@article{Hottel:307617,
      recid = {307617},
      author = {Hottel, J. Bruce and Reinsel, Robert D},
      title = {Returns to Equity Capital by Economic Class of Farm   },
      address = {1976-08},
      number = {1473-2020-1332},
      series = {Agricultural Economic Report No. 347},
      pages = {70},
      year = {1976},
      abstract = {Estimates of returns to equity capital invested in U.S.  farm  production are developed by using 1970 census  benchmark data, which are the latest data available on farm  finance.  The rate of returns ranged from negative on farms  with less than $10,000 gross farm sales to near 7 percent  on the largest economic class farms.  Only one-third of the  farms had gross sales over $10,000, but accounted for 71  percent of all assets and earned returns above the  composite average of 2.1 percent.  This illustrates the  problem inherent in using a composite average for  "all  farms" to represent the entire industry.  The importance of  off-farm income and additional returns to equity due to  land appreciation probably explains why smaller farm units  can exist on low farm returns.  The difference in returns  may help explain the increase in farm size,  particularly  for commercial units.  Demands for loan funds will also  substantially increase with the upward mobility in size  classes and the tendency for larger farms to incur more  debts.  Higher capital requirements on larger units could  also bring more equity financing in agriculture.},
      url = {http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/307617},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.307617},
}