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...

We investigate what farmland preservation programs reveal about the importance of protecting different rural amenities. An extensive content analysis of the enabling legislation of various farmland protection programs suggests wide variation exists in the protection of amenities. An analysis of...

Concerns about the impact of farm production on the quality of the Nation's drinking and recreational water resources have risen over the past 10 years. Because point sources of pollution were controlled first, agricultural nonpoint sources have become the Nation's largest remaining single...

Public amenities provided by a rural agricultural landscape, arising from open space and farm activity, are important to many citizens and policymakers. Widespread development of farmland in some parts of the country has spawned an expanding array of farmland protection programs by county,...

By improving wildlife habitat and air and water quality, CRP has significantly increased the number and variety of wildlife, attracting bird watchers, hunters, anglers, and other outdoor recreation enthusiasts, who then spend money in rural areas. In 2004, ERS research confirmed that the CRP’s...

The Federal Government, all 50 States, many local jurisdictions, and over 1,200 land trusts and nonprofit conservation programs seek to maintain more land in farming uses than would otherwise be the case. ERS analysts found various objectives mentioned in the authorizing legislation for State...

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) offers incentives for producers and landowners to voluntarily retire cropland. The program’s benefits to the environment, CRP participants, and other crop farmers have made it a recurring focus of farm program legislation. While anecdotal evidence...

CRP is approaching its 20th year of operation. From its inception, concerns have been raised that by retiring millions of acres of cropland, the program could disadvantage farming communities already hard hit by farm sector consolidation and globalization. Clearly the CRP does not benefit...