An Analysis on Managerial Factors That Affect Farm Income in Lake County, South Dakota

There is a considerable difference in income among farmers. It is generally assumed that the level of farm income is related to the degree of managerial success. Managerial success is a composite of successes in carrying out 6 managerial steps: problem recognition, observation, analysis, decision-making, action-taking, and responsibility acceptance. Questions then arise as to where the failures occur in the decision-making process and why they occur. Locating and explaining the reasons for these failures may help increase the income of some farm operators. The general aim of this study was to analyze relationships between the performance of selected managerial functions and the level of farm income. Based on this analysis, recommendations were to be made for increasing farm income by improving the performance of managerial functions. The general hypothesis can be presented in mathematical form as follows: Y = F (X1, X2, X3) where Y is the level of farm income, X1 is the amount of managerial success as estimated by varying degrees of problem recognition, X2 is the amount of managerial success as estimated by amount of observation and analysis, and X3 consists of the factors affecting the final decision