We study the relationship between the off-farm labor decision and the limited-resource farmers' and spouses' off-farm wages, experience, education, and sources of income. We found that farmers' and spouses' off-farm experience and wages are significant factors in explaining the off-farm labor supply decision. Contrary to expectations, farm income variability is not significant in the farmers' and spouses' decision to seek off-farm work. The off-farm labor supply of farmers and their spouses is negatively correlated with income transfers from the government. It was also found that the spouse is a residual supplier of on-farm and off-farm labor.

A dynamic optimization model is used to compare the profitability of silvopasture with traditional cattle ranching in south Florida. Silvopasture can reduce phosphorus runoff from cattle ranching—a major environmental concern for Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades. Silvopasture can also sequester carbon, thereby offsetting global climate change. The effectiveness of phosphorus runoff taxes and carbon sequestration payments for inducing landowners to adopt silvopasture is investigated. We find that phosphorus taxes alone would not induce landowners to adopt silvopasture. However, payments to landowners to sequester carbon, alone or in conjunction with phosphorus runoff taxes, can make silvopasture financially competitive with traditional ranching.

“Multifunctionality” emphasizes the benefit externality properties of nonfood products that coincide with agricultural commodity production, some of which also have public-good properties. However, determining the willingness to pay for local benefit externalities is seen as necessary but daunting. This paper pursues the idea that the valuation process might first start by estimating the incentives required to supply various levels of a benefit externality. With the use of carbon sequestration through the adoption of no-till cultivation as an example of a multifunctional benefit externality, mathematical programming is used to derive representative price schedules. The implication for incentive prices are examined in light of risk aversion.