Abstracts of Organized Symposia Teaching Small Business Management Entrepr&eurships: The Emerging Agricultural Economists

s of Organized Symposia Teaching Small Business Management Entrepr&eurships: The Emerging Agricultural Economists and Role of Organizer and Moderator: C. Lynn Fife (University of Vermont) Presenters: C. Lynn Fife (University of Vermont), Michael A. Hudson (Cornell University), and Lbda Lee (University of Connecticut) In recent years, the number of students majoring in agricultural economics programs or enrolling in traditional agricultural economics courses has declined in most departments in the Northeast. This parallels the decline in the number of farms and the number of businesses supplying inputs to, or marketing the output of, the farms in the region. As a result, some departments have changed their focus or downsized their faculties. In the same period, the number of small, nonfarm businesses has increased dramatically. There appears to be a strong demand for entrepreneurship training, which has largely been ignored by business schools. Five years ago the University of Vermont instituted a program in Small Business Management. Seven to ten of the courses in this program are taught within the department. The number of majors has doubled, with 86% of the students choosing the Small Business Management option. Likewise, the number of students taught in the department has nearly doubled, with 81Yo of the enrollments being in Small Business Management courses. Two years ago, Connecticut changed the names (and content) of two of its courses. Agricultural Finance was changed to Small Business Finance and Farm Management was changed to Small Business Management. Enrollments in both courses have approximately tripled with the same instructor. Cornell University offered its first course in Personal Enterprise and Small Business in 1986 to 60 students. Presently the program enrolls over 200 students. Students are exposed briefly to accounting, tax and contract law, marketing, and insurance. They then study small-business case histories and prepare and defend a business plan for a hypothetical small business. Production Agriculture in the Sustainability Era Organizer and Moderator: Gerard D’Souza (West Virginia University) Presenters: James C. Hanson (University of Maryland), Wesley Musser (The Pennsylvania State University), and Gerard D’Souza (West Virginia University) The interactions among technology, profitability, and ecology at the farm level, and the off-farm impacts thereof, are the subject of much recent debate and analysis. The purpose of this symposium was to contribute to a better understanding of this process by exploring emerging issues, supporting evidence, and alternative approaches for the analysis of sustainability issues. Hanson discussed the possible impacts of sustainable agriculture on farm profitability and risk, as well as problems likely to be encountered in the transition from conventional to alternative production systems. He identified research needs such as the need to better determine what constitutes a sustainable system and the need for more farmer surveys to enhance understanding of sustainable cultural practices and their anticipated rate and location of adoption. Musser built on this discussion by addressing additional conceptual and empirical issues. Included in his discussion was a description of how thought in the sustainability area evolved. He presented findings from a recent study, in the process identifying data limitations that could constrain research in sustainable agriculture. In addition, he explored some policy and management myths pertaining to sustainability. D’Souza introduced issues relating to the appropriateness of the existing theoretical framework in analyzing sustainable agriculture problems, as well as the likelihood of adoption of sustainable agriculture. A conclusion was that if sustainable agriculture becomes widely adopted, the existing analytical framework could need substantial revision to become sustainable itself. Audience discussion centered on the possible extent of adoption and resulting impacts on producers’ profits and risk, as well as on more general farm policy, trade, and societal issues as they relate to sustainability. Abstracts of Organized Symposia 215s of Organized Symposia 215 The Infrastructure Problem: Critical Issues for Rural Communities Organizers: John M. Halstead (University of New Hampshire) and Steven C. Deller (University of Maine) Moderator: James C. McConnon, University of Maine Speakers: Steven C. DeUer (University of Maine), Charles H. Goodspeed (University of New Hampshire), and John M. Halstead (University of New Hampshire) Infrastructure provision and financing in the United States has become a problem of major proportions for rural communities. This symposium discussed the nature of these problems and examined possible solutions. Deller pointed out that investment in infrastructure bas been declining over tbe past several decades; this trend has created a barrier to higher rates of growth in economic well-being and overall quality of life in some areas of the country. The relationship of infrastructure to economic growth was also discussed. Goodspeed and Halstead focused on two particular aspects of infrastructure: roads and bridges, and solidwaste management. Goodspeed noted problems encountered at the local level with planning for repair, construction, and maintenance. In particular, roadmaintenance scheduling is crucial; unformnately, cash flow problems in local communities oftefi disrupt the optimal timing of road repairs, resulting in major increases in total system costs. Halstead noted the substantial increases in local costs of solid-waste disposal were charted over the past decade and discussed how some New England communities were responding with alternative management approaches. The difficulties in reaching proposed recycling targets of 40% and above were also discussed. Abstracts of Selected Paperss of Selected Papers “The Impact of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 and the 1983 Social Security Amendments on Farmers. ” Michael Compson and Ron Durst (USDA/ ERS) This paper examines the impact of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 and the 1983 Social Security amendments on average effective tax rates and average tax payments for farmers. It utilizes the 1987 IRS Individual Public Use Tax File to estimate 1987 and 1990 tax rates and burdens. Our results suggest that despite recent reductions in marginal income tax rates, the federal income tax continues to be progressive. However, the regressive nature of the Social Security and self-employment tax greatly reduces the progressivity of the combined federal income and payroll tax burden. For most farmers, combined Social Security and self-employment tax payments exceed federal income