Iowa farmers' decisions to enroll in the average crop revenue election (ACRE) program
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The Department of Economic Science was founded in 1898 to teach economic theory as a truth of industrial life, and was very much concerned with applying economics to business and industry, particularly agriculture. Between 1910 and 1967 it showed the growing influence of other social studies, such as sociology, history, and political science. Today it encompasses the majors of Agricultural Business (preparing for agricultural finance and management), Business Economics, and Economics (for advanced studies in business or economics or for careers in financing, management, insurance, etc).
History
The Department of Economic Science was founded in 1898 under the Division of Industrial Science (later College of Liberal Arts and Sciences); it became co-directed by the Division of Agriculture in 1919. In 1910 it became the Department of Economics and Political Science. In 1913 it became the Department of Applied Economics and Social Science; in 1924 it became the Department of Economics, History, and Sociology; in 1931 it became the Department of Economics and Sociology. In 1967 it became the Department of Economics, and in 2007 it became co-directed by the Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Business.
Dates of Existence
1898–present
Historical Names
- Department of Economic Science (1898–1910)
- Department of Economics and Political Science (1910-1913)
- Department of Applied Economics and Social Science (1913–1924)
- Department of Economics, History and Sociology (1924–1931)
- Department of Economics and Sociology (1931–1967)
Related Units
- College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (parent college)
- College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (parent college)
- College of Business (parent college)
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Abstract
In 2009 Iowa farmers who had at least some land enrolled in the existing DCP program offered by FSA were given the opportunity to switch to an alternative called ACRE. Despite having access to information about the program and utilizing electronic decision aids, only 27.5% of the operators surveyed enrolled at least one farm in ACRE. Those who did enroll cited a desire for more risk protection and a belief that payments from ACRE would exceed the value of the direct payments they had to give up. The primary reasons operators gave for not enrolling were the program was too complex, and they did not want to give up a portion of the direct payments. Farmers who enrolled generally farmed more acres and depended more on crop production for their gross income, and were more likely to use other risk management tools such as crop insurance and pre-harvest pricing. In general, farmers who enrolled in ACRE were more concerned about controlling financial risk in their farming operations than those who did not.