WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS: THE CASE OF PRECISION APPLICATION TECHNOLOGY

A contingent valuation survey conducted in Mississippi is used to assess public willingness to pay for reductions in agricultural nonpoint pollution. The analysis focuses on implementation of a policy to provide farmers with precision application equipment to reduce nutrient runoff. Findings suggest public support exists for such policies. This study also finds that inclusion of debriefing questions can be used to refine willingness-to-pay estimates in contingent valuation studies. A nonparametric scope test suggests respondents are sensitive to level of runoff reduction and associated water-quality benefits.Environmental Economics and Policy,

THE ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF VARIABLE RATE FERTILIZER APPLICATION: THE CASE OF MISSISSIPPI

A number of programs have been introduced to limit environmental nonpoint pollution (NPP) associated with agricultural practices. One such program, precision agriculture, involves a range of management practices that utilize site-specific information at the field level. These practices can limit the amount of nutrient and chemical runoff to the environment because they precisely match fertilizer and pesticide application to the needs of the crop. This study uses bioeconomic modeling to investigate the environmental and economic impacts of precision agriculture technology associated with variable rate fertilizer application, as compared to a conventional, single rate application. The empirical results demonstrate that one particular precision agricultural technology, variable rate fertilizer application, can provide both environmental and economic benefits when used on cotton, soybeans, and corn in Mississippi. However, our results depend on several factors, such as soil variability, and the results may be different depending on local conditions.Environmental Economics and Policy,

ENVIRONMENTAL RISK ASSESSMENT UNDER ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARD AND SAFETY-FIRST CONSTRAINTS

The uncertainty weather condition could pose some challenge in achieving environmental target. In this study, we use a bioeconomic model to calculate the impacts of alternative management systems. Under different safety-first constraints on the levels of environmental runoff, obtaining from APEX, optimal net return of alternative cropping practices is estimated.Environmental Economics and Policy,

PREDICTED VS. ESTIMATED WELFARE MEASURES: A TEST OF THE BENEFITS TRANSFER METHOD

Estimating non-market value on a site-by-site basis is a costly and time-consuming task. Benefits transfer is an alternative approach. We attempt to assess the bias and reliability of predicted value from the benefit transfer approach, using the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services' National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife Associated RecreationEnvironmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Upper White River Watershed Integrated Economic and Environmental Management Project

This report outlines enhanced existing local cooperative water quality efforts, sumarizes economic and physical data, and discusses how that information was used to develop analytical models.This project was partially funded by the US EPA Region 7, through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (subgrant #G05-NPS-09), under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act

Environmentally adjusted measures of gains from trade liberalization: The case of United States corn production

Most studies of the impact of trade liberalization focus on conventional efficiency gains without including the link between production and the environment. This study attempts to estimate welfare effects of subsidy reduction including both the economic and the environmental impacts of U.S. corn production. Comparative statics approach is applied to estimate welfare change due to subsidy reduction. Seemingly Unrelated Regression technique is applied to estimated corn supply, input demand, and corn demand through translog profit function and LA/AIDS model. Once this system is estimated, the elasticities can be used in a comparative static framework to assess the impact of trade liberalization on production, input demand, and excess supply. However, before estimating, testing for stationarity of the data was performed to prevent the spurious model. Nebraska was used as a representative for environmental impact due to the difficulty to aggregate the dissolved nitrogen in groundwater which corresponding fertilizer applications from the site-specific. The value of nitrogen fertilizer is estimated from the shadow price of the producer, and consumer\u27s willingness to pay, adopted from separated study. The model is used to simulate the evolution of U.S. and world corn markets to the year 2000. Baseline projections are compared with projections based on the assumption that subsidies are reduced 20 percent in line with the Uruguay Round, and an increase in world corn demand by 2 and 5 percent. The results indicate that the environment impact in terms of a reduction in nitrate contamination in groundwater of trade liberalization is small as compared to the efficiency gains from the subsidy reduction. Nevertheless, these results are lower-bound estimates because other environmental impacts, i.e. pesticides, soil erosion, wetland loss have not been included. Moreover, nitrogen fertilizer used for corn production is not the only source of nitrate contamination of groundwater. Therefore, it reinforces the conceptual argument that trade policy may not be an effective tool for environmental protection. Using trade policy to correct a negative environmental externality may not be efficient. To account for the externality problem, measures which directly correct the source of the problem seem preferable

WATERSHED-LEVEL POLICIES TO IMPLEMENT BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES UNDER ENVIRONMENTAL RISK

To meet environmental target, policies that coordinate nonpoint pollution control efforts within a watershed may result in higher total profits than policies that do not. That is, the greatest profits and most runoff reduction would be achieved with optimal combinations of BMPs. However, the uncertainty weather condition could pose some challenge in achieving environmental target. In this study, we use a bioeconomic model, Agricultural Policy Envi-ronment Extender (APEX) to simulate the environmental impacts of alternative cropping sys-tems. Under safety-first constraints, the levels of environmental runoff and optimal net returns of alternative cropping practices are estimated, using GAMS

WATERSHED-LEVEL POLICIES TO IMPLEMENT BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES UNDER ENVIRONMENTAL RISK

To meet environmental target, policies that coordinate nonpoint pollution control efforts within a watershed may result in higher total profits than policies that do not. That is, the greatest profits and most runoff reduction would be achieved with optimal combinations of BMPs. However, the uncertainty weather condition could pose some challenge in achieving environmental target. In this study, we use a bioeconomic model, Agricultural Policy Envi-ronment Extender (APEX) to simulate the environmental impacts of alternative cropping sys-tems. Under safety-first constraints, the levels of environmental runoff and optimal net returns of alternative cropping practices are estimated, using GAMS.Environmental Economics and Policy,

ENVIRONMENTALLY ADJUSTED MEASURES OF GAINS FROM TRADE LIBERALIZATION: THE CASE OF U.S. CORN PRODUCTION

An econometric model of the U.S. corn sector is used to estimate the welfare effects of the Uruguay Round Agreement. Trade liberalization also leads to changes in input use that can affect the environment. The gains from trade liberalization are adjusted for the environmental effects caused by these changes

WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS: THE CASE OF PRECISION APPLICATION TECHNOLOGY

A contingent valuation survey conducted in Mississippi is used to assess public willingness to pay for reductions in agricultural nonpoint pollution. The analysis focuses on implementation of a policy to provide farmers with precision application equipment to reduce nutrient runoff. Findings suggest public support exists for such policies. This study also finds that inclusion of debriefing questions can be used to refine willingness-to-pay estimates in contingent valuation studies. A nonparametric scope test suggests respondents are sensitive to level of runoff reduction and associated water-quality benefits