Flexible Conservation Measures on Working Land

By Andrea Cattaneo, Roger Claassen, Robert Johansson, and Marca Weinberg

Economic Research Report No. (ERR-5) 79 pp, June 2005

The 2002 Farm Bill sharply increased conservation funding and earmarked most of the increase for working-land payment programs (WLPPs). The design and implementation of WLPPs will largely determine 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 WLPP features to illustrate tradeoffs arising from WLPP design and implementation.

Keywords: USMP, environmental simulations, cost-effectiveness, environmental objectives, equity, farm income effects, environmental quality incentives program, EQIP, conservation security program, CSP, environmental benefits index, EBI, ERS, USDA

In this report ...

Chapters are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. If you are having trouble printing the PDF document check Adobe's website for troubleshooting advice, or e-mail us for a free copy of the report.

• Report summary: PDF, 107 KB | HTML

• Abstract, Acknowledgments, Contents, and Summary, 79 Kb
• Chapter 1: Setting the Stage, 91 Kb
• Chapter 2: Designing Voluntary Incentive Payments for Working Land Conservation, 242 Kb
• Chapter 3: Economic and Environmental Impacts of WLPPs, 243 Kb
• Chapter 4: WLPPs in a Broader Policy and Economic Context, 55 kb
• References, 46 Kb
• Appendix: Participation Incentives and Screening: A Graphical Analysis, 316 Kb
• Web Appendix A: Simulating Working-Land Payment Programs, 128 kb
• Web Appendix B: Aggregate Environmental Indices, 128 kb
• Web Appendix C: Conservation Benefits, Installation Costs, and Land Rental Rates, 128 kb

• Entire Document, 914 kb

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Updated date: June 3, 2005