Economic Implications of the Methyl Bromide Phaseout

The pesticide methyl bromide is being phased out internationally under the Montreal Protocol. Methyl bromide has been used for over 50 years to control insect, nematodes, pathogens, and weeds. It is used for soil fumigation before planting many fruits, vegetables, ornamentals, and agricultural nurseries; for post-harvest fumigation of commodities in storage and prior to shipment; and for government-required quarantine treatment to prevent the spread of regulated exotic pests. Many U.S. users are concerned that existing alternatives to methyl bromide will be less effective and cause financial losses. To help mitigate the impacts of the phaseout, USDA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), universities, and private firms are working to develop new alternatives and make them available to methyl bromide users.Crop Production/Industries,

Prioritizing Invasive Species Threats Under Uncertainty

Prioritizing exotic or invasive pest threats in terms of agricultural, environmental, or human health damages is an important resource allocation issue for programs charged with preventing or responding to the entry of such organisms. Under extreme uncertainty, program managers may decide to research the severity of threats, develop prevention or control actions, and estimate cost-effectiveness in order to provide better information and more options when making decisions to choose strategies for specific pests. We examine decision rules based on the minimax and relative cost criteria in order to express a cautious approach for decisions regarding severe, irreversible consequences, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these rules, examine the roles of simple rules and sophisticated analyses in decision making, and apply a simple rule to develop a list of priority plant pests.invasive species, decision criteria, uncertainty, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

RISK, GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS, AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Nearly all farm business ventures involve financial risk. In some instances, private and public tools used to manage financial risks in agriculture may influence farmers' production decisions. These decisions, in turn, can influence environmental quality. This bulletin summarizes research and provides some perspective on private and public attempts to cope with financial risks and their unintended environmental consequences. Specifically, it examines the conceptual underpinnings of risk-related research, challenges involved with measuring the consequences of risk for agricultural production decisions, government programs that influence the risk and return of farm businesses, and how production decisions influence both the environment and the risk and average returns to farming.risk, agricultural production, government programs, environment, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Risk and Uncertainty,

ECONOMIC THRESHOLDS UNDER UNCERTAINTY WITH APPLICATION TO CORN NEMATODE MANAGEMENT

An economic threshold of agricultural pest management is derived. Results provide a method for researchers to use in making improved pest control recommendations to farmers without farm level decision-making. An empirical illustration for lesion nematode management in irrigated corn is given and directions for further research are indicated.Crop Production/Industries, Risk and Uncertainty,

IMPACTS OF FARM POLICIES ON SOIL EROSION: A PROBLEM DEFINITION PAPER

Some farm programs. may encourage farmers to plant crops more likely to induce erosion without encouraging soil conservation practices. If that is true, the long-term productivity of the soil may be in jeopardy. This report examines the effects of agricultural programs dealing with foreign trade, price support and production adjustment, Federal crop insurance; dairy, and Farmers Home Administration loans on erosion and presents an agenda for empirical studies of the incentives

Economic Implications of the Methyl Bromide Phaseout

The pesticide methyl bromide is being phased out internationally under the Montreal Protocol. Methyl bromide has been used for over 50 years to control insect, nematodes, pathogens, and weeds. It is used for soil fumigation before planting many fruits, vegetables, ornamentals, and agricultural nurseries; for post-harvest fumigation of commodities in storage and prior to shipment; and for government-required quarantine treatment to prevent the spread of regulated exotic pests. Many U.S. users are concerned that existing alternatives to methyl bromide will be less effective and cause financial losses. To help mitigate the impacts of the phaseout, USDA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), universities, and private firms are working to develop new alternatives and make them available to methyl bromide users

PESTICIDE REGULATION ISSUES: LIVING WITH THE DELANEY CLAUSE

Pesticide use is regulated within a complex legal framework that includes the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act; the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; and other environmental laws. The framework includes risk-benefit rules for some decisions that permit full consideration of comparative performance, cost, and risks of a pesticide and its alternatives before decisions to permit or ban uses. The framework also includes risk-only standards, such as the Delaney Clause, that prohibit such comparisons and can have unintended and undesirable consequences by increasing health or environmental risks while increasing the cost of producing agricultural commodities