Predicted enrollment in alternative attribute Conservation Reserve Program contracts

The Conservation Reserve Program is the most widely implemented land retirement program in the United States, costing nearly $1 billion annually and idling approximately 9% of U.S. cropland. To ensure the program continues to be effective in meeting its conservation objectives and also fiscally responsible, an understanding of motivations of potential enrollees is needed. This paper investigates farmer and rancher preferences for the program’s contract attributes including payment, length, government cost-share, degree of payment readjustment, and flexibility in land use. A discrete choice experiment was used to elicit farmer preferences. Willingness to enroll was estimated using a mixed order logit model. Including farmer and farm characteristics and farmer perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors as explanatory variables in the estimation allowed for explicit consideration of farmer/rancher heterogeneity. For example, to investigate whether those raising livestock value specific contract attributes differently than those not raising livestock. Landowners preferred shorter contracts, higher rental payment and cost share, a mid-contract adjusted payment and more flexible land use. Those living on the farm, older, having participated in CRP previously, and male were more willing to enroll in the program. Those raising grazing livestock or who had participated in working lands programs were less likely to enroll. A greater understanding of what motivates farmer participation in longer-term conservation programs will help inform consideration of programs in the U.S. and throughout the world.