Estimates of Conservation Tillage Practices Using Landsat Archive

The USDA Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) provides financial assistance to encourage producers to adopt conservation practices. Historically, one of the most common practices is conservation tillage, primarily the use of no-till planting. The objectives of this research were to determine crop residue using remote sensing, an indicator of tillage intensity, without using training data and examine its performance at the field level. The Landsat Thematic Mapper Series platforms can provide global temporal and spatial coverage beginning in the mid-1980s. In this study, we used the Normalized Difference Tillage Index (NDTI), which has proved to be robust and accurate in studies built upon training datasets. We completed 10 years of residue maps for the 150,000 km2 study area in South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota and validated the results against field-level survey data. The overall accuracy was between 64% and 78% with additional improvement when survey points with suspect geolocation and satellite tillage estimates with fewer than four dates of Landsat images were excluded. This study demonstrates that, with Landsat Archive available at no cost, researchers can implement retrospective, untrained estimates of conservation tillage with sufficient accuracy for some applications.

Effect of Cost-Sharing Federal Programs on Adoption of Water Conservation Practices: Results from Propensity Score Matching Approach

The extent of recommended conservation practices is crucial for addressing natural resource concerns on the farms. The practices implementation is supported by working lands conservation programs, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Conservation Stewardship Program. The paper applies a propensity score matching approach to evaluate the effects of enrollment in the two federal conservation programs on irrigation water conservation practices adoption in Louisiana row crop agriculture. The analysis reveals that enrollment in the programs leads to statistically significant greater adoption of water management practices. The analysis provides correction for selection bias in adoption that can result from not accounting for the differences between program participants and non-participants. The analysis enables to provide a stronger and relatively accurate argument about the impact of conservation support programs on the adoption of conservation on the ground.

Economic Impacts of Adoption of Best Management Practices by Crawfish Producers: The Role of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program

This study investigates reasons for adoption of best management practices (BMP), crawfish farmers' participation in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), and economic impacts of BMP adoption using data from a 2008 survey of crawfish producers. Most-cited reasons for BMP adoption are farmers' perceptions of increases in profit and long-run productivity. Land tenancy, education, double-cropping or crop rotation, and proximity to a stream influence EQIP participation. Perceptions of economic profits depend on the practices used. Participation in EQIP negatively impacts farmers' perceptions of profitability from adopting BMPs. The results underscore the importance of economic incentives in promoting BMP adoption.

Cost Share Programs for Florida's Agricultural Producers and Landowners

SL-264, a 4-page fact sheet by Rao Mylavarapu, Kelly Hines, and Alyssa Dodd, describes several conservation programs included in the 2008 Farm Bill — the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), Grassland Reserve Program (GRP), Wildlife Habitats Incentive Program (WHIP), and the Conservation Security Program (CRP) — which may be of high interest to farmers, ranchers, land owners, agricultural consultants, local decision-makers and extension agents. Includes references. Published by the UF Department of Soil and Water Science, October 2008. SL264/SS485: Cost Share Programs for Florida's Agricultural Producers and Landowners (ufl.edu)

Awareness of and Application to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program By Cow—Calf Producers

This study uses a bivariate probit model with partial observability to examine Louisiana beef producers' awareness of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and how awareness translates to application to the program. Results indicate that awareness of and application to the EQIP depend on portion of income derived from off-farm sources, extent of previous best management practice adoption at one's own expense, household income, farmed land that is highly erodible, contact with Natural Resource Conservation Service and extension service personnel, and producer age.

Adoption of Pest, Nutrient, and Conservation Vegetation Management Using Financial Incentives Provided by a U.S. Department of Agriculture Conservation Program

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) was developed to encourage producer adoption of practices that promote resource conservation on lands in agricultural production. Reviewing the 2002 Farm Bill, EQIP rules, and local EQIP structure using Michigan as a case study, producers had ample opportunity to participate in EQIP. Yet past EQIP support of pest, nutrient, and conservation vegetation management was low among six states from 1997 to 2002, averaging 1.1% to 2.7% of total EQIP funds allocated. The past funding pattern and analysis of local resource concern priorities and incentive rates suggested that program modifications were warranted. The Michigan case study showed that participation in the NRCS advisory process, in partnership with commodity representatives and university specialists, was an effective avenue to recommend and obtain local EQIP modifications. After modifications were accepted in Michigan, increases were seen in producer participation in EQIP and in funds committed (about 15%) to adoption of a variety of techniques with pest, nutrient, and conservation vegetation value. This approach of analysis and engagement in the EQIP process is likely to work in other states, given common EQIP structure and governance, past funding patterns, and availability of supporting extension, research, and commodity partners.