The first 50 years of the Federal crop insurance program were marked by low enrollment levels. To boost program participation, legislation in 1994 and 2000 increased premium subsidies. In the years since, the jump in enrollment coupled with high commodity prices caused significant increases in...

Recent increases in farm real estate values in the U.S. have increased farm equity in the form of unrealized capital gains. Exploiting periods of high and low appreciation that caused different increases in wealth for farmers owning different shares of their farmland, we examine if U.S. grain...

We study how increases in wealth from the appreciation of U.S. farmland influenced farm proprietor decisions to borrow, buy land, and expand. Exploiting periods of high and low appreciation that caused different increases in wealth for proprietors owning a larger or smaller share of their...

This report estimates the impact that high levels of enrollment in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) have had on economic trends in rural counties since the program's inception in 1985 until today. The results of a growth model and quasi-experimental control group analysis indicate no...

This report examines evidence on the relationship between agricultural land-use changes, soil productivity, and indicators of environmental sensitivity. If cropland that shifts in and out of production is less productive and more environmentally sensitive than other cropland, policy-induced...

This publication presents the results of the latest (2002) inventory of U.S. major land uses, drawing on data from the Census, public land management and conservation agencies, and other sources. The data are synthesized by State to calculate the use of several broad classes and subclasses of...