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Do Landowners Respond to Land Retirement Incentives? Evidence from the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program

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  • Jordan F. Suter
  • Gregory L. Poe
  • Nelson L. Bills

Abstract

Previous research on incentive responsivness in voluntary land retirement programs has utilized either hypothetical contingent response methods or actual aggregate enrollment data, both of which suffer from potential biases. In this paper, we analyze program participation in the binary-choice setting of the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) using data from six states. Our results suggest that landowners react positively to the incentives that are offered and that increases in onetime incentives, offered at the time of signup, are a more cost-effective means to increase enrollment than increases in the incentives offered on an annual basis.

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  • Jordan F. Suter & Gregory L. Poe & Nelson L. Bills, 2008. "Do Landowners Respond to Land Retirement Incentives? Evidence from the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 84(1), pages 17-30.
    • Handle: RePEc:uwp:landec:v:84:y:2008:i:1:p:17-30
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    Cited by:

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    2. Jordan F. Suter & Kathleen Segerson & Christian A. Vossler & Gregory L. Poe, 2010. "Voluntary-Threat Approaches to Reduce Ambient Water Pollution," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 92(4), pages 1195-1213.
    3. Joshua M. Duke & Robert J. Johnston & Amy L. Shober & Zhongyuan Liu, 2023. "Improving targeting of farmers for enrollment in agri‐environmental programs," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(2), pages 1072-1096, June.
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    5. Rabotyagov, Sergey S. & Lin, Sonja, 2013. "Small forest landowner preferences for working forest conservation contract attributes: A case of Washington State, USA," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 307-330.
    6. Kim, Youngho & Lichtenberg, Erik & Newburn, David, 2022. "Payments and Penalties in Ecosystem Services Programs," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322103, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    7. Louis Sears & Joseph Caparelli & Clouse Lee & Devon Pan & Gillian Strandberg & Linh Vuu & C. -Y. Cynthia Lin Lawell, 2018. "Jevons’ Paradox and Efficient Irrigation Technology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-12, May.
    8. Ingram, Shawn & Belcher, Ken & Hesseln, Hayley, 2023. "Policy development to support ecosystem services on pasture systems in Saskatchewan: A case study," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    9. Xue Xie & Hualin Xie & Cheng Shu & Qing Wu & Hua Lu, 2017. "Estimation of Ecological Compensation Standards for Fallow Heavy Metal-Polluted Farmland in China Based on Farmer Willingness to Accept," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-18, October.
    10. Conte, Marc N. & Jacobsen, Grant D., 2016. "Explaining Demand for Green Electricity Using Data from All U.S. Utilities," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 122-130.
    11. Lindhjem, Henrik & Mitani, Yohei, 2012. "Forest owners’ willingness to accept compensation for voluntary conservation: A contingent valuation approach," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 290-302.
    12. Jayalath, Tharaka A. & Grala, Robert K. & Grado, Stephen C. & Evans, David L., 2021. "Increasing provision of ecosystem services through participation in a conservation program," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    13. Buckley, Cathal & Hynes, Stephen & Mechan, Sarah, 2012. "Operating or not Operating at the Margin: Farmers Willingness to Adopt a Riparian Buffer Zone," Working Papers 148830, National University of Ireland, Galway, Socio-Economic Marine Research Unit.
    14. Wachenheim, Cheryl J. & Lesch, William C. & Dhingra, Neeraj, 2014. "The Conservation Reserve Program: A Literature Review," Agribusiness & Applied Economics Report 164829, North Dakota State University, Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics.
    15. Monger, Randall & Suter, Jordan & Manning, Dale T. & Schneekloth, Joel, 2016. "Explaining Participation in the Colorado Republican River and Nebraska Platte-Republican Resources Area Conservation Reserve Enhancement Programs," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 236061, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    16. Thilo W. Glebe, 2022. "The influence of contract length on the performance of sequential conservation auctions," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 104(2), pages 739-764, March.
    17. Hung-Hao Chang, 2017. "Does A Social Welfare Program Affect Farmland Use? Empirical Evidence Using Administrative Data in Taiwan," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 39(3), pages 441-457.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • Q15 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment
    • Q24 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Land

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