Date of Graduation

8-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Agricultural Economics (MS)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness

Advisor/Mentor

Mitchell, James

Committee Member

Connor, Lawson

Second Committee Member

Sieber, Stefan

Keywords

Agriculture; Agriculture economics; Climate change; Cover crops; Economics; Sustainable agriculture

Abstract

Increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events due to climate change negatively impact agriculture output. Of particular concern is the adverse impact of droughts on corn and soybean yields, as these crops represent a significant portion of cash crop receipts in the United States. Cover crops are one practice that has gained attention due to their agronomic benefits and their potential to reduce downside production risk for producers. This study focuses on the impact of cover crop adoption on corn and soybean yields during drought conditions. We use cover crop adoption data from the Operational Tillage Information System, RMA county-level yield data, and the Palmer Drought Severity Index. We estimate a two-way fixed effects model, incorporating county and year-fixed effects to isolate the impact of cover crop adoption on logged yields. Additionally, we use a step function regression model to assess the impact of cover crop adoption across distinct 5% intervals of adoption. Our results show that cover crops do not have risk-mitigating benefits during drought for corn yields. Cover crops mitigate the impacts of drought on soybean yields. This finding is consistent across model specifications. These results carry significant policy implications, highlighting the need to emphasize crop-specific considerations in incentivizing cover crop adoption, as certain crops have more significant benefits than others.

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