Enrollment Restrictions and Conservation Practice Adoptions by Midwestern Farmers: Survey Evidence from Iowa

Abstract

Using a mixed-mode survey of 424 farmer respondents in the Boone and North Raccoon River watersheds in Iowa, we examine the influence of enrollment restrictions on farmers’ preferences for conservation practices using a discrete choice experiment and a random parameters logit model. Our findings indicate prospective farmer participants favor conservation contracts with enrollment requirements on new, additional practices. Comparisons with the Environmental Quality Incentive Program reveal decreased mean willingness to accept values for cover crops, no-till, and split nitrogen application contracts—by 55%, 69%, and 52%—with enrollment restrictions, respectively. In addition, participation supply curves demonstrate higher enrollment, though this is especially true for low compensation levels.