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LA and uncertainty are pervasive phenomena in production agriculture. Many factors, including weather events, diseases, insect infestations, general economic conditions, the development and adoption of technological innovations, and public and private institutional policies.,interact to create a unique decision making environment for the agricultural producer. General economic conditions in the economy, particularly the inflation rate, have increased prices paid by farm operators for operating inputs and capital equipment, but have had relatively little impact on prices received for products produced in the atomistic, decreasing cost agricultural industry. Rapid increases in input costs have squeezed net returns, created cash flow problems and increased the vulnerability of the firm to financial disaster. Institutions and the uncertainty surrounding the development and implemntation of their policies have become increasingly portant to farm operators. A few years ago, farmers were primarily concerned with the policies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture-the nature of the new farm program, set aside acreage and support price levels. They are still concerned with USDA policy. However, today, perhaps to a greater extent than they would like, producers must respond to energy policy which affects the availability and cost of

As farm management education programs evolve to serve business‐oriented farm firms, planning, implementation, and control functions become major areas of emphasis. Integration of three computerized management tools—a budget generator, a management game, and LP‐FARM—in a farm management course provided students with practical experience in each management function.

Stocker cattle operations are an important part of the nation's cattle industry. Many producers do not realize the profit potential in new technological advances, and some feed their cattle on uneconomic planes of nutrition. Stocker cattle producers can benefit from results of animal science and agronomic research if they are presented in a framework suited to use in decision-making. Analyses prepared by agricultural economists often ignore many of the factors determining gain because of lack of data and complexity of the relationships. Thus, a system for economic analysis that accounts for more factors and improves growth predictions would be highly useful. The purpose of this study is to develop and provide computerized analytical procedures to estimate physical and economic results of alternative stocker production systems.

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An implicit theme of industrialization in agriculture has run throughout much of the literature in agricultural economics since 1950. Maybe we have been lulled by the future tense used in the literature. Industrialization is here and much of the process has taken place without an update on patterns of thought or assessment of implications for present or future agricultural business environment. Possibly, those of us in agricultural economics research, teaching or extension at land grant colleges have undergone much less impact and reorientation than those we serve, and, theoretically, lead in thought.

Economic logic and empirical observation suggest that increasing numbers of part-time farms can have important implications for organization of agricultural production and development of rural areas. Production relationships on part-time farms may differ because:1) Farm operators working off the farm may organize resources and respond to price changes differently than full-time operators;2) Part-time operators may have different demand functions for production inputs, particularly land and labor, and3) Part-time operators may achieve different levels of efficiency than their full-time counterparts.