Cattle producer willingness to afforest pastureland and sequester carbon

Abstract

The beef industry can mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with cattle production and increasing carbon sequestration on grazing lands. One alternative for increasing carbon sequestration is to convert pasture to forest while either reducing animal numbers or increasing cattle stocking density on more productive pastureland. This study uses data from a survey of beef cattle producers in the eastern United States to determine: (i) interest in afforesting pastureland; (ii) contingent upon interest, willingness to participate in a hypothetical afforestation program; and (iii) contingent upon willingness to participate, participation intensity in the form of enrolled acres. Less than one-third of producers were interested in afforesting pasture. Producer interest was associated with beliefs about the on- and off-farm effects of afforestation, risk aversion, age, educational attainment, opportunity costs, forest ownership, and previous experience with afforestation. Willingness to participate in the program was influenced by the incentive offered, household income, and opportunity costs. Respondents willing to participate in the program were willing to afforest an average of 55 acres, given the incentive offered. Producers with larger farms were willing to enroll more acres. Extrapolating these results to the population of beef cattle producers in the eastern United States provides a measure of the potential for pasture afforestation and carbon sequestration.