This paper analyzes why USDA's Environmental Quality Incentives Program has a high rate of contract withdrawals. Using a logit model we examine whether withdrawals are linked to: (i)farmers bidding for payments that are too low, (ii)a learning phase about the program, (iii)the types of...

A manure application cost model was used to examine the impact financial assistance from EQIP can have on reducing costs to confined hog operations from meeting a manure nutrient application standard. Sector costs are examined under alternative scenarios involving type of nutrient standard and...

The Environmental Benefits Index (EBI) ranks Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) offers by weighing program costs for enrolling land in CRP against six environmental objectives. This paper uses Monte Carlo simulations to analyze the sensitivity of CRP enrollment outcome to the specification of...

The development of the field-scale Erosion Productivity Impact Calculator (EPIC) model was initiated in 1981 to support assessments of soil erosion impacts on soil productivity for soil, climate, and cropping conditions representative of a broad spectrum of U.S. agricultural production regions....

The Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) is developing a model to examine land use changes and their associated environmental and economic implications for the Southeast region of the United States. The model will be built as if there were two regions in the U.S. One region is...

Computer models are important tools for assessing regional carbon sequestration and other environmental impacts of agricultural management practices. The Environmental Policy Integrated Climate (EPIC) model is a very flexible model that has been used to make a wide range of field- and...

Concern about environmental impacts of nitrogen fertilizer use is increasing. Mainstream agriculture is dependent on nitrogen fertilizer and use patterns are polluting water resources. A five cent tax on nitrogen fertilizer is shown to have three benefits. National nitrogen fertilizer use is...

Soil erosion as an on-site problem received much attention in the 1985 Food Security Act (FSA), which established programs for the Conservation Reserve and conservation compliance. The 1985 FSA explicitly linked farmers' resource use and conservation activities to benefits received from...