A deeper understanding of barriers to participation in conservation programs, including farmer transaction costs, may improve program design and implementation as well as producer outreach, and thus improve water quality. Data on perceived barriers and transaction costs from the 2012 USDA...

Conversion of native sod (grassland) to cropland in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) is threatening important breeding habitats for migratory birds. About 50 percent of North American ducks are produced in the grasslands of the PPR, even though this habitat accounts for only ten percent of duck...