Economic concentration in agricultural magazine publishing: 1993-2002

Agriculture in the United States is a $200+ billion industry and more than 200 magazines serve it. In this study, I analyzed their advertising revenues from 1993 to 2002 to examine economic concentration by publishing company. A concentration ratio (CR; Bain, 1951) measure (CR4) indicated a tight oligopoly. The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI; Scherer & Ross, 1990) showed moderate concentration. but a regression analysis did not show a significant relation between HHI data and average advertising rates. I suggest changes in the agricultural marketplace, new, technology and alternative advertising channels as restraints on the effects of concentration.