Chemical usage in production agriculture: Do crop insurance and off-farm work play a part?
Journal
Journal of Environmental Management
Journal Volume
105
Pages
76-82
Date Issued
2012
Author(s)
Mishra, A.K.
Abstract
In recent years a growing body of literature in the agricultural policy arena has examined the association between crop insurance and off-farm employment. However, little is known about the extent to which these two activities may be related to environmental quality, in particular their impacts on fertilizer/chemical use of the farm. To fill this gap, this paper examines the effect of crop insurance and off-farm work on fertilizer/chemical expenses within the farm household framework. Quantile regression results from a national representative farm-level data show that off-farm work by the farm operator tends to decrease fertilizer/chemical expenses, and the effect is more pronounced at the higher percentiles of the distribution of fertilizer/chemical expense. In contrast, a positive effect of crop insurance on fertilizer/chemical expenses is evident, and the effect is robust across the entire distribution. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.
Subjects
Crop insurance; Farm household; Fertilizer/chemical expenses; Off-farm work; Quantile regression
SDGs
Other Subjects
fertilizer; agricultural policy; agricultural production; chemical compound; environmental quality; fertilizer application; insurance system; off-farm employment; temporal analysis; agricultural management; article; crop insurance; crop production; environmental protection; farming system; human; labor management; off farm employment; policy; United States; Agriculture; Crops, Agricultural; Employment; Family Characteristics; Fertilizers; Insurance; Pesticides; United States
Type
journal article