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Title: EVALUATING SOIL NITROGEN TESTING CONSIDERING CARRY-OVER EFFECT

Author
item HUANG, WEN-YUAN - ECONOMIC RESEARCH SERVICE
item KEIM, RUSS - ECONOMIC RESEARCH SERVICE
item Lu, Yao
item KELLY, TERRY - UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

Submitted to: Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/13/1997
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Soil N-testing has been promoted as a tool to improve water quality. This paper evaluates the economic and environmental effects of soil nitrogen (N)-testing to improve nitrogen fertilizer management using an integrated economic-crop simulation model. The results indicate that soil nitrogen testing can increase net farm income if the testing cost is small. The benefits of using soil N-testing depend on the farmers' knowledge about their soil fertility and the current nutrient management strategy used. Those farmers who are knowledgeable about their soil fertility, the economic and environmental benefits of using soil N-testing is minimal. For those farmers who are not knowledgeable about their soil, the soil N- testing can improve their net farm income. The magnitude of income gained depends on the cost of soil N-testing and the nutrient management strategy the farmers currently use. The soil N-testing can help reduce nitrogen losses if farmers currently under-estimate the nitrogen carry-over rate of their cropland. The soil N-testing, however, can result in an increase in nitrogen losses if the farmers currently over-estimate the nitrogen carry over rates. These findings indicate that a policy maker must have prior empirical evidences to ensure that soil N-testing could help farmers reduce nitrogen fertilizer use while improving their net farm income.

Technical Abstract: An integrated economic-crop simulation model is used to evaluate the economic and environmental effects of soil nitrogen (N)-testing to improve nitrogen fertilizer management. The soil N-testing can help a profit- maximizing farmer improve net farm income if the testing cost is small. The value of soil N-testing to farmers varies depending on how much they know about the crop history of the field and the current nutrient management strategy used. For a profit-maximizing farmer, who is knowledgeable about the soil conditions of his or her cropland, the value of soil N-testing may be insignificant. For those farmers who are not knowledgeable about their cropland, the soil N-testing can improve their net farm income. The magnitude of income gained is determined by the cost of soil N-testing and the nutrient management strategy currently used by the farmers. The soil N-testing can help profit-maximizing farmers reduce nitrogen loss if they currently under-estimate the nitrogen carry-over rate of their cropland. The soil N-testing, however, can result in an increase in nitrogen loss if farmers currently over-estimate the nitrogen carry over rate or use other nutrient management strategies. These findings indicate that a policy maker must have prior empirical evidences to ensure that soil N-testing could help farmers reduce nitrogen fertilizer use while improving their net farm income, when promoting soil N-testing as a tool to improve water quality.