VOLUNTARY VERSUS MANDATORY AGRICULTURAL POLICIES TO PROTECT WATER QUALITY: ADOPTION OF NITROGEN TESTING IN NEBRASKA

Agriculture is among the principal contributors of nonpoint source pollution, a major cause of impaired water quality (Puckett). The amount of agricultural pollution depends in part on agricultural practices or technologies that farmers employ. In the United States, policies for changing farmers\u27 practices related to soil conservation and water quality protection have usually relied on voluntary adoption of new practices. Policy tools to promote voluntary adoption include extension education, technical assistance, and cost sharing. In recent years, both state and federal water quality projects have been initiated targeting these different approaches to different areas. Increasingly, however, regulation is being used by the Federal Government and by states to mandate the adoption of practices by farmers (United States Environmental Protection Agency 1993; Ribaudo and Woo). To date, little research has been undertaken on the relative effectiveness of regulatory and incentive approaches. While the immediate goal of adoption may be more easily achieved by regulation, that regulation will not necessarily principal contributors of nonpoint source pollution, a major cause of impaired water quality (Puckett). The amount of agricultural pollution depends in part on agricultural practices or technologies that farmers employ. In the United States, policies for changing farmers\u27 practices related to soil conservation and water quality protection have usually relied on voluntary adoption of new practices. Policy tools to promote voluntary adoption include extension education, technical assistance, and cost sharing. In recent years, both state and federal water quality projects have been initiated targeting these different approaches to different areas. Increasingly, however, regulation is being used by the Federal Government and by states to mandate the adoption of practices by farmers (United States Environmental Protection Agency 1993; Ribaudo and Woo). To date, little research has been undertaken on the relative effectiveness of regulatory and incentive approaches. While the immediate goal of adoption may be more easily achieved by regulation, that regulation will not necessarily lead to the proper or desired use of the practice. This article investigates the relative effectiveness of incentive projects and regulation to promote both adoption of nitrogen (N) testing and the use of information from the tests to adjust N fertilizer use

Research Investments and Market Structure in the Food Processing, Agricultural Input, and Biofuel Industries Worldwide

Meeting growing global demand for food, fiber, and biofuel requires robust investment in agricultural research and development (R&D) from both public and private sectors. This study examines global R&D spending by private industry in seven agricultural input sectors, food manufacturing, and biofuel and describes the changing structure of these industries. In 2007 (the latest year for which comprehensive estimates are available), the private sector spent 19.7 billion on food and agricultural research (56 percent in food manufacturing and 44 percent in agricultural input sectors) and accounted for about half of total public and private spending on food and agricultural R&D in high-income countries. In R&D related to biofuel, annual private-sector investments are estimated to have reached 1.47 billion worldwide by 2009. Incentives to invest in R&D are influenced by market structure and other factors. Agricultural input industries have undergone significant structural change over the past two decades, with industry concentration on the rise. A relatively small number of large, multinational firms with global R&D and marketing networks account for most R&D in each input industry. Rising market concentration has not generally been associated with increased R&D investment as a percentage of industry sales.agricultural biotechnology, agricultural chemicals, agricultural inputs, animal breeding, animal health, animal nutrition, aquaculture, biofuel, concentration ratio, crop breeding, crop protection, farm machinery, fertilizers, Herfindahl index, globalization, market share, market structure, research intensity, seed improvement, Productivity Analysis,

Seed systems smallholder farmers use

Seed can be an important entry point for promoting productivity, nutrition and resilience among smallholder farmers. While investments have primarily focused on strengthening the formal sector, this article documents the degree to which the informal sector remains the core for seed acquisition, especially in Africa. Conclusions drawn from a uniquely comprehensive data set, 9660 observations across six countries and covering 40 crops, show that farmers access 90.2 % of their seed from informal systems with 50.9 % of that deriving from local markets. Further, 55 % of seed is paid for by cash, indicating that smallholders are already making important investments in this arena. Targeted interventions are proposed for rendering formal and informal seed sector more smallholder-responsive and for scaling up positive impacts

GMOs: Non-Health Issues

The controversy over genetically modified [GM] organisms is often framed in terms of possible hazards for human health. Articles in a previous volume of this *Encyclopedia* give a general overview of GM crops [@Mulvaney2014] and specifically examine human health [@Nordgard2014] and labeling [@Bruton2014] issues surrounding GM organisms. This article explores several other aspects of the controversy: environmental concerns, political and legal disputes, and the aim of "feeding the world" and promoting food security. Rather than discussing abstract, hypothetical GM organisms, this article explores the consequences of the GM organisms that have actually been deployed in the particular contexts that they have been deployed, on the belief that there is little point in discussing GM organisms in an idealized or context-independent way

On the causes of economic growth in Europe: why did agricultural labour productivity not converge between 1950 and 2005?

The objective of this study is to make a further contribution to the debate on the causes of economic growth in the European Continent. It explains why agricultural labour productivity differences did not converge between 1950 and 2005 in Europe. We propose an econometric model, one combining both proximate and fundamental causes of economic growth. The results show that the continuous exit of labour power from the sector, coupled with the increased use of productive factors originating in other sectors of the economy, caused the efficiency of agricultural workers to rise. However, we offer a complete explanation of the role played by institutions and geographical factors. Thus, we detect a direct and inverse relation between membership of the EU and the Communist bloc and the productivity of agricultural labour. In addition, strong support for agriculture affected productivity negatively

A Net Energy Analysis of the Global Agriculture, Aquaculture, Fishing and Forestry System

The global agriculture, aquaculture, fishing and forestry (AAFF) energy system is subject to three unsustainable trends: (1) the approaching biophysical limits of AAFF; (2) the role of AAFF as a driver of environmental degradation; and (3) the long-term declining energy efficiency of AAFF due to growing dependence on fossil fuels. In response, we conduct a net energy analysis for the period 1971–2017 and review existing studies to investigate the global AAFF energy system and its vulnerability to the three unsustainable trends from an energetic perspective. We estimate the global AAFF system represents 27.9% of societies energy supply in 2017, with food energy representing 20.8% of societies total energy supply. We find that the net energy-return-on-investment (net EROI) of global AAFF increased from 2.87:1 in 1971 to 4.05:1 in 2017. We suggest that rising net EROI values are being fuelled in part by ‘depleting natures accumulated energy stocks’. We also find that the net energy balance of AAFF increased by 130% in this period, with at the same time a decrease in both the proportion of rural residents and also the proportion of the total population working in AAFF—which decreased from 19.8 to 10.3%. However, this comes at the cost of growing fossil fuel dependency which increased from 43.6 to 62.2%. Given the increasing probability of near-term fossil fuel scarcity, the growing impacts of climate change and environmental degradation, and the approaching biophysical limits of global AAFF, ‘Odum’s hoax’ is likely soon to be revealed

VOLUNTARY VERSUS MANDATORY AGRICULTURAL POLICIES TO PROTECT WATER QUALITY: ADOPTION OF NITROGEN TESTING IN NEBRASKA

Agriculture is among the principal contributors of nonpoint source pollution, a major cause of impaired water quality (Puckett). The amount of agricultural pollution depends in part on agricultural practices or technologies that farmers employ. In the United States, policies for changing farmers\u27 practices related to soil conservation and water quality protection have usually relied on voluntary adoption of new practices. Policy tools to promote voluntary adoption include extension education, technical assistance, and cost sharing. In recent years, both state and federal water quality projects have been initiated targeting these different approaches to different areas. Increasingly, however, regulation is being used by the Federal Government and by states to mandate the adoption of practices by farmers (United States Environmental Protection Agency 1993; Ribaudo and Woo). To date, little research has been undertaken on the relative effectiveness of regulatory and incentive approaches. While the immediate goal of adoption may be more easily achieved by regulation, that regulation will not necessarily principal contributors of nonpoint source pollution, a major cause of impaired water quality (Puckett). The amount of agricultural pollution depends in part on agricultural practices or technologies that farmers employ. In the United States, policies for changing farmers\u27 practices related to soil conservation and water quality protection have usually relied on voluntary adoption of new practices. Policy tools to promote voluntary adoption include extension education, technical assistance, and cost sharing. In recent years, both state and federal water quality projects have been initiated targeting these different approaches to different areas. Increasingly, however, regulation is being used by the Federal Government and by states to mandate the adoption of practices by farmers (United States Environmental Protection Agency 1993; Ribaudo and Woo). To date, little research has been undertaken on the relative effectiveness of regulatory and incentive approaches. While the immediate goal of adoption may be more easily achieved by regulation, that regulation will not necessarily lead to the proper or desired use of the practice. This article investigates the relative effectiveness of incentive projects and regulation to promote both adoption of nitrogen (N) testing and the use of information from the tests to adjust N fertilizer use