RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Farmland Rental Rates: Does Organic Certification Matter?
JF Land Economics
JO Land Econ
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 80
OP 106
DO 10.3368/le.97.1.030119-0032R2
VO 97
IS 1
A1 Fuller, Kate Binzen
A1 Janzen, Joseph P.
A1 Munkhnasan, B.
YR 2021
UL http://le.uwpress.org/content/97/1/80.abstract
AB We estimate U.S. organic farmers’ marginal willingness to pay to rent an acre of certified organic land relative to conventional farmland. Using a selection-on-observables design and farm-level data on farmland rental rates, organic status, and many conditioning variables, we address the role of profitability in mediating the effect of organic status. We find a 26% rental rate premium for organic farmland not driven by higher profits on organic farms. This premium is a modest incentive for landowners but a barrier for tenants to convert to organic farming practices, which may explain limited growth in U.S. organic acreage.