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Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands provide ecosystem service benefits that exceed land rental payment costs

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  • Johnson, Kris A.
  • Dalzell, Brent J.
  • Donahue, Marie
  • Gourevitch, Jesse
  • Johnson, Dennis L.
  • Karlovits, Greg S.
  • Keeler, Bonnie
  • Smith, Jason T.

Abstract

Global demand for commodities prompted the expansion of row crop agriculture in the Upper Midwest, USA with unknown consequences for multiple ecosystem services. The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) was designed to protect these services by paying farmers to retire environmentally sensitive land. Here we assessed whether the benefits provided by CRP's targeted retirement of agricultural land are equal to or greater in value than the cost of rental payments to farmers. We quantified the benefits of CRP lands for reducing flood damages, improving water quality and air-quality, and contributing to greenhouse gas mitigation in the Indian Creek watershed in Iowa. We found that for all assessed scenarios of CRP implementation, the ecosystem service benefits provided by CRP lands exceed the cost of payments to farmers. Expanding CRP implementation under one of three potential scenarios would require an average per-acre payment of $1311 over the life of a 10-year contract but would generate benefits with a net present value of between $1710 and $6401. This analysis suggests that investment in CRP in Indian Creek, and likely in other watersheds in the Upper Midwest, is justified based upon the value of public and private benefits provided by CRP lands.

Suggested Citation

  • Johnson, Kris A. & Dalzell, Brent J. & Donahue, Marie & Gourevitch, Jesse & Johnson, Dennis L. & Karlovits, Greg S. & Keeler, Bonnie & Smith, Jason T., 2016. "Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands provide ecosystem service benefits that exceed land rental payment costs," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 175-185.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoser:v:18:y:2016:i:c:p:175-185
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2016.03.004
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    3. Lu Zhang & Xuehan Lin & Bingkui Qiu & Guoliang Ou & Zuo Zhang & Siyu Han, 2022. "Impact of Value Perception on Farmers’ Willingness to Participate in Farmland Fallow: A Case-Study in Major Grain-Producing Areas of Hubei and Hunan, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-15, January.
    4. Youngho Kim, 2024. "Payments for Ecosystem Services Programs and Climate Change Adaptation in Agriculture," Economics Series Working Papers 1054, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    5. Yu, Zhenning & Yao, Lan & Wu, Mengya, 2020. "Farmers’ attitude towards the policy of remediation during fallow in soil fertility declining and heavy metal polluted area of China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    6. Ram K. Adhikari & Robert K. Grala & Stephen C. Grado & Donald L. Grebner & Daniel R. Petrolia, 2022. "Landowner Satisfaction with Conservation Programs in the Southern United States," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-23, May.
    7. Yan, Haiming & Yang, Huicai & Guo, Xiaonan & Zhao, Shuqin & Jiang, Qun'ou, 2022. "Payments for ecosystem services as an essential approach to improving ecosystem services: A review," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    8. Marc N. Conte & Robert M. Griffin, 2017. "Quality Information and Procurement Auction Outcomes: Evidence from a Payment for Ecosystem Services Laboratory Experiment," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 99(3), pages 571-591, April.
    9. Marc N. Conte & Robert Griffin, 2019. "Private Benefits of Conservation and Procurement Auction Performance," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 73(3), pages 759-790, July.
    10. Xie, Xianxiong & Cui, Yu & Yao, Liuyang & Ni, Qi & Khan, Sufyan Ullah & Zhao, Minjuan, 2022. "Does fallow policy affect rural household income in poor areas? A quasi-experimental evidence from fallow pilot area in Northwest China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    11. Saad, Sandra I. & Mota da Silva, Jonathan & Ponette-González, Alexandra G. & Silva, Marx Leandro Naves & da Rocha, Humberto R., 2021. "Modeling the on-site and off-site benefits of Atlantic forest conservation in a Brazilian watershed," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
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