ABSTRACT:
Nonpoint source pollution from agricultural sources is the largest impediment to further improvement in surface water quality. This paper investigates the environmental and economic consequences of altering nitrogen fertilizer practices for a central Illinois watershed. A model of the watershed is employed to assess the impacts of the alternative management practices. The model incorporates heterogeneity of soil types and characterizes lake water quality as a weather-driven random process affected by production practices. Results indicate that improvements in surface water quality can be obtained while increasing farm profits by reducing nitrogen fertilizer application levels. Varying the timing of fertilizer application does improve water quality, but also increases the variability of farm profits.
Footnotes
Bhavani Shankar is lecturer at University of Reading, UK. Eric A. DeVuyst is an assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics, North Dakota State University. David C. White is a senior research specialist, John B. Braden is a professor, and Robert H. Hornbaker is an associate professor in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
- Copyright 2000 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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