The Economics of Agricultural Information: Factors Affecting Commercial Farmers' Information Strategies in Ohio

TLDR

Information‑seeking behavior is a long‑standing topic in marketing and agribusiness literature. The study empirically examines how Ohio farmers differ in their information strategies and what factors explain these differences. A mail survey of 3,000 randomly selected Ohio farmers was used to collect data on information type, amount, and sources. Four distinct search typologies emerged, with attitudes, sales, experience, internet access, and farm type predicting strategy choice. © 2009 Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

Abstract

Information-seeking behavior is one of the most enduring subjects in the marketing and agribusiness literature. Based on a mail survey of 3,000 randomly selected farmers in Ohio, this study contributes empirical evidence about differences in farmers' information strategies regarding type, amount, and sources of information, and identifies factors that explain the variation in farmers' information search behavior. Farmers split into four distinct search typologies. Farmers' attitudes toward search, farm sales, years farming, Internet access, and farm type were good predictors of search strategies, underscoring the value of the clustering approach for farmer segmentation. Copyright 2009 Agricultural and Applied Economics Association