Economic and Environmental Impacts of Planting Flexibility and Conservation Compliance in the 1990 Farm Bill

摘要

An integrated systems computer model including a geographic information system (GIS), a mixed integer optimization model with a policy component, and physical simulation models is applied to evaluate the interaction of conservation and farm commodity program policy in a highly erodible Idaho watershed. Conservation compliance policy requires that growers adopt conservation practices that satisfy a standard in order to be eligible for farm commodity program deficiency payments. Farm program alternatives evaluated in this study include planting flexibility alternatives (15precent, 25precent, 40precent, and 50precent). Conservation compliance options evaluated in this study are in the form of 1T, 1.5T, 2T erosion limit and requiring reduced tillage, where T stands for the rate of erosion of 11.2 metric tons per hectare per year. Erosion at twice that rate would be 2T.