Abstract
AbstractAs the average age of agricultural producers continues to rise, farm succession planning and the large number of anticipated land transfers are expected to transform rural American agricultural production and landscapes. Policy tools like conservation easements (CEs) can facilitate agricultural land preservation through “dead hand control” by restricting the development through binding legal contracts that can be transferred across generations. We examine whether agricultural landowners seek CE agreements to keep the land in agriculture for intergenerational bequest, rather than selling the land for financial gains that could be enjoyed immediately or passed to heirs. We assess whether this may be influenced by landowner conservation ethic or perceived threat to sense of place. We analyze the survey data collected from 2,270 agricultural landowners in Colorado and Wyoming utilizing a random utility model estimation. We find that landowners are less likely to reject a CE agreement when there is a desire to bequest agricultural land to the next generation or a perceived threat to sense of place; however, conservation ethic mitigates intergenerational bequest effects. This indicates that conservation ethic encompasses a desire to pass land to the next generation. Our findings contribute to the conservation literature by advocating for the regenerative approach to land conservation rather than the theory of planned behavior.
Highlights
Scholars (Carolan 2018; Rotz, Fraser, and Martin 2019), government (Bigelow, Borchers, Hubbs 2016), industry (Maixner and Wyant 2019), and conservation organizations (Chang 2016) portend that a high proportion of agricultural lands will change hands during the three decades, perhaps up to 371 million acres or 40 percent of all agricultural lands (American Farmland Trust 2020)
A term contract of 25 years is strongly negatively correlated with likelihood of entering a conservation easements (CEs) (p < .001 significance), which is commensurate with the legal requirements of enacting perpetuity in order to qualify for tax benefits (McLaughlin 2018)
Results from the random utility model analysis demonstrate that landowners expressing intergenerational bequest, defined as either giving or selling the land to someone in the generation, are likely to select a CE for land protection
Summary
Scholars (Carolan 2018; Rotz, Fraser, and Martin 2019), government (Bigelow, Borchers, Hubbs 2016), industry (Maixner and Wyant 2019), and conservation organizations (Chang 2016) portend that a high proportion of agricultural lands will change hands during the three decades, perhaps up to 371 million acres or 40 percent of all agricultural lands (American Farmland Trust 2020). A CE is a voluntary, but legally binding, agreement between a landowner and a land trust or government agency that permanently restricts uses of the land to protect its conservation values, and reduces the current value of the property (Bastian et al 2017; Chang 2016; Houseal 1990; McLaughlin 2013). As of 2016, nearly 16.8 million acres of land were held under CE by land trusts, nonprofit organizations that acquire CEs and steward the land to ensure its protection (Chang 2016). Land under CE remains privately owned and can be transferred by agreement, the development rights are effectively eliminated (Gustanski and Squires 2000; McLaughlin 2013)
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