ABSTRACT
Government programs greatly complicate computations of farm production costs and returns. B. F. Stanton and Otto Doering argue that a proper accounting of the costs and benefits associated with government farm programs is important to developing estimates of costs and returns that will be useful to both producers and policymakers. Stanton and Doering both point out that an accounting of the "true" costs and returns associated with government farm programs must include a variety of effects typically omitted. A measure of total social costs and returns might contribute to a proper assessment of the true value of government farm programs, but the need to identify and estimate many unobservable factors will make it difficult for the profession to agree on any single measure. Government policies mean that the prices paid to farmers for corn vary greatly across countries. If government policies changed and Argentine market prices increased, production levels and marginal production costs would also be likely to increase.
