A binary choice model was used to identify the attributes that influence irrigation district adoption of conservation rate structures. Using principles of rate design and irrigation district administration as a framework, measures of irrigation district rate structure objectives and physical and...

A cost-effectiveness frontier is developed to compare economic and environmental tradeoffs associated with planting a riparian buffer to reduce stream temperature at the watershed scale. Results indicate that total welfare change and its distribution among sectors vary between scenarios. The...

The levels and risk-free nature of rice market transition payments associated with the FAIR Act of 1996 have encouraged many rice landowners to reconsider their tenure contracts. A methodology for comparing landowners' decision to "self-operate" versus "rent to a tenant" is presented.

We apply two innovative econometric approaches to crop trials data to examine effects of rotations and fertilizer use on dynamics of soil quality and corn yields. First, we develop a random coefficients model of yield responses to nitrogen fertilizer and rotations to evaluate both short- and...

Share contracts under information asymmetry often involve input application and risk sharing inefficiency. These difficulties are nullified under full information which can be approximated in repeated contracts. We give evidence of cooperation in repeated contracts, indicating the existence of...

There is emerging interest in the prospects for enhancing farmers' management of genetic resources as a complementary strategy to ex situ conservation. Using a framework that combines a characteristics model with the notion of impure public goods, we investigate farmers' incentives to grow the...

This paper examines whether permanent farmland preservation programs are capitalized into farmland prices. We consider the landowner's decision to voluntarily participate and correct for sample selection bias in our estimation of sales prices. Initial results suggest development restrictions...

We model the ill-defined nature of grazing access using fuzzy set theory. We also model common property considerations. Within this framework, we examine when the traditional system results in higher returns and/or lower variance for herders than land privatization or a standard common property...

Scenario analysis was used to develop scenarios the grazed forage industry in the western U.S. will most likely face over the next several decades. Five major factors were identified as being most consequential. Scenarios indicated that livestock use of grazing lands will most likely decline...

This paper evaluates how much longer setback lengths associated with surface application must be to encourage soil injection of swine manure in Kentucky. Results indicate that proposed setback lengths do not encourage odor control via injection; the setback length associated with surface...