American agriculture, although highly productive, is associated with some serious environmental consequences, such as soil erosion, impaired water quality, and loss of wildlife habitat. The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a federal program designed to reduce environmental consequences of agriculture by encouraging farmers to convert highly erodible farmland into permanent or semi-permanent vegetative cover. In exchange for a ten-year commitment, farmers receive a subsidy payment and cost-share assistance to help establish the vegetative cover. The Conservation Reserve Program has received much attention on environmental grounds, but also has potential effects that have not been investigated previously. Farmers often use federal support programs to mitigate economic uncertainty and contribute to the survival of the farm unit. Because of spatial variability of CRP enrollment, there are economic consequences at various spatial scales. This study will examine how the program affects households in non-metropolitan counties in the central Great Plains. A mailed survey will elicit farmers' perceptions of the effectiveness of the CRP, importance of the subsidies on households, impact on households and communities, obstacles to enrollment, and changes in employment and shopping patterns. A smaller sample of farmers, as well as federal land management professionals, also will be interviewed to develop further insights into the economic effects of the Conservation Reserve Program. The researchers will examine how benefits and consequences vary spatially within the central Great Plains.
The success of a voluntary program like the Conservation Reserve Program depends upon the participation of individual landowners. This project will provide valuable insight into the participants' perceptions of the program as well as the impact of the program on rural landowners' households and communities. By understanding how the program benefits and challenges its participants, policymakers will have more of the needed information to assess the multiple effects of such federal environmental and farm support programs. This will aid in further development of effective, efficient, and equitable federal policies toward multiple goals supporting the environmental, economic, and social sustainability of rural America.
