| Delmarva corn farmers were surveyed to assess their willingness to adopt High Available Phosphorus (HAP) corn. HAP corn would allow poultry to utilize more phosphorus in the diet, which could reduce phosphorus pollution. A conjoint analysis was used to model the adoption path of potential HAP varieties over a three year period. The survey also collected information on farmer demographics, farm characteristics, and farmer knowledge and preferences. Some of these variables were incorporated in the final model to explain the discrepancies among farmers.;The results indicated that an optimal HAP corn variety would have a low technology fee, a low yield drag, and a high harvest premium. Assuming farmers do not incur financial losses, the study suggests that HAP corn adoption will increase over time. However, in the hypothetical HAP corn scenarios farmers were less tolerant of negative aspects, such as technology fees and yield drag, as time progressed. The study also found that certain groups of farmers, such as those with high soil phosphorus levels, may be more inclined to adopt HAP corn. This higher willingness to pay for HAP corn sometimes manifests itself as a higher tolerance for negative characteristics. Farmers with lower levels of education were less sensitive to increases in HAP technology fees and yield drags. Older farmers also appeared to be more tolerant of yield drags associated with HAP corn. Aside from differences in adoption resulting from the underlying characteristics of HAP corn, the farmers' adoption of HAP corn seemed to be affected by the farm size, the portion of farm income from corn, and the use of a computer for financial management. |
