Resources for Future Inc

Awards Issued Prior to January 20, 2025, Were Funded Under Previous Administrations and May Not Reflect the Priorities and Policies of the Current Administration. Extreme and Variable Weather Pose Significant Threats to Agricultural Productivity, and Crop Yields Are Expected to Decline Under Climate Change in the Absence of Adaptation. Our Project Assesses the Role of Two of AMERICA'S Largest Farm Support Programs - the Federal Crop Insurance Program (FCIP) and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) - in Both Aiding and Potentially Interfering With Agricultural Adaptation. First, We Will Assess the Impact of Extreme and Variable Weather on Program Participation Using Large, Geospatial Datasets (including a New Database of Weather Variability Metrics) and Panel Data Econometrics Methods. Next, We Will Quantify How Participation Affects Agricultural Adaptation, as Measured by the Sensitivity of Yields and Farm Income to Extreme Weather.if Weather Variability Increases Fcip and CRP Participation, What Does This Mean for the Economy and the Environment? We Will Examine the Effect of Program Participation on the Continuity of Farm Operations, Agriculture Employment and Wages, and Spillover Effects on Other Industries in Rural Economies. This Analysis Is Made Possible by Our Proprietary Access to a Longitudinal Micro-dataset on the Universe of Business Establishments in the Us. We Will Also Examine the Impact of the Fcip and CRP on Water Use and Quality Using a Novel Database on Non-point Source Pollution. Throughout, Our Project Emphasizes Understanding the Distributional Impacts of Fcip and CRP Participation to Shed New Light on Which Communities Are Benefiting From and Being Harmed by These Federal Programs, Paying Particular Attention to Impacts in Historically Underserved Communities.