Understanding how crop insurance impacts adoption of conservation practices

In recent years, agricultural magazine articles have positioned crop insurance requirements as a barrier to conservation adoption. Our research uses a mixed-methods design with Midwest conventional corn farmers to identify if crop insurance is a hindrance to adoption. Qualitative data was analyzed in Nvivo using thematic coding and quantitative data was analyzed using Stata statistical software. Our results indicate that crop insurance is not a direct barrier to adoption. Rather, farmers identify distinct and complimentary outcomes for risk-management from participating in both crop insurance and conservation. These findings reflect broader perspectives on Midwest conventional corn producers’ beliefs and rationale for using crop insurance and/or conservation practices.