Flexible Conservation Measures on Working Land

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

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

In this publication...

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