Marcellus Shale Gas Development and Farming

Kyle A. Hoy, Irene M. Xiarchos, Timothy W. Kelsey, Kathryn J. Brasier, Leland L. Glenna

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

We study changes in farming in the Marcellus region associated with unconventional natural gas drilling activity. Due to concerns raised by the popular press, we consider 18 different county-level agricultural variables. While we find no significant changes in the number of farms or land in farms in drilling counties relative to non-drilling counties, there is an increase in median farm sizes, indicating potential consolidation in drilling counties. Despite anecdotal evidence suggesting a transition away from dairy farming to either beef or hay production, we find no support for this at the county level.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)634-664
Number of pages31
JournalAgricultural and Resource Economics Review
Volume47
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2018

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Agronomy and Crop Science
  • Economics and Econometrics

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Marcellus Shale Gas Development and Farming'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this