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Opportunity Costs of Conservation-Minded Farming

• Friday, August 28, 2026, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

Join us as we present the first-year results of exploring the above-business-as-usual maintenance costs of farming in a conservation-minded way. This first foray quantifies the differences in production expenses and profitability of the PES pilot farms compared to producers of a similar scale & type that utilize conventional farming practices across New York State. By identifying the outsized maintenance costs these farmers incur by farming in conservation-minded ways (thereby increasing ecosystem services), allows our research team to identify the Opportunity Cost of prioritizing management for things like soil health and water quality/quantity. This Opportunity Cost describes the combined unaccounted-for price of activities like: no-till field labor hours, or maintaining acreage as riparian buffers along streams instead of converting that into direct-production space. Identifying the factors involved will provide context for what scale of ecosystem service payment is necessary to address these above-business-as-usual costs.

Please join us online as Dr. Becca Jablonski and Dr. Allison Bauman share the methods & approach developed by our research team, the initial findings from year one, and discuss the ways in which this work will be built upon in the coming year.

We look forward to your contributions to the Q&A session after the presentation! Please come with your questions!

Instructor's bio: Dr. Becca Jablonski is a national leader in evaluating the economic impacts of local and regional food systems, training thousands of individuals across the U.S while contributing to the development of multiple best practices for conducting economic impacts assessments of regional food hubs, as well as the socioeconomic pressures impacting local food markets. Dr. Allison Bauman also brings extensive experience in economic impact assessment, spatial market modelling and the use of USDA restricted-access data analysis for research on local/regional food systems.

Fee

This event is free, but contributions provide scholarship funds for others to attend classes & cover material costs where needed. We appreciate your continued support!

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Location

This event is online

Last updated August 3, 2026