AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOIL CONSERVATION BEHAVIOR AND FARMLAND CHARACTERISTIC

Agricultural soil loss imposes two types of effects: a decline in the productive potential of farmland; and sediment pollution of adjacent waterways. Erosion is regarded as a problem serious enough to warrant substantial public investment in programs to induce farmers to adopt conservation measures. In spite of the centrality of the farmer as the subject of voluntary conservation programs, little research has been conducted to discover what factors are important in farmers' conservation decisions. The following deficiencies are noted in existing studies on farm-level soil conservation: most research is based on simulation models--few studies have utilized data on actual conservation behavior; many models fail to adequately reflect the dynamic nature of soil erosion, and obscure the relationships between management decisions, soil loss, and soil productivity; and little attention has been given to the influence of farmland characteristics on a farmer's incentives to practice soil conservation.;This research examines the role of soil in the farm enterprise. An attributes approach (originally developed for the consumer theory) emphasizes that soil is valuable not for its own sake, but because of its contributions to crop production. Conservation is one of many routes by which agricultural productivity may be sustained. A model is presented which highlights the interrelationships between economic variables, farmland characteristics, crop production and soil loss, and three decision variables; crop rotation, input use, and conservation effort. The optimality conditions indicate that land characteristics influence the optimal levels of all three choice variables.;Empirical analysis is based on survey and soil map data for 168 Wisconsin farms. Factors from the Universal Soil Loss Equation serve as measures of conservation behavior, the dependent variable. A logit model, estimated by generalized least squares, reveals that topography and erosion vulnerability of farm soils are significant explanatory variables. The data also indicate that farms believe soil loss affects crop yields and land values, and that income, debt status and type of farm operation are all related to use of conservation practices.