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AbstractIssues relating to agricultural tenancy have been viewed as important economic questions since the early writings of Smith and Mill. At the close of the twentieth century, interest in these issues remains strong. In developing countries with agrarian economies, this interest is stimulated by the perceived importance of land lease arrangements in either fostering or impeding economic development. In the United States, where the proportion of farmland operated under lease arrangements has increased from 35% in 1950 to 43% in 1992 (USDA 1992), concern focuses on efficiency of resource use and issues such as effects of absentee landownership and tenant farming on the adoption of soil‐conserving production practices.

AbstractThe 2008 Farm Bill created the Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) program to be a new commodity support program. Using a multinomial logit model to analyze a mail survey administered before the ACRE sign‐up deadline, we identify factors driving farmer intentions regarding ACRE participation. Using a Tobit model to analyze actual county‐level ACRE enrollment rates, we assess the effect of similar factors on actual farmer decisions. Results suggest that primary crops, risk perceptions, risk aversion, and program complexity were important factors affecting participation. Farmer beliefs and attitudes also played key roles, and were changing during the months before the ACRE deadline.