Owner or tenant: Who adopts better soil conservation practices?

An analysis of the level of adoption of four types of erosion control measures on 263 blocks of arable land endangered by water erosion in the Czech Republic has proved that all measures were adopted by owners significantly more frequently than by tenants. Compared to tenants, owners applied wide-row crops in crop rotation schemes 2.4 times less frequently in the last 5 years, while they applied soil-improving crops 1.9 times more frequently. Contour farming was adopted 1.8 times more often by owners, and the slope length in production blocks farmed by owners was on an average 2.4 times shorter than in blocks farmed by tenants. However, the study has also shown that, in cases where conservation measures are supported by incentives based on Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAEC) standards cross compliance, the differences in the approach to soil conservation between owners and tenants were minimized or eliminated, due to the adoption of responsible practices by tenants. The study has proved that a well-designed system of environmentally determined subsidies can compensate otherwise substantial differences in the attitude of owners and tenants towards soil conservation.