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Our Research
We research and test approaches that encourage landowners to participate in agri-environmental programs most cost-effectively. We look at what incentives work and what practices make the most impact.
By the Numbers
We follow the data that leads to where our research needs to focus. Taken only once every five years, the 2017 USDA Census of Agriculture is a survey-based count of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. The survey provides the most recent data regarding land use practices by the number of farms and the number of acres.
increase in the acreage of cover crops from 2012 to 2017
50%
increase in the number of U.S. cropland acres using conservation practices from
2012 to 2017
3%
of U.S. farmland is involved in conservation practices
41%
Our Priorities
OUR SOLUTION-BASED RESEARCH FOCUSES ON:
OUR RESEARCH IN ACTION
Grants & Projects
2021
National Science Foundation
Persistence of Field
Scale Sustainable Agricultural Land Use
This project uses USDA administrative data and data science techniques to examine what leads to the persistence of cover crops.
2021
USDA Economic Research Service
The Persistence of Cover Cropping in the U.S.
The Cooperative Agreement with the USDA'S Economic Research Services help develop USDA datasets of US Farmers to allow a joint investigation of what leads to the adoption and persistence of the use of cover crops.
2021
Albany State University
Robert W. Woodruff Foundation
Using Experimental Economics to Inform Incentive Programs to Reduce Irrigation Water...
This project will use economic experiments to test the effectiveness of various auction mechanisms and selection methods that could improve water buyback programs in Georgia to protect endangered species.