This study describes the water management practice (WMP) use patterns by producers in Arkansas, USA, identifies the factors related to producers' choices among WMP groups, and examines the correlations between WMP uses and irrigated acreage. Using data from the 2016 Arkansas Irrigation Survey, WMPs are divided into four groups: field management, water flow control, water recovery/storage, and advanced irrigation scheduling practices. We find that about 77% of producers in the study area use two or more groups of WMPs to manage multiple aspects of irrigation, but that the factors that are associated with choices of WMPs vary by WMP group. Regression results show that the use of water flow meters, providing producers with education on the looming groundwater shortage problems and awareness of financial assistance available for conservation efforts, such as the state tax credits program, and use of WMPs by family members, friends, and neighbors are associated with increased use of WMPs. However, we find that producers that are older, have smaller farms, and rely more on groundwater are less likely to use some of the WMPs. Regression results also show that using water flow meters positively correlates with total irrigated acres, irrigated acres in rice, and irrigated acres in soybeans, and that for soybeans using more groups of WMPs is associated with a reduced extent of irrigated acreage. This study contributes to the small economics literature on WMPs and provides a more comprehensive picture of how producers use different WMPs to manage irrigation.

As China is transferring from a centrally planned economy to a market economy, the land market becomes more active. With the rapid transition from an agricultural society to an industrialized society, both economic and social factors could influence the choice of land lease agreement. This paper investigates the choice behavior of land lease agreement based on the household data collected from the largest wheat-producing province in China, Henan province. The results provide strong evidence that economic interest plays a key role in the choice of land lease agreement. Meanwhile, the paper has also found that social relations still affect the choice of land lease agreement. To speed up the transfer of land use rights and scale of operation, this study proposes: reducing the land dependence of rural households; improving agricultural machinery and achieving farming mechanization; creating more non-farm work opportunities for rural laborers; promoting the citizenization of rural households; respecting farmers’ choice of contracts; and attaching importance to the role of social relations in farmland transfer.

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Identifying the factors correlating to consumers' preference for sustainability-labeled food products is essential for developing policies to promote the consumption of food produced in a socially responsible and environmentally friendly manner. Using a representative US consumer sample, this study systematically examines consumers' preferences for different food sustainability labels and investigates whether consumers' life habits in other domains of life are consistent with their food purchasing decisions. We find that among the four food sustainability labels included in our study, consumers have the highest marginal willingness-to-pay (MWTP) for United States Department of Agriculture certified organic labels, followed by the nongenetically modified organism, eco-friendly, and fair-trade labels. It is evident that daily activities, such as proenvironmental behaviors away from home and physical exercise in everyday life, are correlated to consumers' MWTP for sustainability-labeled food products. This study provides implications for designing proper strategies to improve sustainable food consumption, including targeting consumers who adopt a more environmentally sustainable lifestyle, such as conducting proenvironmental activities outside home and physical exercise activities in daily life. [EconLit Citations: Q13, Q18].