Farm financial structure

The structure of U.S. agriculture is a topic of relevance to farmers, policy makers, farm organizations, and academics. Over the last century, farm financial structure issues have become extremely important as the United States moved from an agrarian economy to a more industrialized one. Traditionally analyzed topics such as optimal capital structure, equity capital markets, entry into production agriculture by beginning farmers, and tax issues remain important. Societal effects caused by changing farm financial structure and the effect on the rural landscape are issues needing further research. Finally, research is needed on farm financial structure changes in other regions of the world that may affect the competitiveness of U.S. agriculture.