Submission Date

4-28-2025

Document Type

Paper

Department

Business & Economics

Adviser

Scott King

Committee Member

Scott King

Committee Member

Jennifer VanGilder

Committee Member

Denise Finney

Department Chair

Jennifer VanGilder

Project Description

Research finds that while the average rate of soil erosion under natural conditions occurs at less than 1.9 Mg per hectare per year, the current rate of erosion for United States agricultural soils occurs at 6.7 Mg per hectare per year (Nearing et al., 2017). This problem is further heightened by the fact that many farmers are concerned about the added expenses that may come from the use of sustainable practices. As a result, this may lead to an increase in the practice of more harmful conventional agricultural techniques if they continue to be considered more economically beneficial in comparison. This paper aims to see if federal subsidy programs such as EQIP can better incentivize the use of a specific sustainable practice known as cover cropping by giving farmers the necessary financial means to cover their potential cost concerns. Cover crops are typically planted between growing seasons of desired cash crops to promote and sustain soil health. In general, cover crops have often been found to offer benefits such as increased crop yields and a decreased need for fertilizers through increasing the level of soil nitrogen. Using the USDA Census of Agriculture and the NRCS Financial Assistance Database, observations from each county in Pennsylvania during the years of 2017 and 2022 were analyzed to determine if a significant association exists between the rate of cover crop usage and the total amount of EQIP subsidy payments received by each county. The results found were then used to investigate if the use of federal subsidies can effectively encourage farmers to practice cover cropping in order to better sustain soil health into the long run.

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