Farmland Preservation Programs and the Importance of Rural Amenities

The analyses reported on in this chapter provide a broader and different perspective in exploring the relationship of farmland protection programs and rural amenities than previously published research. They supplement existing studies in the literature that use survey data from a limited geographic area to assess public preferences over goals or willingness to pay to protect farmland. Our findings imply farmland preservation programs may protect a wide variety of amenities. However, variation in the design of PDR programs is not easily explained by factors that are likely to characterize areas with farmland losses. This suggests that different amenities may be provided by or favored even in areas facing similar threats to their farmland bases