Agricultural producer and non-producer perceptions of crop residue burning: a focus on arkansas

Abstract

Agricultural producers adopt management practices that positively and negatively affect the lives of non-producers in their communities. CRB has important environmental and human health implications, and local non-producers might have different perceptions and attitudes from agricultural producers about crop residue burning. In this paper, we use a multi-stakeholder approach to study the issue of crop residue burning (CRB). Survey data were collected from a sample of producers in Arkansas who burn crop residue and a sample of non-producers who resided in the same counties as the producers. Non-producers may not be willing to compensate producers at an amount that would reduce the use of CBR. Non-producers do not fully understand some of the benefits of CRB, like reduced tillage or equipment savings cost, and producers are less likely to perceive increased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as a negative externality associated with CRB. A multi-stakeholder approach can provide more depth and breadth to understanding complex decisions about farm management practices, and these results have implications for policies that incentivize adopting best farm management practices.