Economic evaluation of alternative crop and soil management systems for reducing soil erosion losses on West Tennessee farms

The purpose of this study was to evaluate farm firm behavior and adjustment that might be expected when certain key factors related to soil conservation were allowed to vary over time. Three typical commercial upland crop producing farms located in the Deep Loess Soil Region of West Tennessee were selected for analysis. Enterprises considered for each farm were corn, soybeans, cotton, soybeans-wheat double-crop, meadow, pasture, and beef cow-calf. Up to 41 cropping systems were considered for each field on each farm. Basic crop alternatives included a wide range of crop management systems including various combinations of conventional tillage, contour tillage, cover crop, no-till, terraces, and various lengths of rotations. Potential soil loss for each cropping management system was estimated using the Universal Soil Loss Equation. Farm plans were developed for each of the three farms that would maximize discounted net returns with the upper limit on soil loss from erosion set alternately at 100, 25, 10, and 5 tons/acre/year. Alternative situations evaluated in the analysis also included three discount rates, five planning horizons, and variations in alternative crop management systems considered.

Standard budgetary techniques were utilized in estimating costs and returns and investment and operating capital requirements for the various cropping systems and beef enterprise considered in the analysis. Linear programming techniques were used to determine optimum resource allocations and enterprise combinations that would maximize the discounted net returns to land, labor, and management.

Based upon the assumptions and result of this study, through the use of no-till and double-cropping systems soil loss could be held at the 10-ton soil loss level with no effects upon net returns. The 5-ton level could be achieved with only a minor reduction in net returns (2-3 percent).

When no-till and double-cropping systems were eliminated, the effects of soil loss constraints upon net returns were more pronounced. In this case net returns were estimated to be reduced by approximately 3-5 percent to achieve the 10-ton soil loss limit and by 25-30 percent to achieve the 5-ton soil loss level.