Masters Theses

Date of Award

8-1991

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Agricultural Economics

Major Professor

Larry W. VanTassell

Committee Members

Dan McLemore, Clark Garland

Abstract

The MANAGE program was established in April 1986 by the state legislature working closely with agricultural leaders and the University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service. The major goals of the MANAGE program were to help farm families analyze their farming business, deal more effectively with stress, and assist in family financial planning. The MANAGE program is targeted toward any farm family interested in evaluating its management strategies and alternatives.

The University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service obtained feedback from participants of the MANAGE program to assess the program's effectiveness and how it affects the financial well-being of farm families. A survey collected information on how frequently farmers used the MANAGE program, farmers' perceptions of the program's usefulness, and the value farmers placed on the program. Farmers' socioeconomic characteristics were also solicited in the survey. Additional information not included in the survey was gathered from data available from each area farm management specialist working in the MANAGE program.

A probit model was used to analyze the data. The socioeconomic characteristics were used as independent variables in the probit equations to predict whether a person of a certain type use the MANAGE program, how farmers rated the usefulness of the MANAGE program, and the monetary value farmers attributed to the MANAGE program.

The findings showed that farmers who placed a high monetary value on the program used it more frequently and found its usefulness to be high. Farmers who used the financial long range planning analysis (FINLRB) and monthly cash flow analysis (FINFLO) also used the program more frequently and rated its usefulness as high. A farmer's gross farm income was shown to be negatively related to the program's perceived usefulness, and the farmer's actual financial stress measured by the debt-to-asset ratio was negatively related to the program's use.

Farmers with a high school education, graduate degree, or who perceived their financial stress to be slight, placed a lower monetary value on the MANAGE program, and certain farm types placed a higher value on the program. Farmers with a higher gross farm income also placed a high value on the program. Certain areas where financial decisions were made or options identified were also significantly related to use of the program, how farmers rated its usefulness, and the value they placed upon the MANAGE program.

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