Use of Conservation-Compatible Practices Varies
by Farm Type
Dayton
Lambert
Patrick Sullivan
Bob Nichols, USDA/NRCS
Farm operators have an incentive
to adopt environmentally friendly farming practices
that can increase their profits, but they may be
reluctant to use costly practices that benefit the
environment but do little to improve their bottom
lines. For that reason, USDA offers payments to
farmers based on their adoption of designated conservation
practices. Not all farmers, however, are equally
motivated by conservation program payments.
Operators of small farms and those
who derive most of their income from off-farm occupations
are less likely to adopt practices that require
extra time or expense. Operators of larger operations
and those who have college degrees, receive commodity
program payments, or seek professional advice on
management decisions are more likely to adopt the
management-intensive practices.
Some farm management practices
that benefit the environment onfarm and off-farm
have been widely adopted: conservation tillage,
crop rotation, and use of insect-resistant and herbicide-tolerant
plants. These standard practices
require relatively little from farmers in terms
of new equipment or additional skill. Farms of all
types use these practices to conserve resources,
save time, and reduce labor and input costs without
incurring sizeable conversion costs.
Adoption rates drop, however,
with practices that require more management time
or costly equipment upgrades. Farms that use decision
aids (such as soil testing, pest scouting,
and mapping) and more management-intensive
practices (such as nutrient and pest management
programs, and variable-rate input applications)
must gather and process field-level information
and use farming techniques that may be new. These
practices have the potential to increase farm profits
by optimizing the placement, application rate, and
timing of fertilizers and pesticides, and they are
more likely to be adopted by large farming operations
than by smaller ones.
Nonfinancial motivations of farm
operators may also help explain their tendencies
to adopt conservation practices. For example, small
farm operators heavily involved in off-farm activities
may not have the time to devote to management-intensive
practices.
These findings suggest that program
incentives based solely on financial considerations
may not be as effective or efficient as flexible
incentive structures that recognize other farm operator
goals.
Conservation-Compatible
Practices and Programs: Who Participates?
by Dayton Lambert, Patrick Sullivan, Roger Claassen,
and Linda Foreman, ERR-14, USDA, Economic Research
Service, January 2006.
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