Balancing Challenges of Scale and Scope Economies in the Development of Labor-Saving Technology for Specialty Crop Production

Technology adoption, often considered a fixed cost in the short run, is one of the key reasons why economists often argue for economies of scale in many agricultural operations (Stigler, 1958). Yet to increase the per acre value of an operation, economies of scope are also a common argument when evaluating whole farm enterprises (Fernandez-Cornejo et al., 1992). (See Box 1 for definitions of economies of scale and scope.)