Vegetable Crops Hotline A newsletter for commercial vegetable growers prepared by the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service

Farm Management


How does culture play into the success of the family farm? Family farms can measure success and value in a number of ways, whether objective (for example, income) or subjective (for example, the perceived success of business owners; working with family members). We believe that when family businesses practice a culture of collaboration, they will…Read more about Farm Success and Creating a Culture of Collaboration[Read More]


Financial stress is the psychological strain that results from concerns about one’s financial situation. For farm households, this strain is not incidental; it is a measurable and prominent feature of agricultural life. Most agricultural economists use financial ratios and/or profitability to measure farm financial stress. The financial stress measure used for this article, the APR…Read more about Farming and Financial Stress[Read More]


Introduction Competitive advantage can result from product differentiation or from being a low-cost producer. A low-cost producer, as the term implies, strives to have below average per unit costs while receiving at least average product prices. A farm pursuing product differentiation, on the other hand, strives to obtain above average unit product prices while maintaining…Read more about Evaluating a Farm’s Competitive Position[Read More]