Conservation on Rented Farmland: Testing Program Design Through a Large-scale Field Trial
- Event Type
- Seminar/Symposium
- Sponsor
- Agricultural and Consumer Economics (ACE)
- Location
- 426 Mumford Hall
- Date
- Sep 29, 2023 12:00 - 1:00 pm
- Speaker
- Chloe Wardropper, Assistant Professor, Illinois Dept NRES
- Views
- 72
- Originating Calendar
- ACE Seminars
Abstract:
Agricultural conservation programs often focus on farm operators when promoting conservation practices. However, much of U.S. farmland is owned by landowners not directly involved in farm operations, i.e., non-operating landowners (NOLs). The Nature Conservancy’s ReThink Soil Health program undertook a large-scale field trial in Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana to assess opportunities for conservation programs designed for NOLs. I will describe findings under the three aims of this project: 1) qualitative interviews and analysis of farmland owners’ and operators’ expressed challenges to implementing conservation on rented land; 2) a messaging experiment to test the effects of different message frames to recruit NOLs into the program (n=41,511); and 3) a randomized controlled trial of NOLs (n=2,225) to assess the relative effects of three interventions on cover crop adoption: information on conservation, adapted lease language, and cash payments.