[masklinn]

Historically farmers (and most people really) have sucked the area dry before getting worried.

US farmers are certainly doing that right now, the incentives encourage it, and they're quick to lobby against changes in incentives.

That's also what you get from a prisoner's dilemma, a farmer switching to conservation will increase their production prices and / or lower their yields (as they'll at least need to invest in new farming methods, probably new hardware, and will have to learn those), and they'll fall behind their neighbours to say nothing of the market as a whole.

[zahma]

You make a good point, but perhaps that one “their own” is at the helm can make a difference in ensuring trust so as to break the prisoner’s dilemma (see point 6 in the executive summary).