Publication

Water quality issues related to the practice of agriculture are attracting a lot of attention.  Moratoriums on hog production were imposed in Quebec and Manitoba in recent years because it was believed that too much “bad”, environmental degradation, was created along the “good”, agricultural output.  Best management practices or BMPs can help mitigate the adverse externalities associated with agricultural production.  We used data from a survey conducted in the Chaudiere watershed south of Quebec City to analyze the factors conditioning the adoption of BMPs.  Intensive agriculture is practiced in this area. There are several studies that have been conducted on the adoption of environmental practices.  Even though each watershed is different, the results from these studies can be used to define our expectations or priors about the effect of certain factors on adoption. These take the form of inequality restrictions on regression coefficients.  We relied on Bayesian methods to ascertain whether the data is consistent with our expectations or priors about the effects of certain variables.  

Education, gender, age, and on-farm residence are found to have significant effects on the adoption of some BMPs. Farms with larger animal production are more apt to implement manure management practices, crop rotation, and riparian buffer strips. Also, farms with larger cultivated acres are more inclined to implement herbicide control practices, crop rotation, and riparian buffer strips. Belonging to an agro-environment club has a positive impact for most BMPs. These results should help with the targeting of extension services and the design of programs to encourage the adoption of BMPs.