Farm Type Effects of an EU‐wide Direct Payment Harmonisation

In this study, we analyse how three scenarios involving different levels of harmonisation of common agricultural policy (CAP) decoupled payments in the EU affect the distribution of farm income across regions and farm types. We use the farm type extension of the common agricultural policy impact (CAPRI) model, which captures farm heterogeneity across the EU. The first scenario (NUTS1) assumes uniform per‐hectare payments at the NUTS1 level. The second scenario (MS‐CONV) equalises the per‐hectare rates inside each Member State (MS) and partially harmonises the single payment scheme (SPS) across MS in line with the 2011 Commission proposal. The third scenario simulates a uniform per‐hectare payment at the EU level. Depending on the implementation of the SPS, the NUTS1 flat rate induces a substantial redistribution of payments across farm types and NUTS2 regions, particularly in regions that apply the historical SPS. The MS‐CONV and EU flat‐rate schemes have more significant impacts at the EU‐wide level. In the EU‐15, almost all farms lose payments from MS‐CONV and EU‐wide flat rates, whereas in the EU‐10, almost all farm types gain from these scenarios. Our conservative estimates indicate that the flat‐rate payments could redistribute up to €8.5 billion. Lower land rental costs partially offset the losses of farm income in the EU‐15 from payment redistribution. Land rents drop for all flat‐rate scenarios across most sectors and farm sizes in the EU‐15. In the less productive new MS, the landowners’ rental income is largely unaffected by the introduction of the flat rate.     

The impact of decoupled payments on U.S. cropland values

An extensive literature has shown that various farm programs may influence the value of farmland, but other studies have not examined the cropland price effects of direct, or decoupled, payments separate from countercyclical payments. This study uses nationally representative confidential field‐level panel data with farmer‐reported per‐acre land values. We analyze the impact of decoupled and other farm program payments on farmland values. Using a fixed effects model and controlling for various factors that influence farmland values, we find that an additional dollar of decoupled payments has a large and statistically significant impact on farmland values of about $18 per acre. These results are comparable with similar studies undertaken in Europe.     

Urban proximity,demand for land and land shadow prices in Malawi

We assess the spatial and intertemporal variation in farmland prices using per hectare minimum willingness to accept (WTA) sales and rental (shadow) prices in Malawi. We use three rounds of nationally representative farm household panel data from the Living Standards Measurement Surveys (LSMS), collected in 2010, 2013 and 2016. The sample is split in quintiles based on distance from the nearest major city, building on the land valuation and transaction cost theory, and agrarian political economy perspectives on global and national land transactions. Generally, farmland shadow prices decrease with distance from urban areas. However, farmland shadow sales prices increased more sharply between 2010 and 2013 in rural areas (+100 % vs +30 % in urban proximity). The results indicate that the sharp increase in demand for large-scale land transfers following the sharp increase in energy and food prices also affected rural smallholders’ land valuation, even in remote rural areas of Malawi. Conversely, by 2016 land shadow sales prices were again, like in 2010, about three times as high in areas near urban centres compared to remote rural areas. Even though sales prices declined in remote rural areas from 2013 to 2016, rental prices remained high. Using farm household-level population pressure variable, we show that local population pressure is a driver of farmland shadow prices, indicating land scarcity challenges, growing demand for land, and poorly developed land markets. With increasing land scarcity, land markets are becoming more important and need to be factored in when formulating development policies that aim to improve access to land in both peri-urban and rural areas.     

The Effect on Farmland Prices of Rural Severances in the Urban Field

The lengthy debate on appropriate public policy for agricultural land planning has had two major components: the regulation of severances of farmland and the orderly expansion of each growing city. Putting aside the latter issue, this paper reports research on the severance issue, which is perhaps the key controllable socio-economic policy variable in rural foodland protection. This paper examines data from one of the most complex areas, the intermediate rural fringe surrounding Toronto. A “severance theory” is presented, based upon a review of theories of externalities and land economics. To test the severance theory, a regression model is used. The research provides what may be the first quantitative information in North America on the extent of the pecuniary externalities alleged to arise from severances, and hence provides some of the information that would be required to evaluate empirically proposed and existing land use policies. The severance theory predicts that severance activity would increase the price of nearby farmland. From the statistical analysis, it is concluded that severances did affect farmland values but that the relationships were more complex than anticipated. Severances influenced farmer buyers to pay higher prices for farmland. However, the predominating nonfarm buyer of farmland in York Region consistently reacted as if there were negative externalities from severances and paid lower prices where severances had an influence. The implications of this study for public policies such as the Ontario Food Land Guidelines are limited by the study area and time period examined. The approach used in this study should be applied to other areas, especially ones less subject to purchases by nonfarmers, in order to define more precisely the impact of severance activity on nearby farmland values.     

A Spatio‐temporal Model of Farmland Values

Despite the fact that data on farm sales are invariably collected over both time and space, previous papers have allowed for the presence of either temporal or spatial relationships in the data, but not both. Some papers have also inadvertently assumed that although farmland values are influenced by prices realised by nearby sales, these sales need not necessarily be comparable in terms of their attributes. Using data on sales of farmland obtained through public auctions in England and Wales, this paper examines the consequences of explicitly allowing for the presence of a spatio‐temporal lag in the estimation of hedonic models of farmland value. The results indicate that spatio‐temporally lagged values of the dependent and independent variables contribute significant additional explanatory power. Accounting for spatio‐temporal relationships appears moreover to somewhat alter the perceived size and statistical significance of key farmland attributes.     

Prices paid for farmland in Ontario: Does buyer type matter?

In the wake of the substantial increases in farmland values that have occurred in Ontario since 2008, concerns have been expressed regarding the potential influence of nonfarmer buyers, such as investment companies and foreign buyers, on prices paid for farmland. To examine whether these concerns may be warranted, this paper estimates the impact of nonfarmer buyers on sale prices for farmland in Ontario, using a hedonic approach and farmland sales data from 2002 to 2016. Analysis is also conducted to determine whether marginal implicit prices of specific farm attributes differ between farmer buyers and nonfarmer buyers. The results indicate that nonfarmer buyers have paid higher prices for farmland, but only in near‐urban areas. In addition, differences in marginal implicit prices for farmland attributes are found, where farmer buyers value more highly attributes related to the agricultural productivity of the property while nonfarmer buyers value more highly attributes related to nonagricultural use. These results imply that the higher prices paid by nonfarmers may be attributable to the bid‐rent theory, as nonfarmers may be bidding more than farmers for farmland in near‐urban areas due to higher expected returns from future urban use of the land.     

Impacts of Decoupled Agricultural Support on Farm Structure,Biodiversity and Landscape Mosaic: Some EU Results

The decoupling of direct payments from production represents a substantial reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Farmers are no longer required to produce commodities to be entitled to support but only to keep land in Good Environmental and Agricultural Condition. If output declines as a result, there is concern that landscape services produced jointly with commodities will also decline. The aim of this paper is to assess the long‐term effects of the 2003 reform on farm structure, landscape mosaic and biodiversity for a sample of EU regions. Impacts are quantified using a spatial agent‐based modelling approach by simulating agricultural development with links to indicators of landscape value. Our results demonstrate that eliminating the link between support payments and production has possible negative consequences for the landscape, but only under particular circumstances. It is shown that these effects could be offset by strengthening (Pillar II) agri‐environmental schemes. Further the single payment scheme results in higher land rental prices which reduces its ability to achieve its goal of providing income security for farmers. Implications of these results for the direction of continued CAP reform are discussed.     

Farmland cash rents and the dollar

We explore whether the U.S. exchange rate could have an influence on cash rental rates for farmland in five U.S. cornbelt states. We find that farmland cash rents have a fairly strong, positive correlation with the U.S. dollar, in terms of its real value relative to major agricultural trading partners. One explanation for the correlation is that a strong dollar lowers the price of key inputs and thus has purchasing power effects. A strong dollar may therefore be associated with higher net returns, and the payment of higher cash rents by farmers. We find support for this hypothesis through a series of econometric models.     

Cost-benefit analysis of the Dutch nature policy: Transaction costs and land market impacts

This paper analyses the financial and economic costs and benefits of the large scale National Ecological Network (NEN) nature conservation project in the Netherlands, taking into account transaction costs and land market impacts of different institutional arrangements. The net financial costs associated with achieving the current plan are equivalent with an annual amount €876 per hectare. Of the costs, transaction costs amount about 16% or €140 per hectare. The substantive land purchases involved in the plan will lead to land price increase of 20%. Nature management by agriculture turns out to be a relatively cheap option.     

Price shock transmission: evidence from the wheat‐bread market value chain in Ethiopia

This study assesses the degree of vertical price transmission along the wheat‐bread value chain in Ethiopia. This is pursued by applying a vector error correction model and an impulse response analysis using monthly price data for the period 2000–2015. Our analysis considers transmission of price shocks across different market levels, including from the international and domestic wheat grain markets at the upstream to the domestic wheat bread market at the downstream of the value chain. The empirical findings indicate that significant cointegration exists across prices of the different market stages. There is a transmission from international prices to domestic prices at downstream markets, in particular to flour and bread prices. Prices at upstream markets are largely influenced by the domestic wholesale market. In general, the speed of adjustment is quite slow with a half‐life of about one year for restoring the equilibrium price relationship. As price margins between the different market stages in the value chain have substantially decreased in the last 15 years, higher transmission, and thus exposure to international market shocks, can be expected in the future. The results also show that causal relationships exist between prices at different market stages—with the wholesale market identified as the key market level where prices and price expectations are formed.     

Energy‐milk price transmission at the product brand level

This article estimates the pass‐through rates between diesel fuel and retail milk prices at the product brand level. Using a random coefficient logit demand model and taking the direct and indirect impacts of energy prices, this research identifies changes in pass‐through rates before and after the great recession in 2008. Empirical results show that diesel prices significantly impacted the retail prices of milk products and are an important determinant of food price inflation. Pass‐through rates are estimated to range from 0.16 to approximately 0.60 through 2008 with an average of 0.22 for the whole period. Statistical tests indicate that pass‐through rates before June 2008 were significantly higher than after June 2008 when they dropped significantly to 0.04 to 0.17. Interestingly, private label brands have the lowest pass‐through rates, implying that compared to manufacturer brands, private label prices are more insulated from diesel price shocks.     

The influence of direct payments on farmers’ hail insurance decisions

We analyze determinants of hail insurance use of Swiss farmers, using FADN panel data covering the period 1990–2009. Mixed effect logistic regression models are estimated to identify the most important farm and farmer characteristics that trigger insurance use. In addition, information on local hail risk is taken into account in these models. It shows that larger farms, with specialization in crop production, and with larger local hail risks are more likely to adopt the hail insurance. Moreover, insurance users are usually older and better educated. Since the early 1990s, Swiss agricultural policy has reduced price support and introduced general and ecological direct payments. This has led to a much higher importance of direct payments for farmers’ incomes. Our analysis shows that this development has contributed to decreasing hail insurance adoption rates in Switzerland over the period considered. Our results indicate that the larger the share of direct payments for total farm revenue, the less attractive is insurance as a risk management strategy for farmers. This interdependency should be explicitly considered by agricultural policy in the design of support mechanisms.     

农地经营权流转价格扭曲的政府干预效应 ——基于边际价格理论的实证分析

研究目的：考察政府不同干预行为对农地经营权流转价格扭曲的影响效应,为完善农地生产要素配置及优化农地市场内外环境等提供政策建议。研究方法： Binary Logistic模型。研究结果：（1）当前农地经营权流转价格本应反映承包地利用产生的经济效益,由土地要素投入产出品的边际收益价值所决定;但受市场机制不完善、乡土伦理规范等多重影响,农地实际流转价格与要素价格间产生差异,表现为农地经营权流转价格扭曲。（2）政府不同的干预行为对农地经营权流转价格扭曲产生差异化效应。政府主导流转的直接干预模式会引起流转价格的高价扭曲,而通过构建流转交易平台、提供补贴等政策间接干预会缓解流转价格的低价扭曲。（3）对土地的经济诉求和保障诉求是造成流转价格扭曲的重要原因。研究结论：农地经营权流转价格的形成应交予市场,政府应避免直接干预造成价格的人为扭曲,可通过土地流转中介组织或补贴政策来间接培育优化农地市场交易环境。     

Price elasticity of water allocations demand in the Goulburn–Murray Irrigation District*

Bid prices for the demand and supply of water allocations between 2001 and 2007, and average monthly prices paid for water allocations from 1997 to 2007 in the Goulburn–Murray Irrigation District are analysed to estimate price elasticities. Based on bid prices, the price elasticity of demand for water allocations appears highly elastic, with elasticities strongly influenced by the season and drought. The price elasticity of supply for water allocations is also elastic, albeit less elastic than demand. Using actual prices paid, water demand is negatively related to price and is inelastic, and appears to be most influenced by demand the previous month, drought and seasonality factors.     

On farmland prices and rents in Japan

Historically, the Japanese farmland market has been strongly regulated, although fundamental changes in policy were introduced in 1967 and 1980. This article examines the relationship between farmland prices and rents in Japan for 1955–2000 using the cointegration procedure of Johansen et al. (2000) , which admits structural breaks. Results show the presence of a cointegrating relationship with a significant break in 1980. There is Granger‐causality from prices to rents, which suggests that rents are determined within an institutional setting according to farmland prices. The rent–price elasticity is unity, which supports the notion of efficiency in the farmland market.     

Cotton farmers’ willingness to pay for pest management services in northern Benin

This study was carried out to assess cotton farmers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for pest management services in northern Benin. Targeted staggered control (TSC) has been introduced to reduce pesticide use in cotton cropping and generate an estimated benefit of FCFA48,800 (€74.40) per cotton hectare accruing from increased productivity and reduced pesticide cost. However, TSC application requires extra time for pest identification and scouting, and its adoption remains low due to the lack of funding to boost farmers’ awareness and cover training costs. An interval regression model was used to analyze responses to a double‐bounded contingent valuation survey with data collected from 300 cotton farmers. The results showed that 87.3% of cotton farmers were willing to pay for TSC services. Annual WTP per cotton hectare was estimated at FCFA16,962 (€25.80), revealing an existing demand for TSC adoption. Respondents' WTP was driven by farm and socio‐economic characteristics. Financial mechanisms managed by farmers could thus potentially foster technology adoption, and in turn, generate economic and environmental benefits.     

Two centuries of farmland prices in England

The dissemination of robust asset price data can help improve market efficiency, resource allocation and investment analysis. Land prices influence housing affordability, food security and the carbon infrastructure. Yet price and return histories for farmland in England are fragmented. To provide perspective, a long farmland price series is needed to improve transparency and bring the asset class into line with commercial and residential real estate. After reviewing the historical backdrop and considering methodology, this research uses a chain-linking approach to construct a long-term farmland price series for England. It then adjusts the series for inflation to examine real land prices. The resulting two-century English farmland prices series contributes to farmland market analysis. Notwithstanding some concerns with long-run chain component heterogeneity, the combined series helps us to understand English average farmland price dynamics. As measured by the geometric mean, English land price real capital returns have been positive over more than two centuries. Farmland real price growth was 0.33 per cent annually from 1781 to 2013 and 0.71 per cent from 1801 to 2013. The series contributes to an understanding of land price dynamics.     

How do informal farmland rental markets affect smallholders’ well‐being? Evidence from a matched tenant–landlord survey in Malawi

We estimate the efficiency and equity returns to farmland rental markets in Malawi using a matched tenant–landlord survey of smallholder farm households in four districts. Our sample allows us to more fully observe the landlord side of the rental market, which is almost always missing in previous studies. Our results suggest that land rental markets promote efficiency by facilitating a net transfer of land to more productive farmers. We also find that land rental markets promote equity as conventionally defined in the land markets literature, that is, by transferring land from land‐rich households to land‐poor households, and from labor‐poor to labor‐rich households. However, our study identifies some important challenges for land rental markets in this context. First, we find that tenants in our sample are wealthier than their landlord counterpart on average in all dimensions other than landholding. In addition, most landlords report the motive for renting out their land as either the need for immediate cash, or the lack of labor and/or capital to cultivate the plot that was rented out. These findings align with concerns about potential “stress renting” by poor landlords and suggest the value of defining equity along a broader set of dimensions other than simply equalizing the distribution of farmland and labor.     

Impacts of 2003 CAP reform on land rental prices and capitalization

Based on a graphical analysis, we investigate the impacts of the Fischler Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy on land rental prices and the capitalization of single farm payments (SFP) into land values. The model shows that the degree of capitalization mainly depends on the scarcity/surplus of SFP entitlements relative to eligible hectares, the implementation model (historical versus regional) and the land supply elasticity. If there are more SFP entitlements than eligible hectares, the degree of capitalization into land values may not decline and may even increase due to the inclusion of other supports such as animal premiums in the SFP. We test this hypothesis with an empirical analysis of cross-section data on land rental prices in Bavaria for 2005. Empirical results indicate that decoupled SFP are capitalized into rental prices to a larger degree than the coupled direct payments of the time prior to the reform.     

Do farmers benefit from participating in specialty markets and cooperatives? The case of coffee marketing in Costa Rica1

Historically low prices in the conventional coffee market have caused financial and social hardship among coffee farmers. In the face of this crisis, specialty markets have attracted the attention of the international donor community. These market segments have shown consistent growth over the last decade and exhibit price premiums in international markets. Therefore, if higher prices are passed on to farmers, access to specialty markets could help to alleviate the crisis brought on by low prices in the conventional sector. The present study attempts to identify the factors that determine farmers' participation in specialized markets and whether participation in these markets leads to higher prices for farmers. A two-stage model is used to analyze farmers' marketing decisions and their effect on the prices received. This procedure allows us to control for the endogeneity bias introduced by the marketing choice. Our results indicate that farmers participating in the specialty coffee segment do in fact receive higher prices than those participating in conventional channels. Additionally, we find that participation in cooperatives has a positive impact on the probability that a farmer chooses to grow specialty coffee and analogously on the prices that they receive. Based on these results, it seems that efforts to increase participation in the specialty coffee segment and in cooperatives would help to lessen some of the hardships brought on by low prices in the conventional coffee sector.