Agriculture has seen a steady movement toward the increased use of contracts. Agricultural contracts now guide the interrelationships of parties throughout the modern production system, extending well beyond the livestock sector. With this predominance come new issues that require us to reexamine contract theory and the roles of the parties. This review examines legislation, regulations, and recent court rulings in seemingly unrelated areas that have specific relationships to the development of contracts in production agriculture: environmental law and labor law.

The poultry industry is the most vertically integrated of U.S. agriculture and food production and is rapidly progressing toward being one of the most concentrated. In 2002, the top 15 broiler states accounted for 94.4% of U.S. production. From 1982–2002, the top four broiler firms had a fivefold increase in Ready-to-Cook (R-T-C) pounds, a tripling of plants and four- and eight-firm concentration ratio increases of 27.9% to 48.2% and 44.1% to 66.6%. In a broad sense, chicken became more affordable, appealing, and available; total R-T-C pounds increased from 234 to 663 million pounds between 1982 and 2002.

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.

From production to retail, information systems have become increasingly important in the agrifood system. Retailers use information systems to improve inventory management and increase efficiency in production and logistics. Innovations in agribiotechnology and food safety issues highlighted by incidences related to Starlink corn and “mad cow disease” have raised consumer concerns about their food products. In addition to food safety concerns, consumers are increasingly willing to pay premiums for nonobservable quality characteristics in their food products. This paper outlines a framework for evaluating the implications of traceability for the organization of the agricultural system and highlights potential organizational responses to traceability issues.

The United States leads the world in agricultural biotechnology research, adoption, commercialization, and exports. Our biotech commodities are highly dependent on international markets. Thus, any biotech policy changes by key importing countries may affect U.S. agricultural biotech product exports. This article identifies key markets for U.S. agricultural exports including biotech commodities and discusses current and proposed biotech policies in key markets for U.S. agricultural exports focusing on Canada, Mexico, Japan, the European Union (EU), and China. Among these markets, labeling of biotech products is voluntary in Canada and Mexico but is mandatory in Japan, the EU, and, most recently, in China. For the EU, U.S. corn exports were almost completely shut out, while U.S. soybean exports also declined because of the EU's biotech policies. The World Trade Organization dispute filed by the United States has yet to be finalized. China's biotech regulations raised concern by U.S. agricultural exporters. However, through U.S. Department of Agriculture education programs, U.S.–China negotiations, and China's domestic soybean shortage, China's biotech regulations do not appear to have had long-run impacts on U.S. soybean exports to China.

The effect of policy decisions on the competitiveness of genetically modified (GM) crops was examined. The United States has been an early innovator in the development and use of biotechnology crops and has expanded its export market share of the three major GM crops: soybeans, cotton, and corn. Cotton, soybeans, and corn are all grown in the southern states, but these states have an apparent comparative advantage only in the production of cotton, which may be strengthened with the adoption of genetically modified cotton. The influence of biotechnology on the competitiveness of soybeans and corn for the southern states through the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is not clear but is probably negligible.

The Financial and Risk Management (FARM) Assistance program created by Texas Cooperative Extension is a strategic analysis service offered to farmers and ranchers in Texas. The program serves as an example of large-scale, focused programming by extension agencies, as well as the implementation of technical stochastic simulation methods for use on the farm.

The provision for producers to update base acres and payment yields in the 2002 farm bill afforded an opportunity to test whether it was feasible to deliver a complex simulation model directly to producers. A Monte Carlo simulation model for assessing the economic impacts of the alternative base and yield options on individual farms was developed and made available to producers via the World Wide Web. The experiences and challenges from this collaborative extension and research effort are described, as well as the issues educators might consider before delivering complex software to a national audience via the Web.

Integrated Farm Financial Statements (IFFS) software was developed as an M.S. thesis project in the mid-1980s and was immediately put to use as a tool for business planning in one-on-one work with Oklahoma producers through the Intensive Financial Management and Planning Support project. An updated IFFS continues to be used with producers to project financial statements for 1–3 years. Strengths and weaknesses in the software and extension program are noted, along with components that might serve as a model for other programs. Links with research are discussed, as are prospects for future farm financial management programs.

Coastal communities cannot depend on funding from the state or federal government to maintain high-quality beaches that benefit the public and attract tourist revenues. This article investigates the feasibility and efficiency of beach improvement projects at two Georgia barrier islands through the alternative funding mechanisms of general-revenue financing and user fees. Benefits are calculated from an intensive, on-site survey of beach visitors, and the costs are calculated from observable sources. The analyses presented support beach improvement as an effective policy on both islands under all scenarios considered.