Lori Lynch

Capitalization of Open Spaces into Housing Values and the Residential Property Tax Revenue Impacts of Agricultural Easement Programs

Using a unique spatial database, a hedonic model is developed to estimate the value to nearby residents of open space purchased through agricultural preservation programs in three Maryland counties. After correcting for endogeneity and spatial autocorrelation, the estimated coefficients are used to calculate the potential changes in housing values for a given change in neighborhood open space following an agricultural easement purchase. Then, using the current residential property tax for each parcel, the expected increase in county tax revenue is computed and this revenue is compared to the cost of preserving the lands.

Combining Spatial and Survey Data to Explain Participation in Agricultural Land reservation Programs

The factors influencing participation in both purchase of development rights and transfer of development rights farmland preservation programs are analyzed using data from a survey of agricultural landowners and from spatial data on individual farms collected using GIS for four Maryland counties. Generally, the likelihood of participation increases with farm size, growing crops, if a child plans to continue farming, eligibility and the share of income from farming. Landowners closer to the nearest city were less likely to join. Survey information about landowner characteristics and local selection committees may aid in targeting efforts. (JEL Q15)

A Relative Efficiency Analysis of Farmland Preservation Programs

While agricultural land preservation programs seek to maximize the number of acres, to preserve productive farms, to preserve contiguous farms, and to preserve threatened farms, they are often evaluated solely on the number of acres preserved. Preserved parcels in four Maryland counties were evaluated to determine how well programs traded off the four goals using a Farrell efficiency analysis approach. Comparisons are made between the types of programs. Of the four objectives, parcel size and productivity measures were the most likely to affect the efficiency measures. In addition, purchase of development right programs were most successful in trading off objectives. (JEL Q24, Q15)

The Economics of Controlling Insect-Transmitted Plant Diseases

A framework is developed to analyze a spatially dependent economically significant pest problem emanating from a source and spreading via a carrier such as an insect. Transmission and/or source control to combat the pest or disease problem are explored. Alternative assumptions about the effectiveness of transmission control and the feasibility and costs, both social and private, of reduction of the pest population at the source are examined in an application of the model to controlling Pierces disease in California wine grapes.

Is There Evidence of a Critical Mass in the Mid-Atlantic Agriculture Sector Between 1949 and 1997?

Ongoing farmland loss has led county planners to ask “is there a critical mass of farmland needed?” to retain a viable agricultural sector. This study examines whether counties lost farmland at a faster rate if the number of agricultural acres fell below a critical threshold. Results from six Mid-Atlantic states over the period 1949 to 1997 indicate that counties with fewer agricultural acres lost farmland at a faster rate. However, after splitting the study period into two time segments (1949–1978 and 1978–1997) and modeling separately, this result was not found for the later time period, suggesting a uniform critical mass level may not exist. Population growth in a county accelerated farmland loss over all time periods.

Long-term Agricultural Research: A Research, Education, and Extension Imperative

ABSTRACT For agriculture to meet goals that include profitability, environmental integrity, and the production of ecosystem services beyond food, fuel, and fiber requires a comprehensive, systems-level research approach that is long-term and geographically scalable. This approach is largely lacking from the US agricultural research portfolio. It is time to add it. A long-term agricultural research program would substantially improve the delivery of agricultural products and other ecosystem services to a society that calls for agriculture to be safe, environmentally sound, and socially responsible.

Do Agricultural Land Preservation Programs Reduce Farmland Loss? Evidence from a Propensity Score Matching Estimator

More than 80 governmental entities concerned about sprawl, open space, and farmland have implemented purchase of development rights (PDR) programs preserving 2.23 million acres at a cost of

Migration of Seasonal Agricultural Workers

5.47 billion. Are PDR programs effective in slowing the rate and acres of farmland loss? Employing propensity score matching methods and a 50-year, 269-county data set for six Mid-Atlantic states, we find empirical evidence that PDR programs have had a statistically significant effect on farmland loss. Having a PDR program decreases a county’s rate of farmland loss by 40% to 55% and decreases farmland acres lost by 375 to 550 acres per year. (JEL Q24, Q28)

Farmland Retention Techniques: Property Rights Implications and Comparative Evaluation

Nearly half of all seasonal farm workers migrate at least 75 miles in a given year. An expected earnings differential from migration weakly induces migration: a 10% earnings differential raises the probability of migrating by slightly more than 1%. This result indicates that there are substantial costs to migrating and that employers must offer large earnings premia to induce a substantial number of workers to move to their jobs. Some demographic groups earn substantially higher earnings by migrating. These higher earnings from migration are primarily due to higher wages rather than more hours of work. Copyright 1998, Oxford University Press.

Landowner Decision Making about Riparian Buffers

A conceptual framework distinguishes farmland retention institutions and with a survey of various literatures, interviews, and original policy design, classifies 28 techniques in four types: regulatory, incentive-based, governmental-participatory, and hybrid. The analysis reveals that techniques often perceived to be incentive-based, such as PDR/PACE and TDR, are better understood as participatory and hybrid techniques, respectively. Likely fiscal impacts, stakeholder acceptability, and implementation challenges are assessed. The framework suggests that when governments select multiple techniques, attention should be paid to the implied allocation of property rights to maintain coherent land-use policy and minimize property rights conflicts. (JEL Q15, Q24)