PR - Economic Effects Of On-farm Nature Conservation For Dairy Farms

The economic effect for farms of on-farm nature conservation is an important issue in Dutch agriculture. As nature is a public good, nature conservation cannot do without subsidies from the government. The question of how much farmers should receive in subsidies in order to keep farms engaged in conservation activities is highly topical. In this study, economic effects of on-farm nature conservation for dairy farms in a particular area in the Netherlands were determined by means of normative modelling. Based on data from farms that deal with on-farm nature conservation and data from comparable farms that are not involved in this activity two average farms were determined. Comparison of the modelling results of these two farms showed that the farm involved in conservation earns a lower income than the farm not involved in conservation. This is due to the first farmer's smaller scale, lower intensity and lower productivity. The lower income, however, was partly compensated for by conservation subsidies.

Keywords: On-farm nature conservation, Landscape conservation, Agriculture, Dairy farming, Farm modelling.