AN ANALYSIS OF THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF WATER TRANSFERS FROM AGRICULTURAL TO URBAN USES

A two stage nonlinear optimization model was developed to account for the major surface and groundwater hydrologic features and cropping patterns in Colorado's San Luis Valley. Conjunctive use of surface and groundwater is included to assess changes in crop patterns and producer income from water exports outside the valley.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Estimating the Economic Value of Temporary and Permanent Carbon Sequestration Activities on Agricultural Land

This paper estimates the value of carbon from soil sequestration and emission reductions from setting aside highly erodible land. Increases in soil carbon are estimated using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change soil organic carbon inventory method and NRI data. Emission reductions are estimated using fuel use data from USDA-ERS.Environmental Economics and Policy,

Potential Carbon Sequestration and Revenue from Timber and Carbon Credits for Landowners of West Virginia Abandoned Mine Lands.

An optimal forest rotation model estimates potential value from timber and carbon for owners of WV abandoned mine lands (AMLs). An OLS regression provides merchantable volume and carbon density for six forest types which could sequester 0.41 Tg of carbon per year on approximately 33,800 hectares of AMLs.Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Examining the Cost of an All-Organic Diet

Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

What might it cost to increase soil organic carbon using no-till on U.S. cropland?

Existing research provides estimates of the biophysical potential for increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) stock, however additional research is needed to enhance our understanding of the economic potential for agricultural soils to offset or help reduce CO2emissions. This study derives the marginal cost to increase SOC sequestration by combining SOC sequestration potential estimates developed using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) factors with an existing payment scheme that was designed to increase no-till (NT) adoption on U.S. cropland. The marginal costs of increasing SOC is a function of the amount of SOC that could be increased through NT and the expected cost to landowners of changing management to use NT. Results The variability in SOC sequestration rates due to different land-use, management histories, climate, and soils, combined with the 48 unique payment rates to adopt NT, yield over 5,000 unique marginal cost values for increasing SOC sequestration. Nearly 95 percent of the biophysical potential SOC sequestration increase on U.S. cropland (2802 Tg CO2 from 140.1 Tg CO2 year−1 for 20 years) could be captured for less than $100 Mg−1CO2. An estimated 64 to 93 percent of the biophysical potential could be captured for less than the low and high estimated costs to capture CO2 for geologic storage of$36.36 to $86.06 Mg−1 CO2, respectively. Conclusions Decreasing tillage intensity through adoption of no-till agriculture offers a cost-effective way to offset a portion of increasing global CO2 emissions. This research demonstrates that increasing SOC stocks through NT adoption can offset CO2 emissions at a lower cost than some other options for preventing CO2 from entering the atmosphere

AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF PASTURE-RAISED BEEF SYSTEMS IN APPALACHIA

Cow-calf operations are important enterprises for family farmers in Appalachia and provide significant opportunity for supplemental income. This analysis constitutes a thorough economic assessment of pasture-raised beef production, an alternative to traditional production that could benefit the region's producers in terms of profitability and mitigated risk. Stochastic budgeting was utilized for profitability and risk comparison between traditional and pasture-raised operations and accounted for seasonal variability in prices, pasture availability and animal performance. Pasture-raised systems, in relation to traditional ones, were shown to consistently yield higher returns over variable costs and were shown less likely to yield losses over total costs in typical production seasons. Economic risk for pasture-raised producers stems largely from production factors but, overall, is seemingly less pronounced than the market risk faced by traditional producers selling live cattle.Farm Management,

ECONOMICS OF SEQUESTERING CARBON IN THE U.S. AGRICULTURAL SECTOR

Atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases can be reduced by withdrawing carbon from the atmosphere and sequestering it in soils and biomass. This report analyzes the performance of alternative incentive designs and payment levels if farmers were paid to adopt land uses and management practices that raise soil carbon levels. At payment levels below $10 per metric ton for permanently sequestered carbon, analysis suggests landowners would find it more cost effective to adopt changes in rotations and tillage practices. At higher payment levels, afforestation dominates sequestration activities, mostly through conversion of pastureland. Across payment levels, the economic potential to sequester carbon is much lower than the technical potential reported in soil science studies. The most cost-effective payment design adjusts payment levels to account both for the length of time farmers are willing to commit to sequestration activities and for net sequestration. A 50-percent cost-share for cropland conversion to forestry or grasslands would increase sequestration at low carbon payment levels but not at high payment levels.Carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas mitigation, afforestation, conservation tillage, no-till, incentive design, leakage, carbon stock, permanence, Environmental Economics and Policy,

Estimating the Economic Value of Temporary and Permanent Carbon Sequestration Activities on Agricultural Land

This paper estimates the value of carbon from soil sequestration and emission reductions from setting aside highly erodible land. Increases in soil carbon are estimated using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change soil organic carbon inventory method and NRI data. Emission reductions are estimated using fuel use data from USDA-ERS