Abstract
BACKGROUND
This article presents a model of how farmers choose to custom hire for pest control. The decision-making process is illustrated through a discrete choice experiment conducted via a pilot survey of soybean growers in Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana. Farmers responded to a hypothetical pest infestation by choosing between custom operators, spraying on their own, or leaving the field to its fate.
RESULTS
Among farmers who choose to spray, the mean willingness to pay for marginal increases in timeliness (as defined as the chance of late spraying) ranges from 37 to 52 cents per acre. We also find that farmers more averse to risk are more sensitive to custom operator timeliness and that farmers with better-developed social networks are less sensitive to the risk of delay.
CONCLUSION
The results of this study can motivate future research into the drivers of on-farm decision-making, especially as it relates to custom hire behavior in pest control and other field operations.
Date of this Version
11-12-2024
Recommended Citation
Van Deye, Braeden and Malone, Trey, "What motivates the choice to custom hire pest management spraying services?" (2024). Department of Agricultural Economics Faculty Publications. Paper 87.
https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/agedocs/87
Comments
This is the publisher PDF of Van Deynze, B. and Malone, T. (2025), What motivates the choice to custom hire pest management spraying services?. Pest Manag Sci, 81: 912-922. Published CC-BY, the version of record and ADA Title II compliant version is available in HTML at DOI: 10.1002/ps.8494.