Study Data from University of Arizona Provide New Insights into Crop Insurance (Cover Crops, Crop Insurance Losses, and Resilience To Extreme Weather Events): Agriculture – Crop Insurance

2023 NOV 20 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Food Daily News -- Current study results on Agriculture - Crop Insurance have been published. According to news originating from Tucson, Arizona, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “This study investigates whether cover crop adoption reduces extreme-weather-related crop insurance losses. To achieve this objective, we utilize a county-level panel data set with information on cover crop adoption acres, crop insurance losses (i.e., specifically due to drought, excess heat, or excess moisture), and a number of weather variables.”

Funders for this research include We would like to thank the editor, Jill McCluskey, and two anonymous referees for their helpful comments and suggestions. We would also like to acknowledge the feedback we received from participants at the 2021 AAEA Meetings, the 2021 SCC-76 Meetings, and, USDA NIFA Hatch Project, United States Forest Service, USDA NIFA AFRI Competitive, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), (Nutrients Dynamics).

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the University of Arizona, “The data cover the main row crop production region in the Midwestern United States (US) for the period 2005 to 2018. We utilize linear fixed effects econometric models and a number of robustness checks in the empirical analysis (i.e., a fractional regression approach, two ‘external-instrument-free’ estimation procedures, and a variety of alternative empirical specifications). The estimation methods used take advantage of the panel nature of the data to address various specification and endogeneity issues. We find evidence that counties with higher cover crop adoption tend to have lower crop insurance losses due to drought, excess heat, or excess moisture. Our analysis also indicates that cover crops likely have stronger loss mitigation effects against excess moisture events (like floods) and somewhat weaker loss mitigation impacts against droughts and excess heat.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Nonetheless, our results overall suggest that cover crops can enhance resilience to extreme weather events and have the potential to be an effective climate change adaptation strategy in US agriculture.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Cover Crops, Crop Insurance Losses, and Resilience To Extreme Weather Events. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 2023. American Journal of Agricultural Economics can be contacted at: Wiley, 111 River St, Hoboken 07030-5774, NJ, USA. (Oxford University Press - http://www.oup.com/; American Journal of Agricultural Economics - ajae.oxfordjournals.org)

The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from Serkan Aglasan, University of Arizona, Dept. of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Tucson, AZ 85721, United States. Additional authors for this research include Roderick M. Rejesus, Stephen Hagen and William Salas.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1111/ajae.12431. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)