Controlling agricultural soil loss in Arkansas' North Lake Chicot watershed: A cost analysis

ABSTRACT:

Soil loss could be reduced almost 25 percent in Arkansas' North Lake Chicot watershed, from 4.2 tons per acre to 3.2 tons per acre, while increasing net returns to farmers from $83.94 per acre to $107.28 per acre by altering present cropping patterns. A prohibition on fall plowing would result in an average net return of $106.28 per acre and reduce average soil loss to 2.9 tons per acre. An average soil loss restriction would be the most cost-effective policy, exclusive of administrative costs. A restriction limiting soil loss from each acre to a maximum amount would be much more costly than a soil loss restriction that allows some acres to have a high loss and others a low loss but limits the average loss per acre for the entire watershed.