| Title: | Farmer preferences for conservation incentives that promote voluntary phosphorus abatement in agricultural watersheds |
| Authors: | Palm-Forster, L.H., S.M. Swinton and R.S. Shupp |
| Year: | 2017 |
| Journal: | Journal of Soil and Water Conservation |
| Volume (Issue): | 72(5) |
| Pages: | 493-505 |
| Article ID: | |
| DOI: | 10.2489/jswc.72.5.493 |
| URL (non-DOI journals): | |
| Model: | SWAT |
| Broad Application Category: | pollutant only |
| Primary Application Category: | BMP and/or cropping system assessment |
| Secondary Application Category: | economic assessment |
| Watershed Description: | Maumee River, which drains portions of northwest Ohio, northeast Indiana and southeast Michigan to the western part of Lake Erie, U.S. |
| Calibration Summary: | |
| Validation Summary: | |
| General Comments: | |
| Abstract: | Financial incentives are commonly used to promote voluntary adoption of agricultural
best management practices (BMPs), but little is known about farmer preferences among
alternative incentives. Using experimental procurement auctions, we evaluate how different
conservation incentives affect farmer willingness to adopt BMPs that reduce phosphorus (P)
runoff, a major driver of harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie. We rank incentives (e.g., payment,
BMP insurance, tax credit, and certification price premium) by the cost per pound of
P runoff reduction. Payments and tax credits that target high impact areas of the watershed
are more cost-effective than untargeted price premiums for product certification. Farmers
demand higher payments for contracts offering BMP insurance (i.e., protection against yield
loss from BMP use) due to uncertainty about how the program will be implemented and the
reliability of indemnities, as well as anticipated transaction costs associated with the program.
Understanding farmer preferences for different types of conservation incentives is critical to
design agri-environmental programs that engage more farmers and cost-effectively enhance
ecosystem services. |
| Language: | English |
| Keywords: | agri-environmental policy—best management practice (BMP) insurance—harmful
algal blooms—Lake Erie—payments for environmental services (PES)—reverse auctions |