Field‐Level Measurement of Land Productivity and Program Slippage

Abstract

Abstract We measure the significance of heterogeneous land quality in determining the efficacy of commodity program acreage reduction requirements in reducing farm output. Field‐level analysis isolates the influence of land productivity from other factors to gauge the importance of the land decisions on slippage. Results from six North Carolina counties for 1985–88 show that yield increases from the diversion of low‐quality land by individual farmers contribute relatively little to aggregate increases in average yield. The results are consistent with other studies finding that slippage is a result of interregional effects rather than of intraregional or intrafarm effects.