A note on the use of conservation practices in U.S. agriculture.

This article measures the effect of an increase in productivity attributable to an increase in soil organic carbon associated with the increase in the use of conservation practices in agriculture in the United States. Both the direct and indirect effects are calibrated. The analytical approach used consists of a dynamic computable general equilibrium model composed of 14 producing sectors, 10 consuming sectors, seven household categories classified by income, and a government. The results suggest that the impact of a change in productivity is an increase in output over a six year period starting in 1998 in field crops. The most significant impact is felt in the livestock sector. This is because field crops are a major input in the production of livestock. The food processing sector also exhibits a relatively large increase because of the increase in inputs of both field crops and livestock. Manufacturing output increases primarily because overall investment rises and most investment utilizes manufacturing goods. The other producing sectors are generally unaffected by the increase in agricultural production due to an increase in soil organic carbon. Coincident with the increase in the production of field crops is a relatively large decrease in the price of field crops. Other noticeable price reductions occur in the livestock sector and the food processing sector. For the consuming sectors, the consumption of food and alcohol and tobacco increase but consumption in all of the other sectors remains basically unchanged. Prices in the food and alcohol and tobacco sectors decline by about 1% while the prices in the other sectors remain static. Household welfare increases in the aggregate by only 0.1% with this increase occurring uniformly across all household categories. Revenue received by the government increases a modest 2% in response to an increase in output and, hence, an increase in taxes paid. The results indicate that there are significant production benefits for several sectors that can be realized by an increase in the use of conservation practices in agricultural production which, in turn, enhances soil organic carbon. There are a number of policy options available to promote the use of conservation practices. These include education and technical assistance, financial assistance, research and development, land retirement, and regulation and taxes.

Conservation practices in U.S. agriculture and their impact on carbon sequestration.

Increase in the use of conservation practices by agriculture in the United States will enhance soil organic carbon and potentially increase carbon sequestration. This, in turn, will decrease the net emission of carbon dioxide. A number of studies exist that calibrate the contribution of various individual, site-specific conservation practices on changes in soil organic carbon. There is a general absence, however, of a comprehensive effort to measure objectively the contribution of these practices including conservation tillage, the Conservation Reserve Program, and conservation buffer strips to an change in soil organic carbon. This paper fills that void. After recounting the evolution of the use of the various conservation practices, it is estimated that organic carbon in the soil in 1998 in the United States attributable to these practices was about 12.2 million metric tons. By 2008, there will be an increase of about 25%. Given that there is a significant potential for conservation practices to lead to an increase in carbon sequestration, there are a number of policy options that can be pursued.

Using insurance to enhance nitrogen fertilizer application to reduce nitrogen losses to the environment.

The advantage of using insurance to help a farmer adopt a best nitrogen management plan (BNMP) that reduces the impact of agricultural production on the environment is analytically and empirically demonstrated. Using an expected value analysis, it is shown that an insurance program can be structured so as to reduce a farmer's cost of bearing the adoption risk associated with changing production practices and, thus, to improve the farmer's certainty equivalent net return thereby promoting the adoption of a BNMP. Using the adoption of growing-season only N fertilizer application in Iowa as a case study, it is illustrated how insurance may be used to promote the adoption of this practice to reduce N fertilizer use. It is shown that it is possible for a farmer and an insurance company both to have an incentive to develop an insurance adoption program that will benefit both the farmer and the insurance company, increasing net social welfare and improving environmental quality in Iowa.

The environmental implications of soil erosion in the United States.

Soil erosion has both on-farm and off-farm impacts. Reduction of soil depth can impair the land's productivity, and the transport of sediments can degrade streams, lakes, and estuaries. Since 1933, soil conservation policies have existed in the United States. Originally they focused on the on-farm benefits of keeping soil on the land and increasing net farm income. Beginning in the 1980s, however, policy goals increasingly included reductions in off-site impacts of erosion. As a consequence of conservation efforts associated with explicit U.S. government policies, total soil erosion between 1982 and 1992 was reduced by 32% and the sheet and rill erosion rate fell from an average of 4.1 tons per acre per year in 1982 to 3.1 tons per acre in 1992 while the wind erosion rate fell from an average of 3.3 tons per acre per year to 2.4 tons per acre per year over the same period. Still, soil erosion is imposing substantial social costs. These costs are estimated to be about $37.6 billion annually. To further reduce soil erosion and thereby mitigate its social costs, there are a number of policy options available to induce farmers to adopt conservation practices including education and technical assistance. financial assistance, research and development, land retirement, and regulation and taxes.

Conservation practices in US agriculture and their implication for global climate change.

Increase in the use of conservation practices by agriculture in the United States will enhance soil organic carbon and potentially increase carbon sequestration. This, in turn, will decrease the net emission of carbon dioxide. A number of studies exist that calibrate the contribution of various individual, site-specific conservation practices on changes in soil organic carbon. There is a general absence, however, of a comprehensive effort to measure objectively the contribution of these practices including conservation tillage, the Conservation Reserve Program and conservation buffer strips to an change in soil organic carbon. This paper fills that void. After recounting the evolution of the use of the various conservation practices, it is estimated that organic carbon in the soil in 1998 in the United States attributable to these practices was approximately 12,200,000 metric tons. By 2008, there will be an increase of approximately 25%. Given that there is a significant potential for conservation practices to lead to an increase in carbon sequestration, there are a number of policy options that can be pursued. These include education and technical assistance, financial assistance, research and development, land retirement and regulation and taxes.

Alternative measures of pesticide use.

While kilograms of pesticide is the most common way of measuring agricultural chemical use, the type of analysis will generally define what measure of chemical use is best. In this paper different measures are considered. The inferences one draws concerning pesticide use can vary substantially depending on the measure.

Alternative measures of pesticide use.

One kilogram of a pesticide is not necessarily equal to a kilogram of a different pesticide. This issue can be significant. Whether it is depends on the use to which pesticide-use data are put. While kilograms of pesticide is the most common way of measuring agricultural chemical use, the type of analysis will generally define what measure of chemical use is best. Quantifying the risk from the exposure to pesticides, for example, typically requires weighing usage or residues by acute or chronic health and environmental toxicity coefficients and subsequently estimating human or environmental exposure to such hazards. The interferences one draws concerning pesticide use can vary substantially depending on the measure considered.

The pattern of demand in the United States.

The objective of this paper is to examine the demand for goods and services in the United States using the Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS). The focus is on testing the theoretical properties of demand. The model fits the data well. The suggestion is that food, clothing, housing and transportation are necessities while medical care and recreation are luxuries. The notion of homogeneity is generally accepted while symmetry is soundly rejected. Finally, negativity is shown to hold.