Abstracts of Selected Papers

s of Selected Papers Farmland Preservation and Land Values Session Chair: Gerald L. Cole, University of Delaware An Analysis of Land Acquisition and Financing Decisions Using a Nested Logit Procedure, Charles B. Dodson, USDAIERS A nesting logit procedure was used to evaluate the land purchase/financing decisions of commercial farmers in 1991-92. Results suggest that farmers who purchased land were more profitable, wealthy, and older than average. The probability of purchasing farmland was sensitive to changes in operator age, with older operators being more likely buyers. Also, farmers with greater amounts of nonfarm wealth and greater profitability were more likely to buy land. Results indicate that credit is an important source of capital to farmers who may lack liquidity or collateral to purchase farmland. The Effects of Conservation Land on Nearby Property Values, Douglas E. Morris, University of New Hampshire, and Richard M. Simons, WEFA Group Inc., Burlington, Mass. The effects of conservation land on nearby property were estimated for three towns based upon 1993 to 1996 sales. Roughly 40% of the current owners were aware of the nearest protected land. Simply that knowing the nearby land was protected had some importance to 70% of the owners, while 52%, 57%, and 75% by town felt that the protected land added value to their property. A probit model based on telephone survey data indicated that distance from protected lands was the only important determinant of knowledge of the nearest conserva-