Addressing the environmental impacts of large-scale agriculture requires innovative approaches to conservation program design and evaluation. We used a randomized controlled trial and a sample of 2225 landowners in the Mississippi River Basin to test a new conservation program that targets a growing but overlooked population—nonoperating landowners (NOLs). To spur adoption of conservation practices on farmland rented out by NOLs, the program provided NOLs with ready-to-use lease language and a financial incentive. The program's design was informed by field work, the behavioral science literature, and the social science literature on barriers to conservation on farmland. We cannot detect an effect on conservation practices from the lease language or the incentive. The take-up rate for the incentive was one-tenth the expected rate based on NOL responses to a hypothetical offer in a survey. The results underscore the importance of assessing program performance by rigorously testing programs in real conservation settings.

中文翻译：

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使用随机对照试验制定租用农田的保护策略

解决大规模农业对环境的影响需要创新的保护计划设计和评估方法。我们使用随机对照试验和密西西比河流域 2225 名土地所有者的样本来测试一项新的保护计划，该计划针对的是不断增长但被忽视的人口 - 非经营土地所有者 (NOL)。为了促进在 NOL 出租的农田上采用保护措施，该计划为 NOL 提供了现成的租赁语言和经济激励。该计划的设计参考了田野工作、行为科学文献和关于农田保护障碍的社会科学文献。我们无法从租赁语言或激励措施中发现对保护实践的影响。根据 NOL 对调查中假设报价的反应，该激励措施的采用率是预期率的十分之一。结果强调了通过在真实保护环境中严格测试项目来评估项目绩效的重要性。