1 Will Farmers Trade Profits for Stewardship? Heterogeneous Motivations for Farm Practice Selection Hayley H. Chouinard* Tobias Paterson** Philip R. Wandschneider*** Adrienne M. Ohler**** July 2006 * Assistant professor in the School of Economic Sciences, Washington State University. ** Economist at National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA. *** Professor in the School of Economic Sciences, Washington State University. **** Graduate student in the School of Economic Sciences, Washington State University. Corresponding Author: Hayley H. Chouinard PO Box 646210 Pullman, WA 99164-6210 Chouinard@wsu.edu Telephone: (509) 335-8739 Fax: (509) 335-1173 Abstract: We investigate the trade-off agricultural producers may face between profits and stewardly activities when selecting farm practices. Instead of the typical profit- maximization framework, we model producer behavior in an expanded utility framework, built on production technology, and including self and social interests. The framework introduces inherent heterogeneity, and social/environmental motivations, into farmer behavior. Based on this model, we hypothesize that there are some farmers that are willing to forego profit to engage in stewardly farm practices. With a small empirical study, we provide evidence that some farmers are willing to make this sacrifice. Results are consistent with the multi-utility hypothesis. Keywords: multi-utility, profit maximization, stewardship, willingness-to-pay