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Marcel Aillery, Charles Barnard, Roger Claassen, Dwight Gadsby, Daniel Hellerstein, Robert Johansson, Cynthia Nickerson, and Marc Ribaudo
Farm operators have clear incentives to raise their operation's profitability and enhance their household's welfare, but what of offsite impacts? Managing the Nation's agricultural resources involves ongoing efforts to balance public and private goals. This section examines policy measures to address agriculture's impact on the environment, including land retirement and working-lands programs; compliance provisions, and farmland protection. Among our findings:
- The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 sharply increased funding for conservation programs. Land retirement remains a key strategy, but much of the increase focused on programs for working cropland and grazing land.
- USDA's primary land retirement programs have retired over 35 million environmentally sensitive acres, most under 10- to 15-year contracts.
- Working-land programs support conservation on lands that remain in production. These programs may achieve environmental benefits at relatively low cost, enhancing the amount of environmental gain per conservation dollar spent.
- Soil erosion declined by more than a billion tons per year between 1982 and 1997, a quarter of which can be attributed to conservation compliance requirements.
- Private grazing lands provide forage for a significant share of the U.S. animal sector, as well as other economic and ecological services. These lands are receiving an expanded policy emphasis and funding under USDA farm programs.
- Public support for protection of farmland is growing,
as private decisions to convert land may not account
for rural amenities and other nonmarket benefits of farmland. Protection
efforts can involve both regulatory and voluntary measures.
Contents
Conservation and Environmental Policies Affecting Agriculture
5.1 Conservation Policy Overview — html, pdf
5.2 USDA Land Retirement Programs — html, pdf
5.3 Compliance Provisions for Soil and Wetland Conservation — html, pdf
5.4 Working-Land Payment Programs — html, pdf
5.5 Conservation on Private Grazing Lands — html, pdf
5.6 Farmland Protection Programs — html, pdf
5.7 Federal Laws Protecting Environmental Quality — html, pdf
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