The Potential of the 1990 Farm Bill to Conserve and Restore Wetlands in Cornbelt Watershed 1

Christopher L. Lant, Steven E. Kraft 2

Abstract

Two contingent valuation surveys including 770 mail surveys and 157 personal interviews were conducted in ten Cornbelt counties to estimate potential enrollment of filter strips, recharge areas, and farmed wetlands in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and in the Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) and to illicit farmers' attitudes toward Swampbuster. Results indicate that enrollment in the CRP climbs markedly in the range $90/Ac/Yr to $140/Ac/Yr. For the WRP, enrollments are less responsive to price and are also generally lower than CRP enrollments for 30-year lump sum easement payments ten times the corresponding CRP annual rental rate. Beyond financial considerations, dealing with problems of altering drainage facilities is a primary barrier to enrollment of farmed wetlands in the WRP.

  1. This paper is largely based on Lant, C.L., S.E. Kraft and K.R. Gillman. 1995. Enrollment of filter strips and recharge areas in the CRP and USDA easement programs, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 50(2): 193-200 and Lant, C.L., S.E. Kraft and K.R. Gillman. 1995. The 1990 Farm Bill and water quality in Corn Belt watersheds: Conserving remaining wetlands and restoring farmed wetlands, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 50(2): 201-205.
  2. C.L. Lant, Associate Professor, Department of Geography, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, Carbondale, IL 62901-4514l S.E. Kraft, Professor, Department of Agribusiness Economics, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, Carbondale, IL 62901-4410.

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