@article{669a7541fec7436eafdc0d0fc6a0261d,
title = "Marcellus Shale Gas Development and Farming",
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.",
author = "Hoy, {Kyle A.} and Xiarchos, {Irene M.} and Kelsey, {Timothy W.} and Brasier, {Kathryn J.} and Glenna, {Leland L.}",
note = "Funding Information: Kyle A. Hoy et al. Marcellus Shale Gas Development and Farming Hoy Kyle A. Kyle A. Hoy, Graduate Student, The Pennsylvania State University. Xiarchos Irene M. Irene M. Xiarchos, Natural Resource Economist, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Energy Policy and New Uses, Office of the Chief Economist. Kelsey Timothy W. Timothy W. Kelsey, Professor of Agricultural Economics, The Pennsylvania State University. Brasier Kathryn J. Kathryn J. Brasier, Associate Professor of Rural Sociology, The Pennsylvania State University. Glenna Leland L. Leland L. Glenna, Associate Professor of Rural Sociology and Science, Technology, and Society, The Pennsylvania State University. All four from The Pennsylvania State University are in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education. Correspondence: Kyle A. Hoy ■ Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education , The Pennsylvania State University ■ 312 Armsby Building , University Park , PA 16802 ■ Email kah1077@psu.edu We would like to thank Mike Brown of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources for providing drilling data. We also thank two anonymous referees for suggestions that improved the quality of our work. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2015 Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association Annual Meeting. This research was funded, in part, by a cooperative agreement between The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania and the United States Department of Agriculture, Washington DC. Additional support was provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service Hatch projects 4503R, 4612 and 4618. The views expressed here are those of the authors and may not be attributed to the Office of Energy Policy and New Uses, Office of the Chief Economist, or the U.S. Department of Agriculture. All remaining errors and omissions are our own. The views expressed are the authors{\textquoteright} and do not necessarily represent the policies or views of any sponsoring agencies. 12 2018 47 3 634 664 Copyright {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2018 This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 2018 The Author(s) This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 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. Publisher Copyright: Copyright {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2018.",
year = "2018",
month = dec,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1017/age.2017.28",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "47",
pages = "634--664",
journal = "Agricultural and Resource Economics Review",
issn = "1068-2805",
publisher = "Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association",
number = "3",
}