Anaerobic digesters can provide renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from manure management. Government policies that encourage digester adoption by livestock operations include construction cost-share grants, renewable electricity subsidies, and carbon pricing (offset) programs. However, the effectiveness and efficiency of these policies is not well understood. For the U.S. dairy sector, we compare predicted digester adoption rates, carbon emission reductions, renewable electricity generation and sales, and net returns and social benefits of several policies. We find that a carbon pricing policy provides the greatest net social benefit for a range of assumptions about the benefits of carbon reductions and renewable energy.

We analyze the impacts of agricultural subsidies on farm-level production decisions and input use under price, yield, and policy uncertainty for a risk-averse farmer. Using U.S. farm-level data and weighted ordinary least squares, we find that decoupled payments had little impact on agricultural chemical expenditures (our proxy for use) when the payments were first introduced in 1996. However, after 2004 there is a positive, significant relationship between decoupled payments and agricultural chemical expenditures. The results suggest that updating, introduced in 2002, and expectations of future updating caused decoupled payments to become coupled to current input use and, ultimately, production.

Wind-borne diseases can spread rapidly and cause large losses. Producers may have little incentive to prevent disease spread because prevention may not be welfare-maximizing. This study proposes a market-based mitigation program that indemnifies producers against disease-related losses and provides an incentive to neighboring producers to take preventive action, which can substantially mitigate infestations, reduce the likelihood of catastrophic losses, and increase social welfare. An equilibrium displacement model simulates introduction of the program for U.S. soybeans. Simulations reveal that the market-based solution contributes to minor market distortions but also reduces social welfare losses and could succeed for other at-risk commodities.

Using a national farm survey, this study estimates a logit model to identify factors affecting U.S. farmers' participation in agritourism. Of the dummy variables, public access to the farm for recreation has the greatest positive impact, followed by farms near central cities, farms in Rocky Mountain and Southern Plains regions, farmers with college education, farmers paying for farm advice, farms organized as partnerships/corporations, farms enrolled in conservation programs, and farmers with access to the internet. Continuous variables affecting participation include acres of owned land, percent of land unsuitable for crops, operator age, and distance to cities. Targeting farms and farmers with these traits can increase the success of agritourism promotion efforts.

This paper analyzes the effect of labeling information on U.S. farmers' herbicide choices. Herbicide choices reported by U.S. soybean farmers are used to estimate farmer preferences for different herbicide attributes using a mixed logit model. Our results indicate that statements displayed on pesticide labels regarding risks to human health and the environment are important components in herbicide selection. We find that farmers are willing to pay an average of $27 per acre to avoid using an herbicide labeled with the word “Warning” and $38 per acre to avoid using an herbicide labeled with the word “Danger.”

Using life cycle assessment methodology, this analysis evaluates how two carbon reduction strategies affect cotton plantings regionally and methods used to produce cotton. Because cotton production emits large amounts of carbon, the design of a reduction policy as either excluding soil sequestration through cap-and-trade or including it through carbon offset is likely to affect the success of the policy. A cap-and-trade program that ignores the amount of carbon cotton would sequester in the soil during its life cycle could increase net emissions by rewarding producers whose crops emit limited carbon directly but also sequester little carbon in the ground.

This study estimates the impact of carbon offset payments on land use choices, net producer returns, and carbon sequestration. Loblolly pine is added to traditional cropping choices as a designated carbon-sequestering crop. With a carbon offset price of $15 per ton, pine enters land use on 10 percent of pasture acres. At $30, loblolly pine significantly increases in acreage in areas traditionally planted in row crops. The analysis suggests that the addition of pine as a carbon-sequestering crop can affect land use, add to producer returns, and sequester additional carbon relative to producer choice sets that exclude pine.

This study investigates reasons for adoption of best management practices (BMP), crawfish farmers' participation in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), and economic impacts of BMP adoption using data from a 2008 survey of crawfish producers. Most-cited reasons for BMP adoption are farmers' perceptions of increases in profit and long-run productivity. Land tenancy, education, double-cropping or crop rotation, and proximity to a stream influence EQIP participation. Perceptions of economic profits depend on the practices used. Participation in EQIP negatively impacts farmers' perceptions of profitability from adopting BMPs. The results underscore the importance of economic incentives in promoting BMP adoption.

Consumers rely on experience and credence attributes when purchasing beef from retailers. It is essential for all beef industry sectors to recognize the complexity of consumer buying behavior. A hedonic model is estimated to determine if there are incentives to brand beef steaks, the types of brands that entertain price premiums, and the level of existing premiums. Most branded steaks garnered premiums along with organic claims, religious processing claims, and premium cuts. Factors influencing brand value were new brands targeting emerging consumer trends, brands with regional prominence, and brands positioned as special label, program/breed specific production, and store labels.