The name is absent

as well as volatility and other risk elements.
The future is less clear with respect to the
development of agricultural equity markets
and the provision of financial expertise and
services to agricultural managers.

Environmental and structural change place
tremendous stress on the financial skills of
agricultural production managers. The short
run critical problem for leveraged managers
is financial survival in the face of disinflation
involving shrinking asset values, depressed
commodity prices, and the apparent necessity
of shrinking aggregate production capacity.
How this crisis period is managed in the
aggregate will, to a large extent, dictate fu-
ture options.

Finance is one of the areas that has been
endured with benevolent neglect in many
land-grant institutions. Thus, it is not clear
that the expertise exists to provide the re-
search and education base for dealing with
the current financial stress in agriculture.
Over the longer run, a broad based program
of finance research and teaching should be
a priority concern. Apparently, the bio-tech-
nology (land based “star war” equivalent) is
receiving strong emphasis. Although tangible
applied results are unlikely in this decade or
even this century, bio-technology is likely to
generate major shifts in relative resource and
product prices, thus putting even greater
stress on the financial management function.

The manner in which financial expertise
is made available in agriculture is uncertain
and yet to be determined. It may be via the
conventional extension structure. An alter-
native may be via independent consulting
firms or by employees of financial institu-
tions. Emergence of more agricultural pro-
duction firms organized by financially oriented
(vs. husbandry) individuals and groups may
also be seen. Still another possibility may
be an equity market-financial management
package.

REFERENCES

Barry, Peter J. Impacts of Financial Stress and Regulatory Forces on Financial Markets
for Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Committee, Report No. 1, National Planning
Assoc., Report No. 204, 1984.

Farm Credit System. “The Financial Markets and Institutions in the Financial Industry in
1995.” Project 1995: The Farm Credit System; June, 1984(a).

Farm Credit System. “A Look to the Future.” Project 1995: The Farm Credit System; June,
1984(b).

Feldstein, Martin. “Why the Dollar is Strong.” Challenge, 26(1984):37-41.

Lieblich, Mark S. “Issues in the Identification and Measurement of Credit Subsidies.” U.S.
Department of Agriculture, 1985.

Lins, David A. and Peter J. Barry. “Agency Status for the Cooperative Farm Credit System.”
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign₁ 1984.

Melichar, Emmanuel. “A Financial Perspective on Agriculture.” Federal Reserve Bulletin-,
January, 1984.

Melichar, Emmanuel. “Farm Wealth: Origins, Impact, and Implications for Public Policy.”
W. I. Myers Memorial Lecture, Dept, of Agri. Econ., Cornell Univ.; October 26, 1983.

Melichar₁ Emmanuel and RaymondJ. Doll. Capital and Credit Requirements of Agriculture,
and Proposals to Increase Availability of Bank Credit, Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System, 1969∙

Phipps₁ Tim T. “Land Prices and Farm-Based Returns.” Amer. J. Agr. Econ., 66(1984):422-
9.

Plaxico₁ James S. “Implications of Divergence in Sources of Return in Agriculture.” Amer.
J. Agr. Econ., 61(1979):1,098-1,102.

Plaxico, James S. “The Current State of the Agricultural Economy in Perspective.” Dept, of
Agri. Econ., Oklahoma State Univ.₁ AE 8266; November, 1982.

Plaxico, James S. and Darrel D. KIetke. “The Value of Unrealized Farm Land Capital Gains.”
Amer. J. Agr. Econ., 61(1979):327-30.

USDA. Agricultural Finance, Economic Research Service, USDA, AFO-25; December, 1984.

Ill

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