore, this study employs a selectivity correction approach proposed by Bourguignon, Fournier, & Gurgand (Hereinafter BFG, 2007), which is more accurate in capturing selectivity effects generated by alternative choices (Khanal & Mishra, 2014).…”

Off‐farm work and technical efficiency on U.S. dairies

“…These programs include crop insurance for selected crops, gross margin insurance for dairy cattle, and safety‐net programs for covered commodities (e.g., Price Loss Coverage [PLC], Agricultural Risk Coverage [ARC], and Margin Protection Program for Dairy [MPP‐D] which was renamed Dairy Margin Coverage in the 2018 Farm Bill). Within this framework, farmers make decisions and implement strategies to mitigate risks and reduce income volatility such as using futures and options markets as well as savings to finance production (Mishra & Paudel, ) or engaging in agritourism (Khanal & Mishra, ).…”

The Effects of Diversification Activities on the Technical Efficiency of Organic Farms in Switzerland, Austria, and Southern Germany

“…Most studies interpret diversification as the development of alternative income-earning opportunities for a farmer's household. The relation between agri-tourism, as one example of diversification beyond core agricultural production, and its effect on off-farm employment, has been the subject of several studies [16,17]. Katchova [14] concentrates on production-related diversification activities and subdivides her sample into livestock and crop diversifying farms, Sustainability 2018, 10, 1304 3 of 18 commodity diversifying farms, as well as specialized farms.…”

“…Furthermore, the literature shows that studies also vary with regard to methodical approaches applied to the estimated economic effects of diversification. However, most studies apply various kinds of regression models: multiple regression models [14], random-and fixed-effect models [12], three-stage least squares regression models [10], and multinomial logit regression models [11,13,15,16] are all used. Furthermore, the methods of both propensity score matching [17] and stochastic production functions are utilized [18].…”