The central thesis of the study is that important elements of entrepreneurial control and decisionmaking are being shifted from farm firms to off-farm businesses and government agencies. A major purpose of this report may be served if the reader becomes aware of what is happening to entrepreneurship and gains an appreciation of the impact of current trends on the future well-being of farm people. Analysis of the limited amount of research on this subject supports the thesis. Three empirical studies of entrepreneurial behavior done elsewhere suggest that about half of select elements of entrepreneurship have been shifted to off-farm firms. Projection of trends and predictions based on observation and reasoning indicate that such shifts in entrepreneurship may accelerate in the future. Examples of elements of entrepreneurship discussed are: Transfer of decisionmaking under production contracts, division of ownership and management under farm leases, mutual sharing of control in farmer cooperatives, assumption of all entrepreneurship by investor corporations, expanding guidance and supervision under farm credit, and shifts in control and decisionmaking under government programs.
