摘要：In this study, the adoption of public conservation programs within the Kentucky River watershed is examined. The analysis identifies factors that influence farmers’ decisions to participate in these programs. Secondary data collected for forty-eight counties of the level of producers’ participation in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP), and the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), are analyzed. Present payments for BMP adoption reveals that most of the EQIP and WHIP funding has been directed towards practices that may not directly contribute to the reduction of pollution, but are used as complements to other practices, that can reduce Nitrogen and Phosphorus contaminants. A regression analysis using aggregate county-level data shows that counties with more farms and larger farms will probably have more participation in the CRP. Adoption and funding could depend on land characteristics of individual plots of land such as slope, vicinity to water, etc.
