Economic Benefits of Agricultural Conservation
| dc.contributor.author | Li, Yanggu | en |
| dc.contributor.committeechair | Zhang, Wei | en |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Stephenson, Stephen K. | en |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Chen, Zhenshan | en |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Bosch, Darrell J. | en |
| dc.contributor.department | Economics | en |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-01-08T09:00:28Z | en |
| dc.date.available | 2025-01-08T09:00:28Z | en |
| dc.date.issued | 2025-01-07 | en |
| dc.description.abstract | Agricultural conservation provides a variety of public goods in the form of ecosystem services, such as improvement in water quality. The implementation of conservation practices may mitigate climate-related risks. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), a working agricultural land program in the United States, offers financial and technical support to farmers and ranchers who voluntarily adopt conservation practices. We estimate the economic benefits of EQIP in the rural housing markets of the US. The results suggest that the implementation of agricultural conservation projects increases local housing prices and that the improvement in environmental amenities is mostly capitalized by houses located within 25 miles. We study the effects of EQIP on agricultural production and land value. We find that a 10% increase in EQIP payments made in the previous two years is projected to increase corn yield by 0.03 bushel per acre at the county level in the US. A 10% increase in the previous year's EQIP payments for no-till practices is shown to increase wheat yield by 0.02 bushel per acre and decrease corn yield by 0.02 bushel per acre. We analyze the effects of conservation practices on acreage loss and farm loss. The results indicate that climate-smart payments have statistically significant effects on loss acres and loss cost ratios, such that a 10% increase in the previous year's and previous two years' climate-smart payments would reduce the loss acres of corn by four and seven acres, respectively. Moreover, a 10% increase in the previous year's climate-smart payments would reduce the loss cost ratios of corn by 0.02 percentage point, and the loss cost ratios of soybean by 0.01 percentage point. | en |
| dc.description.abstractgeneral | Conservation programs and practices offer improvements to water quality and other environmental amenities, which are also crucial in addressing climate-related risks. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), a conservation program in the United States, supports farmers and ranchers by providing financial and technical assistance to adopt conservation practices. Our research examines how EQIP impacts rural housing markets, agricultural production, land value, acreage loss, and farm loss. We find that conservation practices cost-shared by EQIP increase local housing prices, and the improvement in environmental amenities is mostly capitalized by houses located within 25 miles. Additionally, our analysis shows that EQIP payments enhance agricultural productivity. For example, 10% increase in EQIP funding over two years leads to a small but measurable increase in corn yields at the county level. We also explore the effects of EQIP payments for specific practices such as no-till practices, which slightly increase wheat yields but decrease corn yields. Beyond agricultural production, EQIP's climate-smart payments reduce the risk of crop losses. For instance, a 10% increase in these payments reduces the loss of corn acreage by four to seven acres and lowers loss cost ratios for corn and soybeans. Overall, our findings highlight the economic benefits of conservation programs and practices. | en |
| dc.description.degree | Doctor of Philosophy | en |
| dc.format.medium | ETD | en |
| dc.identifier.other | vt_gsexam:41813 | en |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10919/123917 | en |
| dc.language.iso | en | en |
| dc.publisher | Virginia Tech | en |
| dc.rights | Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International | en |
| dc.rights.uri | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ | en |
| dc.subject | Agricultural Production | en |
| dc.subject | Best Management Practices | en |
| dc.subject | Climate Change | en |
| dc.subject | Environmental Quality Incentives Program | en |
| dc.subject | Public Goods | en |
| dc.title | Economic Benefits of Agricultural Conservation | en |
| dc.type | Dissertation | en |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Economics, Agriculture and Life Sciences | en |
| thesis.degree.grantor | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | en |
| thesis.degree.level | doctoral | en |
| thesis.degree.name | Doctor of Philosophy | en |