This CAST report provides policymakers, community leaders, and farmers with a guide to help weigh the advantages and disadvantages of contract farming and other forms of vertical coordination in agriculture. The report analyzes how vertical coordination in the food chain can change rural communities that have farming-dependent economies. The report also addresses the role of electronic commerce in rural development. Authors: Cornelia Flora, North Central Regional Center for Rural Development, Iowa State University, Ames, and Luther G. Tweeten, Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Developmental Economics, The Ohio State University, Columbus.

R137, March 2001, ISBN 887383-19-0, 40 pp., Available free online and in print (fee for shipping/handling).