Heterogeneous farmers, heterogeneous programs, and joint program participation
Date
2019
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
This thesis investigates joint enrollment in several categories of federal, state, and local government programs available to farmers in Maryland and Ohio. There are many voluntary program options available to farmers, including federal commodity programs, federally subsidized crop insurance, the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), and various cost-share programs for best management practices (BMPs). Researchers often examine enrollment in agri-environmental programs in isolation, but some have modeled farmer enrollment in multiple programs jointly. A mixed-mode survey provides data on farmer enrollment in these programs, which are grouped into four broad categories. A multivariate probit model is used for the data in each state in order to provide insight into how enrollment patterns differ in Maryland and Ohio. Factors that explain program enrollment vary by program category as well as location. There is positive correlation among unexplained variation in enrollment in every pair of program categories in Maryland. In Ohio, there is positive correlation in unexplained variation in enrollment among every pair of program categories that does not include the commodity programs and crop insurance category. There is some evidence that no-till use may provide a pathway to increased farmer enrollment in several types of agri-environmental programs.