5 Economic Briefs on Conservation Program Design
Voluntary conservation payment programs must specify who is eligible to receive payments, how much can be received, for what action, and the means by which applicants are selected. Achieving program goals in a cost-effective manner hinges on the choices policymakers and program managers make when answering these questions. A set of five Economic Briefs explores specific design options these decisionmakers face:
2 Economic Briefs on Farm Structure and Economic Well-Being
Several key farm attributes drive the amount of commodity-based assistance received by farmers. Those attributes include land ownership and tenure, as well as current and past production of eligible commodities. But other broad factors also affect how assistance is distributed among households. Over half of farm operators also hold off-farm jobs, and average farm household incomes match or exceed incomes for other U.S. households. These two Economic Briefs examine the role of farm payments in economic well being and the impact of commodity payments on farms and farmers:
Related Links
A Multitude of Design Decisions Influence Conservation Program Performance discusses the design of voluntary conservation programs and the types of decision criteria that encourage farmers to apply and who can participate in the program Amber Waves November 2005.
Financial Assistance to Farmers is Evolving identifies several key farm attributes that drive the amount of commodity-based assistance received by farmers Amber Waves November 2005.
Flexible Conservation Measures on Working Land discusses the design and implementation of working land payment programs and the extent to which environmental goals are achieved and whether they are achieved cost effectively. This report simulates potential environmental gains as well as adjustments in agricultural production, price, and income associated with various Program features (ERR5) 79 pp, June 2005.
Agricultural Income and Finance Outlook reports 2004 net farm sector and farm household income estimates and forecasts for 2005 AIS83, electronic release, November 2005.
Structural and Financial Characteristics of U.S. Farms: 2004 Family Farm Report presents comprehensive information on family and nonfamily farms and important trends in farming, operator household income, farm performance, and contracting (AIB797) 95 pp, March 2005.
Environmental Compliance in U.S. Agricultural Policy: Past Performance and Future Potential discusses the general characteristics of compliance incentives, evaluates their effectiveness in reducing erosion in the program’s current form, and explores the potential for expanding the compliance approach to address nutrient runoff from crop production (AER832) 52 pp, May 2004.
Agri-Environmental Policy at the Crossroads: Guideposts on a Changing Landscape identifies the types of policy tools available and the design features that have improved the effectiveness of current programs. It focuses on issues and tradeoffs that policymakers would face in designing a program of agri-environmental payments (AER794) 72 pp, January 2001.
Economic Valuation of Environmental Benefits and the Targeting of Conservation Programs: The Case of the CRP. The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has broadened its initial focus on reductions in soil erosion to consider other landscape factors that may also be beneficial (AER778) 64 pp, April 1999.
Income, Wealth, and the Economic Well-Being of Farm Households shows that neither change in income for the farm sector nor for any particular group of farm business can be presumed to reflect changes confronting farm households. Farm households draw income from various sources, including off-farm work, other businesses operated and, nonfarm investments (AER812) 77 pp, July 2002.
Farm Structure Briefing Room
Conservation and Environmental Policy Briefing Room
Farm Household Economics and Well-Being Briefing Room
ARMS: Farm Business and Household Data
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