Demographics, Motivations, and Experiences of Producers Participating in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Conservation Stewardship Program

Download or read book Demographics, Motivations, and Experiences of Producers Participating in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Conservation Stewardship Program written by Anna Collins and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 90 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is a lack of understanding on the demographics, motivations, and experiences of producers that participate in the Natural Resource Conservation Service’s (NRCS) programs at a national scale. This study seeks to understand who is participating in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), why they are participating, their satisfaction with the experience, and barriers that they may have encountered. Through a four step mailing process, a survey was conducted of producers with current contracts (through FY2015) in EQIP or CSP, with at least one of nine range related practices in all fifty states and territories. The results showed that there are several factors that motivate participation, including feelings of stewardship and profit. It also showed that participants in the program are fairly representative of the general agricultural population with the exception of operation size. It identified limited venues of introduction to the programs as potential barriers. Lastly, it shows that while overall satisfaction with the program is high, that understanding the program, technical assistance, and payments are all important contributors to that satisfaction.