Heterogeneity in the Likelihood of Market Advisory Service Use by U.S. Crop Producers

Abstract

Analysis of a unique data set of 1,400 U.S. crop producers using a mixture-modeling framework shows that the likelihood of Marketing Advisory Services (MAS) use is, among others, driven by the perceived performance of MAS in terms of return and risk reduction, the match between the MAS and the crop producer's marketing philosophy, and the interaction between them. The influence of these factors on crop producers' MAS usage is not homogeneous across crop producers. The heterogeneity is played out in different MAS choices and appears to be driven by crop producers' risk attitudes. lEconLit citations: D210, D400, L100, L200, M310, Q120, Q130.r © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Agribusiness 21: 109-128, 2005.