Willingness to Adopt Best Management Practices by Beef Cattle Producers in a Southeastern ...

111 Pages·2016·1.87 MB·English

UUnniivveerrssiittyy ooff TTeennnneesssseeee,, KKnnooxxvviillllee
TTRRAACCEE:: TTeennnneesssseeee RReesseeaarrcchh aanndd CCrreeaattiivvee
EExxcchhaannggee
Masters Theses Graduate School
8-2014
WWiilllliinnggnneessss ttoo AAddoopptt BBeesstt MMaannaaggeemmeenntt PPrraaccttiicceess bbyy BBeeeeff CCaattttllee
PPrroodduucceerrss iinn aa SSoouutthheeaasstteerrnn TTeennnneesssseeee WWaatteerrsshheedd
Alicia Marie Signore
University of Tennessee - Knoxville, [email protected]
Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes
Part of the Agricultural Economics Commons
RReeccoommmmeennddeedd CCiittaattiioonn
Signore, Alicia Marie, "Willingness to Adopt Best Management Practices by Beef Cattle Producers in a
Southeastern Tennessee Watershed. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2014.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/2848
This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and
Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE:
Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected].
To the Graduate Council:
I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Alicia Marie Signore entitled "Willingness to Adopt
Best Management Practices by Beef Cattle Producers in a Southeastern Tennessee Watershed."
I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend
that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science,
with a major in Agricultural Economics.
Christopher D. Clark, Major Professor
We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance:
Dayton Lambert, Christopher Boyer
Accepted for the Council:
Carolyn R. Hodges
Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School
(Original signatures are on file with official student records.)
Willingness to Adopt Best Management Practices by
Beef Cattle Producers in a Southeastern Tennessee Watershed

A Thesis Presented for the
Master of Science
Degree
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Alicia Marie Signore
August 2014
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This material is based upon work supported by the United States Department of Agriculture
under Award No. 2009-51130-06047. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or
recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily
reflect the views of the United States Department of Agriculture.

ii
ABSTRACT
Extensive beef cattle farming in the ridge and valley region of East Tennessee suggests that
cattle producers could play an important role in improving water quality through the adoption of
livestock best management practices (BMPs). This study examines factors influencing
willingness to adopt four BMPs—rotational grazing, pasture improvement, stream water
crossing, and water tank systems—by beef cattle operations in a southeast Tennessee watershed.
Factors examined include farm and farmer characteristics, farmer attitudes, and a hypothetical
incentive program encouraging adoption of these practices. Data was collected through a mail
survey of 5,150 farmland owners in McMinn, Bradley, and Monroe Counties. Respondents were
asked if they would be willing to adopt each of the four BMPs at a given cost share, with the cost
share amounts ranging from 50% to 125% of the expected out-of-pocket costs of
installation/annual management, and how many acres/units of the practice they would
implement. Younger, more educated producers with higher income levels were more willing to
adopt one or more of the BMPs. Higher cost share amounts appeared to have greater influence
on adoption of stream crossings than on rotational grazing, water tanks, and pasture
improvement. Pasture improvement showed the greatest level of overall adoption interest,
although many would-be adopters had already taken steps to improve their pastures. Analysis
suggests producers have the most interest in a bundle of BMPs that include rotational grazing,
water tanks, and pasture improvements. The analysis also suggests a preference away from
stream crossings and BMP bundles that included stream crossings, unless all four BMPs were
concomitantly implemented. Factors influencing willingness to adopt were analyzed along with
factors influencing adoption intensity using regression analysis. Cost-share incentives did not
play a substantial role in explaining adoption, but the influence of other explanatory factors was
similar to other results found in the BMP adoption literature.

iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter One: Problem Identification and Explanation ........................................................1
Problematic Situation ..............................................................................................1
Research Problem ...................................................................................................4
Research Objectives ................................................................................................8
Chapter Two: Literature Review ........................................................................................9
Pasture Improvements .............................................................................................9
Alternative Water Sources ......................................................................................9
Stream Crossings ..................................................................................................11
Rotational Grazing ................................................................................................12
Willingness-to-Adopt Measures and Adoption of BMPs .....................................13
Chapter Three: Methods and Conceptual Framework ......................................................17
Data Collection .....................................................................................................17
Survey Instrument .................................................................................................20
Conceptual Framework .........................................................................................22
Factor Analysis Model ..........................................................................................27
Model Variables and Hypotheses .........................................................................31
The MIMIC Model of BMP Adoption...................................................................35
The Heckman Model of Adoption Intensity ......................................................... 41
The Heckman Ordered Probit Model .....................................................................44
Chapter Four: Statistical Analysis ....................................................................................47
Statistical Results ..................................................................................................47
Spearman Correlations ..........................................................................................51
iv
Chapter Five: Adoption Analysis ......................................................................................54
MIMIC Model Analysis .........................................................................................54
MIMIC Model Results ...........................................................................................54
Propensity to Adopt ...............................................................................................59
Chapter Six: Intensity of Adoption Analysis ....................................................................66
Pasture Improvements ............................................................................................66
Stream Crossing .....................................................................................................71
Water Tanks ...........................................................................................................71
Rotational Grazing .................................................................................................76
Chapter Seven: Conclusion ...............................................................................................82
References .........................................................................................................................84
Appendix ...........................................................................................................................91
Vita .................................................................................................................................. 101

v
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Cost Share Incentive Rates for BMPs .................................................................20
Table 2: Factor Analysis
Table 2a: Objectives ..............................................................................................29
Table 2b: Decisions................................................................................................29
Table 3: Variable Names, Descriptions, Mean Values, and Predicted Effects .......... 33 - 34
Table 4: Statistical Analysis
Table 4a: Demographic Comparison of Means .....................................................48
Table 4b: Farm Characteristic Comparison of Means ...........................................49
Table 4c: Expense Factors of Adoption Comparison of Means ............................49
Table 4d: Managerial Factors of Adoption Comparison of Means .......................49
Table 5: Adoption Patterns of BMPs and BMP Bundles ...................................................51
Table 6: Spearman Correlations.........................................................................................53
Table 7: MIMIC Adoption
Table 76a: Rotational Grazing ...............................................................................54
Table 7b: Stream Crossing .....................................................................................55
Table 7c: Water Tanks ...........................................................................................56
Table 7d: Pasture Improvement .............................................................................57
Table 7e: Propensity to Adopt ...............................................................................65
Table 8: Intensity of Adoption
Table 8a: Pasture Improvement ..................................................................... 69 - 70
Table 8b: Water Tanks ................................................................................... 74 - 75
Table 8c: Rotational Grazing ......................................................................... 78 - 79
vi
Table 9: Adoption Intensity Comparison
Table 9a: Pasture Improvement Adoption Intensity ..............................................71
Table 9b: Rotational Grazing Adoption Intensity ..................................................80

vii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1a: Hiwassee Watershed within the Tennessee River Valley ................................. 5
Figure 1b: Watersheds of Tennessee .................................................................................. 6
Figure 2: Survey Map
Figure 2a: Bradley, McMinn, and Monroe Counties .............................................18
Figure 2b: Geospatial Location of Parcels on List-Frame .....................................18
Figure 3: Analysis Procedure ............................................................................................ 26
Figure 4: MIMIC Model ................................................................................................... 40
Figure 5: Adoption Choice by Practice ............................................................................. 50

viii