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Presentation19246

Presentation ID 15861

Best-worst scaling, also called maximum-difference scaling, is used to rank the most important to least important benefits and characteristics of a conservation practice during the adoption decision-making processes of agricultural producers and non-farming/absentee landowners. Both groups are found to rank and value the attributes and reasons for adoption of conservation practices differently at the 95% significance level. Producers rank “practice benefits the farm ecosystem” as the most important consideration when making conservation practice decisions on their operation 29.7% of the time. This is followed closely by the attribute, “practice improves profit,” which is chosen as the best reason by 29.4% of producers. Non-farming/absentee landowners rank, “practice benefits the farm ecosystem” as the most important factor 33.4% of the time, but they choose, “practice improves profit” only 23.4%. This difference, combined with variations in the rankings of the reasons for adopting conservation practices between the two groups reinforces the importance of land tenure in decision making. This indicates the need for both new extension educational efforts and economic incentives to reduce negative externalities from sediment loading and eutrophication that could be ameliorated from increased adoption of soil and water conservation.

Plant scientists have bred turfgrass varieties to create more desirable traits for long-term maintenance, appearance, utility, and resistance to abiotic and biotic stressors. As universities seek to capture revenue to cover research costs, these varieties are increasingly protected by intellectual property rights such as US plant patents and plant variety protection certificates. Producers require license to produce and sell proprietary varieties, and are required to pay royalties, impacting the types of varieties marketed for sale. Therefore, turf breeders must identify producer demand for various grass varieties, and understand their marketability. An online turfgrass preference survey with sod producers using a discrete choice experiment was conducted in Spring 2015. The design incorporated attributes such as variety, certification agency, fee structure, maintenance reduction potential, and price per square foot. Results from the analysis indicate that producers preferred genetically modified breeds and fee structures that allow producers to share the cost with the breed developers.

Encroachment by eastern redcedar, an invasive species, threatens the ecosystem health and agriculture returns in the southern Great Plains. The invasion of eastern redcedar has a detrimental effect on livestock and wheat production in Oklahoma by competing with native grasses, reducing available forage, competing for scarce water resources and negatively affecting human health. The estimated costs of management are in between $3 to $150 per acre depending on the type of habitat, the level of encroachment, and treatment technique (Bidwell and Weir 2007). Recently, the rising costs associated with removal of mature trees has rekindled interest in biofuel use of redcedar or the creation of marketable cedar products. In order to estimate whether such enterprises may be viable, an estimate of the potential supply of redcedar is needed. Therefore it is essential to identify the factors that can influence landowners’ willingness to pay for eastern redcedar removal.

This study determines the consumer’s preference for different turfgrass varieties using two different stated choice methods discrete choice and best-worst methods. Results shows that the ranking of turfgrass attributes were more homogenous across states using best-worst method compared to discrete choice method. These two methods yielded similar rankings for drought tolerant and low maintenance turf, but different rankings for shade tolerant and low purchase price turf.

This study elicits preferences for multimedia in the classroom for students and faculty members in agricultural economics. Employing an Internet-based conjoint ranking survey, the results show that students prefer multimedia instructional tools over a traditional chalkboard/whiteboard lecture format while faculty members do not. Neither students nor faculty members are enthusiastic about electronic textbooks, and students will accept them only if they save $80. Finally, preferences for multimedia are shown to differ with students who self-report differing note-taking abilities, preferences for chalkboard lectures, and the need for an engaging class. Successful multimedia adoption requires appropriate use and lowering costs for students.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the optimal allocation of reservoir water among consumptive and non-consumptive uses. A non-linear mathematical programming model is developed to optimally allocate Lake Tenkiller water among competing uses that maximize the net social benefit. A mass balance is used to determine the level and volume of water in the lake. This paper examines the effect of water management on lake resources when recreational values are and are not included as control variables in the optimization process. Results show that maintaining the lake level to the ‘normal lake level’ of 632 feet during the summer months generates more recreational benefit rather than reducing the lake level by releasing water for hydro power generation.

Facing increasing costs for tipping fees and worker salaries, many smaller municipalities have begun to explore ways to adopt mechanized pay-as-you throw container garbage collection and changes to the basket of currently provided services, such as the addition of curbside recycling. Choice-experiments, while used widely in marketing, have not often been applied to environmental policy issues such as municipal waste. Using a discrete choice experiment offers a new way to examine the basket of services cities provide in waste collection given limited budgets and often vocal opposition to change among residents. A discrete choice model is developed to test household preferences for municipal waste services in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In addition, the study compares the willingness to pay estimates for adding curbside recycling service from the discrete choice model ($1.98/household/month) with results from an embedded contingent valuation question ($1.35/household/month). The survey shows that residents are willing give up one of two weekly garbage days to obtain weekly curbside recyclable collection. Furthermore, women are willing to willing to pay more than men for curbside collection of recyclables.

Pollution runoff estimates from SWAT are used in a mathematical programming model to optimally model site-specific crop and conservation practices for pollution abatement in the Ft. Cobb watershed in Southwestern Oklahoma. Results indicate the tradeoffs between producer income, sediment and nutrient runoff and the spatial allocation of crops in the watershed.

A spatial economic model is developed to guide regulatory policy for wetland compensation under wetland mitigation banking in Minnesota. A binary integer-integer programming model identifies restoration sites based on their potential for environmental quality improvement. In contrast to results found in the application of reserve site selection for species preservation (Ando et al, 1998, Polasky et al, 2001), the unique homogeneity of wetland restoration sites in Minnesota and the inclusion of restoration costs that exhibit economies of scale suggest that the private market may function adequately to create large, high quality habitats for wetland restoration.