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Protecting Rural Amenities Through Farmland Preservation Programs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2016

Cynthia J. Nickerson  and
Daniel Hellerstein
Cynthia J. Nickerson
Affiliation:
Resource Economics Division, USDA-Economic Research Service
Daniel Hellerstein
Affiliation:
Resource Economics Division, USDA-Economic Research Service
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Abstract

We investigate what farmland preservation programs reveal about the importance of protecting different rural amenities. An extensive content analysis of the enabling legislation of various farmland protection programs suggests wide variation exists in the protection of amenities. An analysis of 27 individual Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) programs’ selection criteria suggests these programs favor preserving amenities that are jointly provided by cropland and livestock operations. These PDR selection criteria also reveal unique preferences regarding the spatial patterns of preserved agricultural lands. Variation in relative weights given to protecting most parcel characteristics in PDR programs is not easily explained by factors that characterize areas experiencing farmland losses.

Keywords

farmland preservationrural amenities
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Agricultural and Resource Economics Review , Volume 32 , Issue 1 , April 2003 , pp. 129 - 144
Copyright
Copyright © 2003 Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association 

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