Eliminating Fruit and Vegetable Planting Restrictions: How Would Markets Be Affected?
Demcey Johnson, Barry Krissoff, Edwin Young, Linwood Hoffman, Gary Lucier, and Vince Breneman
Economic Research Report No. (ERR-30) 54 pp, November 2006

Participants in U.S. farm programs are restricted from planting and harvesting wild rice, fruit, and most vegetables (nonprogram crops) on acreage historically used for program crops (known as base acreage). However, a recent World Trade Organization challenge to U.S. programs has created pressure to eliminate planting restrictions. Although eliminating restrictions would not lead to substantial market impacts for most fruit or vegetables, the effects on individual producers could be significant. Some producers who are already producing fruit and vegetables could find that it is no longer profitable, while others could profitably move into producing these crops. Producers with base acreage are the most likely to benefit because they would no longer face payment reductions.

• Report summary, 111 kb

• Abstract, Acknowledgments, Contents, and Summary, 202 kb
• Introduction, 27 kb
• Base Acreage and Planting Restrictions Under the 2002 Farm Act, 1,557 kb
• Agronomic and Economic Barriers to Expanding Fruit and Vegetable Production, 1,120 kb
• Competition for Land Between Program and Fruit and Vegetable Crops, 4,675 kb
• Planting Dry Beans on Base Acreage: Economic Tradeoffs, 245 kb
• Discussion and Implications, 28 kb
• References, 26 kb
• Appendix, 38 kb

• Low-resolution entire report, 990 kb

• High-resolution entire report, 7,708 kb