Swine producer willingness to pay for Tier 1 disease risk mitigation under multifaceted ambiguity

Understanding producers' risk perceptions of foreign animal diseases and their willingness to participate in prevention efforts is crucial for effective policymaking and communication strategies, yet there is limited empirical evidence to support initiatives. Using results from a 2017 survey of U.S. swine producers, we test whether producers' subjective risk perceptions affect their willingness to pay for interventions that could reduce potential foreign animal disease losses. Then, controlling for subjective risk perceptions, we determine the relative and total impacts of different representations of ambiguity on willingness to pay. Our results indicate that producers have a mean willingness to pay of $0.581 per pig per year. We find no difference in willingness to pay under alternative representations of ambiguity characterized by probability of occurrence, damage, and damage duration. Rather, a producer with a higher subjective belief in the probability of a foreign animal disease outbreak in the U.S. swine industry, a higher level of formal education, operating as a contractor or integrator, and owning a truck‐wash has a higher willingness to pay. Also, the number of market hogs sold annually is an important determinant of willingness to pay for foreign animal disease risk mitigation. [EconLit citations: D81, Q11, Q18]