Conjoint Analysis of Farmers’ Response to Conservation Incentives

David Conner, Jennifer Miller, Asim Zia, Qingbin Wang and Heather Darby
Additional contact information
David Conner: Department of Community Development and Applied Economics, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA
Jennifer Miller: Rutland Area Food and Farm Link, Rutland, VT 05701, USA
Asim Zia: Department of Community Development and Applied Economics, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA
Qingbin Wang: Department of Community Development and Applied Economics, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA
Heather Darby: University of Vermont Extension, Saint Albans, VT 05478, USA

Sustainability, 2016, vol. 8, issue 7, 1-15

Abstract: Environmental degradation threatens the long term resiliency of the US food and farming system. While USDA has provided conservation incentives for the adoption of best management practices (BMPs), only a small percentage of farms have participated in such conservation programs. This study uses conjoint analysis to examine Vermont farmers’ underlying preferences and willingness-to-accept (WTA) incentives for three common BMPs. Based on the results of this survey, we hypothesize that federal cost share programs’ payments are below preferred incentive levels and that less familiar and more complex BMPs require a higher payment. Our implications focus on strategies to test these hypotheses and align incentive payments and other non-monetary options to increase BMP adoption.

Keywords: best management practices; willingness to accept; cover crops; conservation tillage; riparian buffers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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