Why do farmers care about rented land? Investigating the context of farmland tenure

Rental shares of agricultural land have increased in many countries, as have soil degradation and erosion. Theory suggests that these trends may be correlated, yet empirical findings are mixed. This ambiguity indicates that a “tenure effect” on conservation may be highly contextual. Our research investigates farmers’ soil conservation behavior on rented land and aims to disentangle the contextual factors involved. These factors include rental duration and security, the nature of the landlord-tenant relationship, plot-specific features of the land, formal requirements such as agri-environmental schemes (AES) or contractual obligations, as well as rental prices. We survey Austrian crop farmers and find, prima facie, no differences between rented and owned cropland in the application of 16 different soil conservation practices. We also find that, in our sample, renting appears to be secure and long term; there are few cases where landlord-tenant relationships are distant; where rented plots are far from the farmhouse; and most farmers in Austria participate in AES that are applied independent of tenure status. We therefore propose that a purported tenure effect is indeed contingent on the contextual factors listed above, which may support or counteract soil conservation on rented land. Thus, policy makers and extension services can foster soil conservation on rented land by addressing these contextual factors. Points of intervention include designing AES contracts in a way that reduces risks for tenant farmers, supporting secure and long-term renting, encouraging close landlord-tenant relationships, and promoting the inclusion of conservation requirements in rental contracts.