AN EMPIRICAL-ANALYSIS OF PARTICIPATION IN US GOVERNMENT FARM PROGRAMS

Factors affecting the participation of individual Kansas farms in government programmes are considered. A sample drawn from over 1600 Kansas farms for nine years is used in the context of a simultaneous equation Tobit regression to investigate the effects of various factors on the probability and expected level of participation in farm programmes. The results suggest that differences in farm sizes, incomes, types and farming practices influence participation in government programmes. Small, sole-proprietor, livestock operations with low debt levels receive the lowest levels of support. Conversely, large corporate crop farms receive the highest levels of government support.