
Bruce AhrendsenUniversity of Arkansas at Fayetteville | U of A · Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness
Bruce Ahrendsen
Ph.D. Economics
About
59
Publications
9,099
Reads
How we measure 'reads'
A 'read' is counted each time someone views a publication summary (such as the title, abstract, and list of authors), clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the full-text. Learn more
372
Citations
Introduction
Skills and Expertise
Publications
Publications (59)
Numerous studies have been conducted to comprehend the economic importance of market participation for producers. However, a significant gap remains, particularly in Central Asia. This study assesses market participation drivers for Kyrgyzstan’s milk producers using the Life in Kyrgyzstan dataset, encompassing a comprehensive nationwide farm-level...
This paper discusses differences in the likelihood of loan default between Black and other farmers who took out USDA direct operating loans from 2011 to 2020. By controlling for financial, demographic, and other factors using a Cox proportional hazards model, we found that Black farmers have a higher incidence of default than other farmers. We adva...
The purpose of the paper is to demonstrate the potential of experiential learning in fulfilling the role of higher education institutions in teaching and promoting an MBA education. The educational achievements of the Green Week of the MBA in Agribusiness and Commerce (AgriMBA) are highlighted and challenges and areas in need of improvement are dis...
Purpose
A potential farm policy concern is that if nontraditional (vendor/point-of-sale) financing represents increased risk, it may have an aggregate effect on sector-wide farm financial risk. This analysis examines the use of nontraditional lender credit among borrowers in the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s Farm Service Agency (FSA)'s dire...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine credit usage by beginning farmers and ranchers (BFR). BFR credit usage is stratified by location (state) and by socially disadvantaged farmer and rancher (SDFR, also known as historically underserved) status. SDFR groups are defined to include women; individuals with Hispanic, Latino or Spanish Origin...
Purpose – While progress has been made in the realm of teaching about sustainability to business students, integrating sustainability into experiential learning with a systemic mindset has been identified by leading scholars as an area for improvement. The key objective of this paper is to describe a pilot project in which students prepared a susta...
While progress has been made in the realm of teaching about sustainability to business students, integrating sustainability into experiential learning with a systemic mindset has been identified by leading scholars as an area for improvement. The purpose of this paper is to describe a pilot project in which students prepared a sustainability report...
Purpose: While progress has been made in the realm of teaching about sustainability to business students, integrating sustainability into experiential learning with a systemic mindset has been identified by leading scholars as an area for improvement. The key objective of this paper is to describe a pilot project in which students prepared a sustai...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the characteristics of borrowers likely to benefit from loan modifications (restructuring) which includes concessions provided to the borrower from the lender.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were drawn from the US Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency (FSA) for borrowers who had received...
The Grojec region of Poland is an important region for apple production and accounts for 40 percent of domestic apple production. Apple growers from the region made an attempt to strengthen their competitive position through registering their apples as Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) products. The European Commission’s PGI allows food produ...
There has been a growing openness and importance in trade over time as indicated by an increasing ratio of trade to gross domestic product for the World. However, some recent movements have been more protectionist and less open to trade. The potential impacts of less trade are explored with the United States (US) taken as an example. Trade agreemen...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine changes in the structures of US farms and lenders and identify prospective implications for federal credit.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from US farm operations for 1996-2014 were adjusted to 2014 values using commodity price indices. Farm size groups were constructed by value of farm productio...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify determinants of feasible outcome events (expired with no loss, settled for loss, still performing) and time to event of Farm Service Agency (FSA) operating and farm ownership (FO) loan guarantees.
Design/methodology/approach
Data on 19,126 FSA guaranteed loans, which were made by various lenders t...
A case study of an organic food company in the Slovak Republic involved in producing and sourcing inputs, food processing and distribution is presented. The case is based on a June 2014 “live” case study prepared for students in International MBA in Agribusiness programs at the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Warsaw University of Life Sc...
We present an analysis of markets for fresh strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries in the United States during 2008–2011. We use weekly panel data covering supermarket purchases in 52 cities. The primary goal is to estimate demand elasticities for fresh berries and thereby provide a better understanding of consumer behaviour in r...
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to analyze possible implications of the economic measures presented in the balance sheet and income statement of the farm firm.
Design/methodology/approach
Accounting principles and the users of accounting information are studied. From a review of the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) questionna...
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to evaluate the financial performance measures calculated and reported by the Economic Resource Service (ERS) from Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) data. The evaluation includes the calculation method and the underlying assumptions used in obtaining the reported values. Recommendations for impro...
The global economy has continued to experience lingering effects of the global financial crisis that began in 2007. Although attention was initially given to the liquidity crisis and survival of some the world’s largest corporations and institutions, the financial crisis is likely to have long-lasting implications for agribusiness. As the world s...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to estimate a three‐equation model of US commercial bank usage of the Farm Service Agency's (FSA) guaranteed operating loan and interest assistance programs. Also, to identify the key farm and banking variables that affect the decision to use loan guarantees and the volume of loans with interest assistance.
Des...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to apply duration methods to a sample of Farm Service Agency (FSA) direct, seven‐year operating loans to identify those variables that influence the time to loan termination and type of termination. Variables include both those known at time of loan origination and those that characterize the changing economic e...
Classical and count data regression models are estimated to predict improvement in three key financial indicators—net worth, debt-to-asset ratio and current ratio—as well as the number of loan restructurings and delinquencies. Data consist of Farm Service Agency direct loans originated in fiscal years 1994-1996. Models to predict outcomes vary by l...
This study presents and analyzes the mean financial characteristics of different types of crop and livestock farms in the U.S. in 2005. The eighteen farm types are: poultry, beef cattle, hogs, dairy, general livestock, general cash grain, wheat, corn, soybean, grain sorghum, rice, tobacco, cotton, peanut, general crop, fruits and tree nuts, vegetab...
The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) direct farm loan program is designed to provide credit to family-sized farms unable to obtain credit from conventional sources at reasonable rates and terms despite having sufficient cash flow to repay and an ability to fully securitize the loan. FSA policy encourages borrowers to exit the program as soon as possi...
Farm Service Agency (FSA) direct loans are intended to provide transitory credit to creditworthy borrowers unable to obtain conventional credit at reasonable terms. Farm loan program (FLP) effectiveness is measured in part by how readily direct loan borrowers graduate to conventional credit. A survey of FSA borrowers originating direct loans during...
The Farm Service Agency (FSA) direct farm loan program provides credit to family-sized farms including those operated by beginning farmers and socially disadvantaged applicants. Approximately 37% of all U.S. farms are estimated to be eligible for FSA direct loans when farm size, credit needs, farming experience, and occupation are taken into accoun...
The Farm Service Agency (FSA) direct farm loan program provides credit to family-sized farms including those operated by beginning farmers and socially disadvantaged applicants. Approximately 37% of all U.S. farms are estimated to be eligible for FSA direct loans when farm size, credit needs, farming experience, and occupation are taken into accoun...
The USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) serves as the nation's lender of last resort by providing direct loans to farmers unable to obtain credit at reasonable rates and terms. Annual loan losses have been substantial, averaging $576 million for fiscal 1994-2004. An econometric model using survey data from a sample of FSA loans originated in fiscal 19...
Federal farm credit programs currently administered by the USDA were initiated in the early 1900s to help the farm sector cope with natural disasters, and these programs have continued to evolve. There has been a rich history of research analyzing USDA farm credit programs and the effects they have had on farmers, ranchers, and credit markets. This...
SUMMARY Nearly all broilers produced in the United States are grown under contract arrangement between independently contracting broiler producers and integrated poultry companies. These contracts may vary in some minor points, but all include general provisions stipulating that the integrators are responsible for chick placement, feed provision, a...
The three primary objectives of the Effectiveness Study are to: (1) identify groups being served by FSA direct farm loan programs, (2) examine the length of time borrowers remain in the programs and the proportion of borrowers who exit or “graduate” from the programs, and (3) measure and identify ways of reducing loan subsidy rates. The study...
Land leasing is a major source of the land input to production agriculture. Responses from a survey of landlords leasing crop land in Arkansas are analyzed to better understand those factors motivating landlords in the type of lease they select and the terms of those leases. Probit models are estimated to determine the relative importance of variab...
The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 made permanent the interest assistance program for the Farm Service Agency's guaranteed loans, authorized a significant increase in funding for the program, and targeted funding for beginning farmers and ranchers. The research presented here provides a basic descriptive analysis of past use. In par...
Landlord satisfaction levels with agricultural land-leasing agreements are examined with a 1998 sample of Arkansas landowners. Ordered probit models are estimated identifying which factors significantly affect satisfaction levels. Results indicate that the type of lease is not a significant determinant of landlord satisfaction levels. Proportion of...
This paper calculates indices of central bank autonomy (CBA) for 163 central banks as of end-2003, and comparable indices for a subgroup of 68 central banks as of the end of the 1980s. The results confirm strong improvements in both economic and political CBA over the past couple of decades, although more progress is needed to boost political auton...
The hypotheses that endogenous credit constraints based on fluctuating asset values and cash flow prolong and accentuate US cattle cycles; and that more diversified cow-calf firms are less affected by this phenomenon are tested. Breeding cattle inventories are an interesting example to study credit constraints because they are among the most cyclic...
This study tests cropland contract hypotheses utilizing a landlord data set. Ordered probit and classical regression models are estimated and presented identifying factors that affect the contract type selection and terms. Results suggest credit constraints are a viable land-leasing hypothesis. Risk aversion, managerial ability, and social capital...
I modify the uniform-price auction rules in allowing the seller to ration bidders. This allows me to provide a strategic foundation for underpricing when the seller has an interest in ownership dispersion. Moreover, many of the so-called "collusive-seeming" equilibria disappear.
The paper assesses the farm financial problems in the Slovak Republic and provides recommendations for improving the situation. Although positive changes have occurred in the financing of agriculture in the Slovak Republic since becoming an independent country in 1993, problems still remain. Many farms remain unprofitable, farms still have old debt...
The study identifies farm operator and economic characteristics explaining variation in FSA guaranteed loan loss claims rates. Regression models using state-level data are estimated. Debt-to-asset ratios, interest rates, off-farm income and bank loan-to-asset ratios explain FO loss rates. Farm size and bank loan-to-asset ratios are important to OL...
Theoretically, leasing and debt are thought to be substitutes. This assumes that a lease payment, which is a fixed obligation like a loan, displaces debt and reduces debt capacity, i.e., if firms have optimal debt to equity ratios, then, to the extent that it represents "off-balance-sheet" financing, leasing reduces debt capacity. Ang and PetersonÃ...
In an era of rapid consolidation in banking, the effect of mergers on the availability of credit to agricultural businesses is unclear. Commercial bank mergers have profoundly altered the urban credit marketplace and are positioned to do the same for the agricultural credit marketplace. Adjustment models are estimated with data on independent bank...
A recurrent topic in the macroeconomic literature is the financial accelerator—the notion that informational asymmetries introduce
inefficiencies to financial markets which amplify and propagate the effects of real or monetary shocks. With the purpose of
finding empirical evidence that is consistent with a financial accelerator operating in the cat...
We search for evidence consistent with the notion that endogenous credit constraints play a role in cattle cycles. Beef cow inventories are found to be more sensitive to credit constraints during periods of falling than rising asset values. Inventories of heifer replacements exhibit only weak sensitivity to credit constriants during periods of fall...
The sensitivity of farm inventory investment to movements in cash flow is tested. Inventories should be sensitive to shifts in cash flow because inventory investment is readily reversible and inventories are a significant portion of assets. Investment models estimated with Kansas farm panel data indicate that: (a) farms absorb internal finance shoc...
Using a 1997 survey of Arkansas farm operators, Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform (FAIR) Act impacts on changes
in cropping mixes on leased land, operator attitudes concerning the sharing of FAIR Act benefits with landlords, and changes
in leasing arrangements due to the FAIR Act are investigated. Operators indicated that the FAIR Act cau...
Changes in commercial bank market shares of farm debt are decomposed into portfolio decisions loanable funds availability and loan market size for 64 counties in Arkansas from 1986 through 1990. A seemingly unrelated regression model is hypothesized to identify county characteristics that are related to changes in commercial bank market shares. Reg...
A dual cost function approach is developed as an alternative to time series and simplistic approaches for estimating farmers' expected operating rates of return on assets. A translog restricted cost function is estimated using data provided by 152 North Carolina dairy farmers over the period 1976 through 1986. The predicted costs from the fitted re...
Regression models of Farm Service Agency borrower net worth, debt-to-asset ratio, and loan servicing actions over an average seven-year period following loan origin-ation are estimated to identify determinants of borrower financial progress over time. Results show significantly increasing net worth and debt-to-asset ratio. The change in net worth i...