Economic Analysis of SODSAVER Provision of the 2008 Farm Bill for South Dakota

The “Sodsaver” provision, which is a part of the 2008 Federal farm bill, is designed to lessen the conversion of native grass into cropland by limiting federal farm program payments on these converted acres within the Prairie Pothole National Priority Area (PPNPA) in the Northern Plains. Governors of five states in the PPNPA, including South Dakota, were required to make the decision to adopt or not adopt the “Sodsaver” provision. This report includes information on: 1) South Dakota’s experience with conversion of rangeland into cropland, 2) estimates of native grassland acres in the PPNPA of South Dakota, 3) potential change in net returns from a landowner or investor viewpoint, 4) an enterprise budget analysis to explore potential economic gain (loss) from conversion from cow-calf production to cropland, and (5) major factors influencing the policy decision of not participating in “Sodsaver”.