摘要：Exploring the determinants of capital structure among agribusiness firms is important for several key reasons. One is that scant attention has been directed toward U.S. agribusiness or, specifically, to U.S.-based food firms. Many researchers have revisited the theory of corporate capital structure since Modigliani and Miller’ s (MM) groundbreaking 1958 paper. Since the MM analysis, numerous competing theories of capital structure choice have emerged.2 These theoretical efforts have been supported by considerable empirical research. Several studies have applied these theories to the financial structure of U.S. farm businesses (Barry, Bierlen, and Sotomayor; Ahrendsen, Collender, and Dixon; Jensen and Langemeier; Gwinn, Barry, and Ellinger). However, modest research attention has extended beyond the farm gate to downstream firms.
