Large Commercial Producer Survey

Large Commercial Producer Survey

Seeking to bring practical solutions to today’s toughest challenges, the Large Commercial Producer (LCP) Survey is the largest, longest-standing research project from the Purdue University Center for Food and Agricultural Business. The LCP Survey explores the fundamental attitudes of commercial producers and how these attitudes affect buying decisions.

In 1993, the Purdue University Center for Food and Agricultural Business research team began conducting the Large Commercial Producer Survey every five years. With the survey’s eminent value quickly realized, agribusiness organizations pushed for more current data. As a result, the survey is now conducted every four years, with the next research insights available in late 2021.

The LCP Survey provides a comprehensive profile of farms and ranches owned and managed by commercial producers, including their demographics, size, scope, technology, economic characteristics, attitudes and future plans. Additionally, it establishes a valuable understanding of commercial producers’ decision-making processes and how these processes have changed over time. It also assesses the implications of these findings as they apply to the marketing strategies of input suppliers.

View 2021 Large Commercial Producer Survey

Project objectives:

  • Provide a comprehensive profile of the farms and ranches owned and managed by commercial producers, including demographics, size, scope, technology, economic characteristics, attitudes and future plans.
  • Develop a better understanding of the decision-making processes of commercial producers.
  • Obtain up-to-date information on high-priority topics such as precision agriculture, specialty crop production and contractual relationships.
  • Assess the implications of the findings as they apply to the marketing strategies of input suppliers.

The Center for Food and Agricultural Business research team uses information gathered from the LCP to develop and present insights about producer behaviors, which result in strategic opportunities for agribusiness companies and professionals. The team distributes these insights in a variety of formats, including written reports, presentations and as a major theme of the National Conference for Food and Agribusiness, hosted bi-annually by Purdue University. Insights from the survey are also available for strategy sessions or as part of custom programs with individual companies.

    Join the LCP Project Consortium

    For nearly three decades, the Large Commercial Producer Survey has been bringing transformative research to the forefront of the food and agribusiness industry; however, a research project of this magnitude that produces such valuable research cannot take place without the powerful partnerships of consortium members. Join us on our persistent pursuit to do it again in 2021.

    Consortium partners have the unique opportunity to associate their company with excellence in agricultural research, align with an elite group of agribusiness organizations and gain industry recognition. For more information about becoming a member of the 2021 LCP Survey Consortium, please email Research Project Manager Masi Keshavarz.

    Additional LCP Research

    For more published research regarding the Large Commercial Producer Survey, click here.

    Webinar Archives

    Archived findings and insights from the 2017 LCP Survey can be viewed here, along with a webinar recording that covered how producers chose to win in the marketplace, steps farmers took to procure farm inputs and farmer attitudes in regard to various risks they faced.