| Abstract: | County-level policies and programs to conserve farmland in California are examined through discriminant analysis. Based on 1981 state planning data, four degrees of farmland protection effort are established. A two-function discriminant analysis using 17 agricultural, socioeconomic, and political-ideological variables correctly predicts the fourfold classification of 88 percent of the counties. The propensity to enact protective actions is associated with the intensity of agricultural development, local government spending and taxing practices, demographic characteristics, ideological and political party voting traditions. |
