Contract Farming and Vertical Integration in Agriculture

Book excerpt: Contract farming and other forms of vertical integration are among the most potent forces in our agriculture today. Integration may vitally affect the role of farmers in our agricultural economy by shifting to others their responsibilities as managers. Farmers themselves can largely determine the extent to which their management decisions are controlled by other firms. If farmers continually seek to improve their production and marketing methods and the quality of their products, there will be less need for contract farming.