KBS098:Bioenergy and Land Use Survey

The goal of this mail survey was to explore landowners’ attitudes, perceptions, and willingness to grow energy crops on marginal land in the southern half of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. A major objective was to predict the potential supply of four potential bioenergy crops on three land types (cropland, hay & pasture land, farmable non-crop land), with special focus on the latter two categories of “marginal” land. The contingent valuation completely randomized experimental design covers four energy crops (corn, switchgrass, hybrid poplar, trees, mixed prairie) with four pre-defined rental rate offers ($50, $100, $200, $300 per acre) at one of two rental contract durations (5 or 10 years) for a total of 32 versions of the questionnaire. The area frame sample targeted owners of plots of 10 acres (4 hectares) or more of “marginal” land, using the USDA Cropland Data Layer 2010 where “marginal land” was defined as fallow cropland, shrubland, grassland, and hay or pasture. The two-stage clustered random sampling design began with random selection of 12 selected non-metropolitan counties in southern Michigan (the clusters) and within each one random selection of 100 owners of land parcels of at least 10 acres (4 ha.), where possible. The 4-wave direct mail survey asked landowners about their land uses, attitudes about their land, awareness of bioenergy crops, opinions about bioenergy and environment, concerns about land rental, and demographic background. The contingent valuation section asked for respondent willingness to rent each of the three land types for each of the four bioenergy crops at a specified rental rate for a specified contract period. The survey began in March 2012 and was completed in August 2012