Characterization of farmers’ management practices and strategies: a comparison between Argentine and U.S. farmers

Abstract

This study is a first exploratory approach to identify differences and similarities between U.S. and Argentine farmers’ main management strategies. Considering the importance of agriculture in these countries and the key roles both of them play in agriculture world markets, our findings could help agribusiness industries and policymakers to make well-informed decisions based on a more comprehensive understanding of farmers’ behavior in both countries. Regarding sociodemographic aspects, U.S. farming is more family-operated, farmers are older, and farms are, on average, a smaller scale than in Argentina. The results show that U.S. farmers work more on their own farm compared to Argentine farmers. Regarding the factors considered more important in farm management, Argentine and U.S. farmers are more concerned about costs and productive aspects than about marketing issues or human resources aspects. This study also indicates that farmers in both countries prefer to do most of the farm tasks by themselves.