@article{2cbfcf58ff5f48ec945d7630bf49838a,
title = "Using a randomized controlled trial to develop conservation strategies on rented farmlands",
abstract = "Addressing the environmental impacts of large-scale agriculture requires innovative approaches to conservation program design and evaluation. We used a randomized controlled trial and a sample of 2225 landowners in the Mississippi River Basin to test a new conservation program that targets a growing but overlooked population—nonoperating landowners (NOLs). To spur adoption of conservation practices on farmland rented out by NOLs, the program provided NOLs with ready-to-use lease language and a financial incentive. The program's design was informed by field work, the behavioral science literature, and the social science literature on barriers to conservation on farmland. We cannot detect an effect on conservation practices from the lease language or the incentive. The take-up rate for the incentive was one-tenth the expected rate based on NOL responses to a hypothetical offer in a survey. The results underscore the importance of assessing program performance by rigorously testing programs in real conservation settings.",
keywords = "agricultural policy, behavioral economics, financial incentive, nonoperating landowners, payments for environmental services, program evaluation, randomized controlled trial, remote sensing, soil health, technology adoption",
author = "Collin Weigel and Seth Harden and Masuda, {Yuta J.} and Pranay Ranjan and Wardropper, {Chloe B.} and Ferraro, {Paul J.} and Linda Prokopy and Sheila Reddy",
note = "Funding Information: This project was supported by a private anonymous gift to The Nature Conservancy. Data and preanalysis plans are posted at https://osf.io/hb3zc/ and https://osf.io/9eucv/. Thank you to Dave Harland, Randy Dell, Laura Esman, two anonymous referees, and many individuals at The Nature Conservancy, members of the project's advisory groups, conference participants, and presentation attendees who provided valuable feedback and contributions to this work. We are thankful for the generous anonymous donation to The Nature Conservancy that enabled this work. Ferraro acknowledges funding for the Center for Behavioral and Experimental Agri-environmental Research by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Economic Research Service, #59-6000-4-0064; National Institute of Food and Agriculture, #2019-67023-29854). Funding Information: This project was supported by a private anonymous gift to The Nature Conservancy. Data and preanalysis plans are posted at https://osf.io/hb3zc/ and https://osf.io/9eucv/ . Thank you to Dave Harland, Randy Dell, Laura Esman, two anonymous referees, and many individuals at The Nature Conservancy, members of the project's advisory groups, conference participants, and presentation attendees who provided valuable feedback and contributions to this work. We are thankful for the generous anonymous donation to The Nature Conservancy that enabled this work. Ferraro acknowledges funding for the Center for Behavioral and Experimental Agri‐environmental Research by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Economic Research Service, #59‐6000‐4‐0064; National Institute of Food and Agriculture, #2019‐67023‐29854). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 The Authors. Conservation Letters published by Wiley Periodicals LLC",
year = "2021",
month = jul,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1111/conl.12803",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "14",
journal = "Conservation Letters",
issn = "1755-263X",
publisher = "John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.",
number = "4",
}