Examining intensity of conservation practice adoption: Evidence from cover crop use on U.S. Midwest farms

•Dichotomously measured adoption of cover crops is increasing in the United States.•Most of these adoptions are in the trialing phase–on a small portion of farm acres.•Internalization of external benefits is likely needed for widespread adoption.•Alternatives for internalizing external cover crop be...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Food policy Vol. 101; p. 102054
Main Authors: Thompson, Nathanael M., Reeling, Carson J., Fleckenstein, Michelle R., Prokopy, Linda S., Armstrong, Shalamar D.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier Ltd 01-05-2021
Subjects:
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:•Dichotomously measured adoption of cover crops is increasing in the United States.•Most of these adoptions are in the trialing phase–on a small portion of farm acres.•Internalization of external benefits is likely needed for widespread adoption.•Alternatives for internalizing external cover crop benefits are numerous. Growing interest in sustainability of food production has put pressure on producers to examine their production practices. In particular, farmers’ use of conservation practices is receiving increasing attention. Previous studies evaluating conservation practice adoption have routinely treated adoption as dichotomous – a farm has either adopted a practice or not. However, for many practices, adoption is more accurately measured in terms of intensity, or extent, of implementation. In this study we examine the factors associated with the intensity of cover crop implementation on U.S. Midwest farms using a two-part hurdle model, which allows for dichotomous adoption and intensity of implementation to be explained by separate processes. Results indicate the factors associated with the initial adoption decision are notably different from those associated with the intensity of implementation. Therefore, to achieve sustainability and conservation goals those influencing conservation decisions must be careful to develop strategies and policies that not just address concerns or remove barriers to initial adoption, but also clearly provide a path towards feasible implementation on a larger portion of farm acres.
ISSN:0306-9192
1873-5657
DOI:10.1016/j.foodpol.2021.102054