In the United States, agricultural production using row-crop farming has reduced crop diversity. Repeated growing of the same crop in a field reduces soil productivity and increases pests, disease infestations, and weed growth. These negative effects can be mitigated by rotating cash crops with cover crops. Cover crops can improve soil’s physical, chemical, and biological properties, provide ground cover, and sequester soil carbon. This study examines the economic profitability for a four-year wheat–corn–soybean study with cover crops by conducting a field experiment involving a control (without cover crops) at the Soil Health Farm in Chariton County, MO, USA. Our findings suggested that economic profitability of the cash crop is negatively affected by the cover crop during the first two years but were positive in the fourth year. The rotation with cover crops obtained the same profit as in the control group if revenue from the cash crop increased by 35% or the cost of the cover crop decreased by 26% in the first year, depending on the cost of seeding the cover crop and terminating it. This study provides insights for policymakers on ways to improve the economic efficiency of cost-share conservation programs.

Temperate agroforestry practices offer various ecological, social, and economic benefits. However, data surrounding drivers of adoption for agroforestry in the U.S. remains limited. A survey of Missouri agricultural land managers was conducted to determine the extent of agroforestry adoption in the state, current knowledge and perceptions of agroforestry, and interest in implementing agroforestry practices. A choice experiment model was employed to assess participants’ willingness to accept (WTA) payment for adopting agroforestry practices and to determine land managers’ valuation of technical assistance and environmental benefits. Across the sample, self-reported knowledge of agroforestry practices was minimal to low (33%-78%). Perceptions of agroforestry systems for management and economic aspects were mixed, while promotion of biodiversity and environmental services were especially positive. Using a mixed logit regression model, if cost to establish a given agroforestry system was $2,500 per acre, it was determined that the average Missouri land manager would accept a per acre payment of $8,795 for alley cropping, $1,217 for forest farming, $3,080 for riparian forest buffers, $-3,546 for silvopasture, $11,458 for urban food forests, and $19,154 for windbreaks. WTA payments were lower for existing adopters of agroforestry than non-adopters. Among those who were willing to adopt agroforestry, technical assistance was valued at $1,670 per acre, while environmental benefits were valued at $2,992 per acre. In a second model testing interaction variables, participants with greater knowledge of agroforestry practices or with higher incomes were significantly more willing to adopt agroforestry practices, while participants with larger farms were less likely to adopt agroforestry.

Despite passionate efforts to preserve African elephants worldwide, their numbers continue to decline. Some conservation programs have suspended operations because the funds provided by various governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) cannot cover the enormous expenses of countering poaching, habitat destruction, and illegal ivory trading. This study investigates Chinese resident preferences for African elephant conservation using a choice experiment model. Results indicated that two-thirds of our 442 respondents with relatively higher education and income levels were willing to donate to conserve African elephants. Respondents were willing to donate RMB 1593.80 (USD 231.65) annually to African elephant conservation. Chinese residents were willing to donate the most to anti-poaching RMB 641.25 (USD 93.20), followed by enhancing habitat quality RMB 359.07 (USD 52.22), combating the illegal trade in ivory RMB 355.63 (USD 51.69), and alleviating human–elephant conflicts RMB 237.85 (USD 34.57). Our results suggest that accepting public donations could be an efficient way for NGOs to better preserve African elephants.

Agroforestry systems are increasingly recognized as providing multiple economic, ecological, and social benefits. These benefits have led to increases in agroforestry adoption across many regions of the world. Understanding which benefits lead producers to adopt agroforestry, or which challenges discourage adoption, is of critical importance to advance agroforestry implementation. This meta-analysis reviewed agroforestry adoption studies published between January 2000 and June 2024 and identified 94 observations from 76 econometric studies, encompassing research from 30 countries. Trends in number of publications, geographic focus, econometric models employed, and factors that influenced engagement with agroforestry were explored. Results show that most econometric studies analyzed were conducted in Africa, and the logit model was the preferred econometric approach. Of the 23 variables used in the meta-analysis to explore factors that influence engagement in agroforestry, only nine were found to be significant over 50% of the time. Variables most likely to predict agroforestry engagement were available labor, farmer knowledge of agroforestry or tree planting, and farmer contact with extension services. Findings from this study highlight the inconsistency in agroforestry definitions used globally, the complexity of the adoption process, and the inconsistency of variables used to predict agroforestry adoption across studies. The lack of predictive variables highlights the challenge of synthesizing agroforestry adoption data globally, where regional context, such as culture, policy, and geography have unique weight in the adoption process. Findings highlight the need for more regionally based analyses of agroforestry adoption.