• Chair's Message
• Summary of Reports
• Presentation PowerPoint Slides
• Conservation Crossroads Presentation

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Top 10 Design Elements to Achieve More Efficient Conservation Programs
Prof. David Zilberman, University of California at Berkeley and Prof. Kathleen Segerson, University of Connecticut

This paper examines how conservation programs for agriculture provide significant social and environmental benefits. However, given budget constraints and pressures to increase production, Conservation programs must further evolve to maximize effectiveness at the lowest possible cost to the American taxpayer. This paper provides a "Top 10" list of improvements that could be made to Conservation programs in order to get the biggest bang for the buck, both for taxpayers and the environment.
[ Click to download PDF ]

Economic and Environmental Effects of Agricultural Insurance Programs
Prof. Daniel A. Sumner, University of California at Davis and Prof. Carl Zulauf, Ohio State University

This paper observes that over the past decade crop insurance has evolved into the largest subsidy among U.S. farm programs. With the impending elimination of direct payments, crop and revenue insurance and the related "shallow loss programs" will be even more important, especially for program commodities. However, agricultural insurance programs stimulate production of the more subsidized crops and likely result in less diversification of crops, expanded planting on marginal land, and increased potential for adverse environmental effects of farming.
[ Click to download PDF ]

Examining the Relationship of Conservation Compliance & Farm Program Incentives
Prof. Otto Doering, Purdue University and Katherine Smith, American Farmland Trust

This paper reviews the historical context of the Conservation Compliance farm program, and its impact on both farmers and civil society. The paper discusses the incentive structure of the modern Conservation Compliance system and highlights the risks and dynamics associated with changing this structure.
[ Click to download PDF ]

Implications of a Reduced Conservation Reserve Program
Prof. JunJie Wu and Prof. Bruce Weber of Oregon State University

This paper provides an analysis of the economic and environmental impacts of a reduced Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). The current context of federal budget constraints coupled with historically high commodity prices has led to scrutiny of the program. However, the paper points out that there should be an equally robust discussion of the macro-economic relationships between strong conservation reserve programs and economic well-being. Furthermore, the authors examine the historical relationship between the CRP and the conditions of rural communities, recreation and the environment. [ Click to download PDF ]

C-FARE Chair Statement
The Conservation Crossroads in Agriculture: Insight from Leading Economists

Agriculture today faces significant economic, environmental and societal pressures, including shifting growing regions, severe weather events, competition for water access and mounting public awareness and concern over production methods and their ecological and environmental impacts. It is not an overstatement to say that today’s agricultural systems are truly at a crossroads. And nowhere is this crossroads more evident than in our national debate over the role of conservation in agriculture.

That is why the Council on Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics (C-FARE) is launching a critical examination of our existing systems related to conservation. "The Conservation Crossroads in Agriculture" is a set of papers from leading economists examining the current landscape of thinking about the impacts of conservation policies and their associated economic implications.

This informational series is designed to bring forward top-level thinking from esteemed economists in order to inform the current state of knowledge and provide insights so that decision makers have the most reliable, timely and actionable information available to them. The series will inform the debate and highlight the importance of conservation as a major economic issue during the 2012 Farm Bill considerations and beyond. In the area of conservation policy and economics, the changes made in farm policy and associated funding mechanisms will likely have profound effects on our nation’s soil quality, natural habitats, water quality and other critically important ecosystem services for decades to come. Similarly, these changes will also impact livelihoods, farming productivity, and the well-being of rural communities across the country.

We would particularly like to thank the David & Lucile Packard Foundation, The McKnight Foundation and The Walton Family Foundation for their support that made this work possible.

Damona Doye
Chair of C-FARE
Sarkeys Distinguished Professor, and Regents Professor and Extension Economist at Oklahoma State University.

Press Stories

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The Conservation
Crossroads in Agriculture