Landowner Mail Survey on ‘Bioenergy and Land Use,’ Northern Michigan & Northern Wisconsin 2014 Responses (raw data) — Social Science Studies
Data in the KBS LTER core database may not be published without written permission of the lead investigator or project director Full terms of use
This is the raw survey data from the 2014 survey
This datatable is part of the Landowner Mail Survey on ‘Bioenergy and Land Use,’ Northern Michigan & Northern Wisconsin dataset. The survey targeted unincorporated, private landowners. The goal of this mail survey was to explore landowners’ attitudes, perceptions, and willingness to grow energy crops and/or harvest timber residues in the northern half of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and in northern Wisconsin. A major objective was to predict the potential supply of land devoted to three potential bioenergy crops on three land types (cropland, farmable non-crop land [including pasture & grassland], forest land). The survey also included the potential for woody biomass sale as residue from timber harvest and tree thinning operations. The contingent valuation completely randomized experimental design covers four energy crops (corn, switchgrass, hybrid poplar trees, woody biomass residues) with four pre-defined rental rate offers ($15, $30, $60, $90 per acre; same rates used for woody biomass sale) for a total of 16 versions of the questionnaire (experimental design with prices offered appears on Survey Versions & Prices worksheet in the codebook file). 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 three bioenergy crops, with specified rental rates following an orthogonal design. For woody biomass timber residues, respondents were asked about willingness to sell the biomass at the same one-time price as the poplar land rental rate.
The list frame sampled the population of rural land owners with plots of at least 10 acres (4 hectares). The two-stage stratified, clustered random sampling design began with selection and stratification of 18 counties by proportion of land in cropland and grassland (greater than and less 20% land cover, with 3 WI counties and 6 MI counties in each category). Next, within each county landholdings were obtained from property tax records, and landowners were stratified by a) area owned in the county (10-100 acres and over 100 acres) and b) forest orientation (proxied by participation in a forest management program: Wisconsin Managed Forest Law, Michigan Commercial Forest, or MI Qualified Forest Program). We drew 24 addresses at random from each stratum in (the smaller) Michigan counties and 48 from each stratum in (the larger) Wisconsin counties. Sampling probabilities appear on the Survey Weights worksheet in the codebook file. This resulted in a balanced final sample frame with 1152 landowners per state. Upon mailing out the study questionnaire to the selected landowner mailing addresses, 134 were returned as undeliverable or otherwise invalid. The final sampled population therefore consisted of 2170 valid addresses, from which 1124 completed questionnaires were returned before the survey closed. The survey began in October 2014 and was closed in May 2015 (but 1228 of the final 1258 returned questionnaires were received by Feb. 5, 2015).
Note
Experiment: | Social Science Studies |
Data available from: | October 2014 to May 2015 |
Dataset: | KBS120 |
Datatable ID: | KBS120-001.175 |
Repository link: | |
Related Tables: | |
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Last Updated | 2023-10-24 |
Variate | Description | Units |
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id | farm identification number ( number ) | |
coder | first intial of data coder ( initial ) | |
price corn | rental rate offered for corn ($/acre) | |
price switch | rental rate offered for switchgrass ($/acre) | |
price poplar | rental rate offered for poplar ($/acre) | |
price slash | rental rate offered for slash ($/acre) | |
1 own10 | Owned more than 10 acres of undeveloped rural land in 2013 ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
2 maindec | Main decision maker ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a1 county | Other county ( 19 ) | |
a1 comment | Name of other county ( text ) | |
a2 | Landowner owned rural land in more than one county ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a3 | Total acres of rural land owned ( acres ) | |
a4 | Landowner rented out any of his/her rural land to others ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a4a | Acres of rural land rented out to others ( acres ) | |
a5 | Landowner rented in rural land from others ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a5a | Acres of rural land rented in from others ( acres ) | |
a6 | Landowner farmed any of the rural land he/she owned ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a7 | Landowener grew corn or rented out land for corn production ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a8 | Landowner had timber harvested from his/her rural land ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a8a | Year of last timber harvest ( Integer (year) ) | |
a9 corn | corn on cropland ( acres ) | |
a9 soy | soybeans on cropland ( acres ) | |
a9 wheat | wheat on cropland ( acres ) | |
a9 other row crops | other row crops on cropland ( acres ) | |
a9 hay rot | hay or alfalfa on cropland in rotation with other crops ( acres ) | |
a9 fruit | fruit trees on cropland ( acres ) | |
a9 fallow | fallow or idle cropland ( acres ) | |
a9 other cropland | other cropland ( acres ) | |
a9 expl other cropland | other cropland explanation ( text ) | |
a9 hay cont | hay or alfalfa on farmable non-cropland, continuous ( acres ) | |
a9 livestock pasture | Livestock pasture on farmable non-cropland ( acres ) | |
a9 open grass | Grasses on farmable non-cropland ( acres ) | |
a9 shrub | Shrub or Scrub on farmable non-cropland ( acres ) | |
a9 other noncrop | Other farmable non-cropland ( acres ) | |
a9 mx forest | Mixed natural forest ( acres ) | |
a9 single spec | Single species tree plantations ( acres ) | |
a9 other forest | Other forest ( acres ) | |
a9 expl other forest | Other forest explain ( text ) | |
a9 other rural | Any other rural land (e.g. wetlands, lawn and garden) ( acres ) | |
a9 other other | Other land ( acres ) | |
a9 expl other other | Other ( text ) | |
a10 crp | Land enrolled in Conservation Reserve Program ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a10 csp | Land enrolled in Conservation Stewardship Program ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a10 eqip | Land enrolled in Environmental Quality Incentive Program ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a10 mfl | Land enrolled in Managed Forest Law ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a10 cf | Land enrolled in Commercial Forest Program ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a10 qf | Land enrolled in Qualified Forest Program ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a10 other prog | Land enrolled in Other Program ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a10 expl other prog | Land enrolled in Other Program_explain ( text ) | |
a11 | Livestock raised on landowner's rural land ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a11a | Number of cattle raised on rural land ( integer ) | |
a11b | Number of sheep & goats raised on rural land ( integer ) | |
a11c | Number of other livestock raised, excluding birds ( integer ) | |
a12 ag ag income | Cropland used for income from land rented out to agricultural or forest product growers or the sale of these products ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a12 ag rec income | Cropland used for income from land rented out for recreation purposes (e.g., hunting, fishing, motorized recreation) ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a12 ag personal | Cropland used for personal recreation (hunting, fishing, motorized recreation, hiking, solitude) ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a12 ag other | Cropland used for other purposes ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a12 expl ag other | Cropland used for other purposes_explain ( text ) | |
a12 farm ag income | Farmable non-cropland used for income from land rented out to agricultural or forest product growers or the sale of these products ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a12 farm rec income | Farmable non-cropland used for income from land rented out for recreation purposes (e.g., hunting, fishing, motorized recreation) ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a12 farm personal | Farmable non-cropland used for personal recreation (hunting, fishing, motorized recreation, hiking, solitude) ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a12 farm other | Farmable non-cropland used for other purposes ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a12 expl farm other | Farmable non-cropland used for other purposes_explain ( text ) | |
a12 forest ag income | Forested land used for income from land rented out to agricultural or forest product growers or the sale of these products ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a12 forest rec income | Forested land used for income from land rented out for recreation purposes (e.g., hunting, fishing, motorized recreation) ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a12 forest personal | Forested land used for personal recreation (hunting, fishing, motorized recreation, hiking, solitude) ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a12 forest other | Forested land used for other purposes ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a12 expl forest other | Forested land used for other purposes_explain ( text ) | |
a13 | rural land in conservation easement ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a14 | rural land located within a forest reserve ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a15 | Landowenr had a written forest management plan ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a16 | Landowner used forested land to graze livestock ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
a17 | age of largest tract of mixed forest ( 1=less than 5 years, 2=6-10 years, 3=more than 10 years ) | |
a18 | age of largest tract of single species tree plantation ( 1=less than 5 years, 2=6-10 years, 3=more than 10 years ) | |
a19a | I would rent out land for agricultural production if offered a satisfactory economic return. ( 1=yes, 0=no, 2=uncertain ) | |
a19b | I would rent out land for the establishment of a tree plantation if offered a satisfactory economic return. ( 1=yes, 0=no, 2=uncertain ) | |
a19c | My family or friends would dislike it if I rented out my rural land to grow crops or harvest timber. ( 1=yes, 0=no, 2=uncertain ) | |
a19d | I would be willing to sell my rural land if I knew it was going to be used for growing crops or timber harvesting. ( 1=yes, 0=no, 2=uncertain ) | |
a19e | I would be willing to sell my rural land if I knew it was going to be used for recreation (e.g., hunting, fishing). ( 1=yes, 0=no, 2=uncertain ) | |
a19f | I would be willing to sell my rural land if I knew it was going to be used for development (i.e., built structures). ( 1=yes, 0=no, 2=uncertain ) | |
a19g | I would never sell the rural land that I own. ( 1=yes, 0=no, 2=uncertain ) | |
a19h | I plan to sell most of my rural land within the next 10 years. ( 1=yes, 0=no, 2=uncertain ) | |
a19i | I plan to pass my rural land onto an heir or other family member within the next 10 years. ( 1=yes, 0=no, 2=uncertain ) | |
a19j | I plan to subdivide part or all of my rural land within the next 10 years. ( 1=yes, 0=no, 2=uncertain ) | |
a19k | I plan to reforest part of my rural land within the next 10 years. ( 1=yes, 0=no, 2=uncertain ) | |
a19l | I plan to convert most of my land to another use within the next 10 years. ( 1=yes, 0=no, 2=uncertain ) | |
a19m | Within the past 10 years, I converted land from cropland into grassland or forest. ( 1=yes, 0=no, 2=uncertain ) | |
a19n | Within the past 10 years, I converted land from grassland into forest. ( 1=yes, 0=no, 2=uncertain ) | |
b1 | Landowner has heard of bioenergy ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
b2 | Landowner knows that ethanol could be produced from other plant-based materials such as grasses in addition to corn ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
b3a | Landowenr is aware that corn residues could be used for bioenergy feedstock ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
b3b | Landowenr is aware that switchgrass could be used for bioenergy feedstock ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
b3c | Landowenr is aware that hybrid poplar trees could be used for bioenergy feedstock ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
b3d | Landowenr is aware that forest slash could be used for bioenergy feedstock ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
b4a | Landowner has seen a pile or bale of corn residues ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
b4b | Landowner has seen a field of switchgrass ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
b4c | Landowner has seen a row of hybrid poplar trees ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
b4d | Landowner has seen a pile of forest slash ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
c1a | decision of whether to rent cropland for corn ( 1= yes, 2=no, I do not own that land type, 3=no, I would rent if the rent were higher, 4= no, never rent this type of land , 0=no, with no subset selected ) | |
c1b | Acres willing to rent of cropland for corn if decision was yes ( acres ) | |
c2a | decision of whether to rent farmable non-cropland land for corn ( 1= yes, 2=no, I do not own that land type, 3=no, I would rent if the rent were higher, 4= no, never rent this type of land , 0=no, with no subset selected ) | |
c2b | Acres willing to rent of farmable non-cropland for corn if decision was yes ( acres ) | |
c3a | Decision of whether to rent forested land for corn ( 1= yes, 2=no, I do not own that land type, 3=no, I would rent if the rent were higher, 4= no, never rent this type of land , 0=no, with no subset selected ) | |
c3b | Acres willing to rent of forested land for corn if decision was yes ( acres ) | |
c4a | decision of whether to rent cropland for switchgrass ( 1= yes, 2=no, I do not own that land type, 3=no, I would rent if the rent were higher, 4= no, never rent this type of land , 0=no, with no subset selected ) | |
c4b | Acres willing to rent of cropland for switchgrass if decision was yes ( acres ) | |
c5a | decision of whether to rent farmable non-cropland land for switchgrass ( 1= yes, 2=no, I do not own that land type, 3=no, I would rent if the rent were higher, 4= no, never rent this type of land , 0=no, with no subset selected ) | |
c5b | Acres willing to rent of farmable non-cropland for switchgrass if decision was yes ( acres ) | |
c6a | Decision of whether to rent forested land for switchgrass ( 1= yes, 2=no, I do not own that land type, 3=no, I would rent if the rent were higher, 4= no, never rent this type of land , 0=no, with no subset selected ) | |
c6b | Acres willing to rent of forested land for switchgrass if decision was yes ( acres ) | |
c7a | decision of whether to rent cropland for hybrid poplar ( 1= yes, 2=no, I do not own that land type, 3=no, I would rent if the rent were higher, 4= no, never rent this type of land, 0=no, with no subset selected ) | |
c7b | Acres willing to rent of cropland for hybrid poplar if decision was yes ( acres ) | |
c8a | decision of whether to rent farmable non-cropland land for hybrid poplar ( 1= yes, 2=no, I do not own that land type, 3=no, I would rent if the rent were higher, 4= no, never rent this type of land , 0=no, with no subset selected ) | |
c8b | Acres willing to rent of farmable non-cropland for hybrid poplar if decision was yes ( acres ) | |
c9a | Decision of whether to rent forested land for hybrid poplar ( 1= yes, 2=no, I do not own that land type, 3=no, I would rent if the rent were higher, 4= no, never rent this type of land , 0=no, with no subset selected ) | |
c9b | Acres willing to rent of forested land for hybrid poplar if decision was yes ( acres ) | |
c10 | Decision of wheter to agree with contract offer to remove woody biomass at next timber harvest ( 1= yes, 2=no, no plans to harvest timber, 3=no, I would sell if the payment were higher, 4= no, never sell woody biomass , 0=no, with no subset selected ) | |
c11 | Decision of wheter to agree with contract offer to remove woody biomass at next stand improvement ( 1= yes, 2=no, no plans for stand improvement, 3=no, I would sell if the payment were higher, 4= no, never sell woody biomass , 0=no, with no subset selected ) | |
d1a | Developing renewable energy (e.g., wind, solar, bioenergy, hydro-electrical) is important to our nation’s future. ( 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= uncertain, 4= agree, 5= strongly agree ) | |
d1b | Bioenergy should be prioritized over other forms of renewable energy such as wind or solar power. ( 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= uncertain, 4= agree, 5= strongly agree ) | |
d1c | Burning bioenergy feedstocks to generate electricity instead of burning coal is worth the extra cost. ( 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= uncertain, 4= agree, 5= strongly agree ) | |
d1d | Substituting bioenergy feedstocks for fossil fuels will help mitigate climate change. ( 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= uncertain, 4= agree, 5= strongly agree ) | |
d1e | Growing bioenergy feedstocks on cropland will increase competition with food needs. ( 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= uncertain, 4= agree, 5= strongly agree ) | |
d1f | Increased bioenergy feedstock production will result in significant forest loss. ( 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= uncertain, 4= agree, 5= strongly agree ) | |
d1g | Government should allow regular harvesting of public forest land and CRP land for bioenergy purposes. ( 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= uncertain, 4= agree, 5= strongly agree ) | |
d1h | Biodiversity should be maintained when land use is changed. ( 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= uncertain, 4= agree, 5= strongly agree ) | |
d1i | Liquid biofuels are a promising alternative energy technology that will be succesful in the future. ( 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= uncertain, 4= agree, 5= strongly agree ) | |
d1j | The use of fossil fuels can be harmful to human health and the environment. ( 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= uncertain, 4= agree, 5= strongly agree ) | |
d1k | The world will run out of fossil fuels (e.g., oil, natural gas) in the next 50 to 120 years. ( 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= uncertain, 4= agree, 5= strongly agree ) | |
d2a | The potential smell ( 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= uncertain, 4= agree, 5= strongly agree ) | |
d2b | Noise from harvesting, planting, or other activities ( 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= uncertain, 4= agree, 5= strongly agree ) | |
d2c | Potential legal costs of contracting ( 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= uncertain, 4= agree, 5= strongly agree ) | |
d2d | The length of the contract ( 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= uncertain, 4= agree, 5= strongly agree ) | |
d2e | The possible need for insurance ( 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= uncertain, 4= agree, 5= strongly agree ) | |
d2f | Having other people on my land ( 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= uncertain, 4= agree, 5= strongly agree ) | |
d2g | The land changing in a way that I can no longer use it as I want ( 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= uncertain, 4= agree, 5= strongly agree ) | |
d2h | How profitable it will be ( 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= uncertain, 4= agree, 5= strongly agree ) | |
d2i | A lack of information about the potential feedstocks ( 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= uncertain, 4= agree, 5= strongly agree ) | |
d2j | The use of pesticide and fertilizer on my land ( 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= uncertain, 4= agree, 5= strongly agree ) | |
d2k | The loss of biodiversity on my land (e.g., insects, birds, mammals, plants, etc) ( 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= uncertain, 4= agree, 5= strongly agree ) | |
d2l | The risk of lower soil and water quality ( 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= uncertain, 4= agree, 5= strongly agree ) | |
e1 | age ( integer (years) ) | |
e2 | male gender ( 1=male, 0=female ) | |
e3 | household members ( integer (members) ) | |
e4 | The respondant is a farmer or do farm work ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
e5 | household income ( 1= less than $25,000; 2= $25.000 to $49,999; 3= $50,000 to $99,999; 4= $100.000 to $149,999; 5= $150,000 to $199,999; 6= $200,000 and above ) | |
e6 | education ( 1= less than 12 years, 2= completed high school or GED, 3= some college (including AA, AS degrees), 4= 4-year college degree, 5= some graduate work, 6= graduate degree ) | |
e7 ag | Land zoned for agricultural use ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
e7 res | Land zoned for residential use ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
e7 ind | Land zoned for industrial use ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
e7 for | Land zoned for forest use ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
e7 not | Land not restricted by zoning ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
e7 unc | I am uncertain ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
e8 | duration of land ownership ( number (years) ) | |
e9 | rural land controlled by another family member before you became owner ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
e10 | residence on rural land ( 1=yes, 0=no ) | |
e10a | weeks/year to spend at this residence ( integer (weeks) ) | |
e11 | ZIP code of permanent residence ( integer ) | |
e12 crop | If rented out cropland in last 2 years what was the most common rental rate ( integer ($/acre) ) | |
e12 pasture | If rented out pasture in last 2 years what was the most common rental rate ( integer ($/acre) ) | |
e12 forest | If rented out forest in last 2 years what was the most common rental rate ( integer ($/acre) ) | |
comments | ||
notes |
Protocols |
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Data Excerpt
id | coder | price_corn | price_switch | price_poplar | price_slash | 1_own10 | 2_maindec | a1_county | a1_comment | a2 | a3 | a4 | a4a | a5 | a5a | a6 | a7 | a8 | a8a | a9_corn | a9_soy | a9_wheat | a9_other_row_crops | a9_hay_rot | a9_fruit | a9_fallow | a9_other_cropland | a9_expl_other_cropland | a9_hay_cont | a9_livestock_pasture | a9_open_grass | a9_shrub | a9_other_noncrop | a9_mx_forest | a9_single_spec | a9_other_forest | a9_expl_other_forest | a9_other_rural | a9_other_other | a9_expl_other_other | a10_crp | a10_csp | a10_eqip | a10_mfl | a10_cf | a10_qf | a10_other_prog | a10_expl_other_prog | a11 | a11a | a11b | a11c | a12_ag_ag_income | a12_ag_rec_income | a12_ag_personal | a12_ag_other | a12_expl_ag_other | a12_farm_ag_income | a12_farm_rec_income | a12_farm_personal | a12_farm_other | a12_expl_farm_other | a12_forest_ag_income | a12_forest_rec_income | a12_forest_personal | a12_forest_other | a12_expl_forest_other | a13 | a14 | a15 | a16 | a17 | a18 | a19a | a19b | a19c | a19d | a19e | a19f | a19g | a19h | a19i | a19j | a19k | a19l | a19m | a19n | b1 | b2 | b3a | b3b | b3c | b3d | b4a | b4b | b4c | b4d | c1a | c1b | c2a | c2b | c3a | c3b | c4a | c4b | c5a | c5b | c6a | c6b | c7a | c7b | c8a | c8b | c9a | c9b | c10 | c11 | d1a | d1b | d1c | d1d | d1e | d1f | d1g | d1h | d1i | d1j | d1k | d2a | d2b | d2c | d2d | d2e | d2f | d2g | d2h | d2i | d2j | d2k | d2l | e1 | e2 | e3 | e4 | e5 | e6 | e7_ag | e7_res | e7_ind | e7_for | e7_not | e7_unc | e8 | e9 | e10 | e10a | e11 | e12_crop | e12_pasture | e12_forest | comments | notes |
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