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The US Conservation Reserve Program: The evolution of an enrollment mechanism

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  • Hellerstein, Daniel M.

Abstract

The United States Department of Agriculture’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has evolved from near open enrollment, to competitive enrollment, and now to a mixture of competitive and targeted enrollment. This paper reviews the history of the CRP and the evolution of its enrollment mechanism. I discuss the use of bid caps and the Environmental Benefits Index bid ranking mechanism in the “general” CRP; and the use of highly targeted, but non-competitive, “continuous” CRP. Possible challenges of these designs are discussed, and alternative auction mechanisms are considered that could be more cost effective.

Suggested Citation

  • Hellerstein, Daniel M., 2017. "The US Conservation Reserve Program: The evolution of an enrollment mechanism," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 601-610.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:63:y:2017:i:c:p:601-610
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2015.07.017
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