Darrell J. Bosch

USING SPATIAL INFORMATION TO REDUCE COSTS OF CONTROLLING AGRICULTURAL NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION

Reducing costs of controlling nonpoint source (NPS) pollution will be a high public priority in the next century. Compliance and transaction costs of reducing nitrogen runoff from dairies in the Lower Susquehanna Watershed by 40% are estimated for perfectly targeted and uniform performance standards. The perfectly targeted standard reduces compliance and transaction costs by almost 75% compared with the uniform standard. Future NPS control policies should use spatial information to target policy resources to priority concerns, areas, and farms. Further research is needed to lower the costs and increase the accuracy of spatial information.

Valuing Information When Risk Preferences Are Nonneutral: An Application to Irrigation Scheduling

A method for valuing information when risk attitudes are nonneutral is presented. The procedure uses simulation and generalized stochastic dominance to value information by level of risk aversion. The value of soil water and weather information to irrigators is quantified to illustrate the procedure. The empirical results show that additional information has diminishing marginal returns for a given level of risk aversion and that the value of information increases with the level of risk aversion. The application demonstrates the importance of valuing information on a whole-firm basis when returns to information are related to returns of other firm enterprises and risk preferences are nonneutral.

ECONOMIC RETURNS FROM REDUCING POULTRY LITTER PHOSPHORUS WITH MICROBIAL PHYTASE

Requiring that crop applications of manure be based on phosphorus content (P-standard) could increase poultry litter disposal costs. Microbial phytase reduces litter P content and could reduce litter disposal costs under a P-standard. For a representative Virginia turkey farm, phytase costs

Cost-Effectiveness of Nutrient Management and Buffers: Comparisons of Two Spatial Scenarios

2,500 and could increase value of litter used for fertilizer on the turkey farm by

From Landscapes to Waterscapes: A PSE for Landuse Change Analysis

390 and reduce supplemental P feed costs by

IMPACTS OF WITHIN-FARM SOIL VARIABILITY ON NITROGEN POLLUTION CONTROL COSTS

1,431. Based on assumed litter demand and supply, estimated litter export prices with phytase could exceed export prices without phytase by

A simulation and optimization approach for evaluating irrigation information

3.81 per ton. Phytase net returns to the farm are an estimated

AN EVALUATION OF RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR DAIRY FARMS

1,435.

Community DECISIONS: stakeholder focused watershed planning.

Policymakers are seeking cost effective methods to reduce nutrient pollution from agriculture. Predicted costs and pollution reductions from nutrient management and buffers are evaluated under four spatial scenarios describing a watershed. Results will help policymakers evaluate alternative Best Management Practices (BMPs) for water quality protection in agriculture.

Farm returns to carbon credit creation with intensive rotational grazing

We describe the design and implementation of L2W – a Problem Solving Environment (PSE) for landuse change analysis. L2W organizes and unifies the diverse collection of software typically associated with ecosystem models (hydrological, economic and biological). It provides a web-based interface for potential watershed managers and other users to explore meaningful alternative land development and management scenarios and view their hydrological, ecological, and economic impacts. A prototype implementation for the Upper Roanoke River Watershed in Southwest Virginia, USA is described.