Structural Conservation Practices in U.S. Corn Production: Evidence on Environmental Stewardship by Program Participants and Non-Participants

From an agri-environmental perspective, it was the retired/residential/lifestyle/low-sales
farms participating in a conservation program (on corn acres) that produced the highest corn yields
for 2005 (averaging 183 bu./acre) versus 125 bu./acre for similar non-participating farms. But it
was the higher-sales farms participating in a conservation program that applied the highest amount
of nitrogen (at 138 lbs./acre) versus 133 lbs./acre for similar non-participating farms, and between
105 to 122 lbs./acre for the retired/residential/lifestyle/low-sales farms. However, participating
farms accounted for less than 16 percent of the corn acres planted in the study area in 2005. Even
so, it was the corn farms participating in a conservation program that incurred the larger average
Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) measure of soil loss, averaging from 4.8 to 5.4 tons/acre/year,
while soil loss for corn acres for non-participating farms ranged from 3.5 to 4.2 tons/acre/year.

Additionally, the corn fields for higher-sales farms participating in a conservation program
were more likely to be more agri-environmentally sensitive. For example, the percent of farms with
gully erosion occurring in the corn field was highest for higher-sales farming occupation farms
participating in a conservation program (at 14 percent). (For retired/residential/lifestyle/low-sales
farms there was insufficient data to describe the occurrence of gully erosion.) Additionally, for
higher-sales farms participating in a conservation program, the corn field was more likely to be
adjacent to a water body, intermittent stream, or wetlands than were the corn fields for other farm
types. This critical environmental linkage was associated with approximately 44 percent of higher-
sales participant farms, but only about 28 percent for similar non-participant farms. Likewise, the
percent of corn acres where Highly Erodible Lands (HEL acres) are present is largest for higher-
sales participating farms (at 14 percent) than for other farm types. However, for the 2005 CEAP-
ARMS, the occurrence of wetlands in the corn field was either non-existent, or there was
insufficient data to evaluate this characteristic.

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