Agricultural Conservation


Book Description




The Economic Impact of the Kentucky Green River Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP).


Book Description

This study examines the impact of the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) on fourteen Kentucky counties. The CREP program is an advancement of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) which began nationally in 1985. The primary intention of both programs is to improve water quality and reduce soil erosion. Thus, in order to stimulate conservation efforts, farmers are given an opportunity to remove land from current production and still reap financial benefits. When CREP was introduced to Kentucky in 2002, the program provided far more lucrative incentives than the parent program. In 2007 CREP underwent an amendment process that broadened the definition of eligible land and enhanced financial benefits. Economic theory would suggest that, holding everything else constant, increasing financial benefits and initiating incentives should increase the acreage enrollment. My specific goal is to determine if the enhanced program has had the theoretically and statistically predicted positive affect on acreage enrollment. Preliminary results suggest that in fact there was a statistically significant increase in the mean number of acres enrolled in conservation programs in Kentucky after 2002. A complete economic analysis includes both costs and benefits, thus water quality and erosion data are needed. These data are not accessible because of the newness of the program, but will provide a great avenue for continual research.







Flexible Incentives for the Adoption of Environmental Technologies in Agriculture


Book Description

Flexible Incentives for the Adoption of Environmental Technologies in Agriculture identifies and structures more flexible economic incentives for the achievement of environmental goals in agriculture. It provides a conceptual framework and presents case studies that analyze how flexible incentives can address environmental problems that are caused by agricultural production. The book brings together economists, agency personnel and political economists for the purpose of exploring how new cutting-edge economic tools could be developed and applied to environmental problems. The goal of the book is to complement and to expand the economic theory of environmental regulation and technology adoption with new research findings. The key theme of this book is the important role technology takes when addressing environmental problems. New technologies and technical development are broadly defined to include economic instruments, innovative ways to communicate environmental information, new economic institutions, and education. This book is designed for public and private policymakers, government analysts, teachers, researchers and students who specialize in the fields of natural resources, agricultural economics and environmental regulation. It provides a fresh perspective on what types of incentives may be used to lead us to the desired environmental outcomes and offers new ideas about the types of economic instruments that may achieve these outcomes.











Book Description




Oversight of the Conservation Reserve Program


Book Description