Special Topic: Chesapeake Bay Management -- Welfare Implications of Restricted Triazine Herbicide Use in the Chesapeake Bay Region

The United States Environmental Protection Agency has responsibility under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIERA) to formulate pesticide policies on the basis of risk-benefit analyses. To measure the benefits of pesticide use, one must look at the losses in consumer and producer surpluses that would accompany the banning of a particular pesticide. A typical scenario is one in which the banned pesticide is replaced by another that is more costly and/or less effective. The resulting decrease in supply raises the price of the crop on which the banned pesticide is used, and may alter the prices of substitute and complementary crops as well. This article presents a simulation model of com and soybean production in the Chesapeake Bay drainage area to investigate the economic implications of a local ban on triazine herbicides. It reports estimates of lost producer and consumer surplus and the effect that the ban would have on the profitability of agricultural production in the region.Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Herbicide tolerant soybeans : why growers are adopting Roundup Ready varieties

Soybean growers have adopted herbicide tolerant varieties at a rapid rate. While some potential cost savings may have driven adoption, the primary reason growers are switching to new programs is the simplicity and flexibility of a weed control program that relies on one herbicide to control a broad spectrum of weeds without crop injury or crop rotation restrictions. Roundup Ready weed control programs for soybeans fit into on-going trends towards postemergence weed control, adoption of conservation tillage practices and narrow row spacing. Roundup Ready systems have also solved some of the problems growers faced in conventional weed management systems.Includes bibliographical reference