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This is the cover image for the 'Environmental Effects of Agricultural Land-Use Change: The Role of Economics and Policy' report.

Environmental Effects of Agricultural Land-Use Change: The Role of Economics and Policy

  • by Ruben N. Lubowski, Shawn Bucholtz, Roger Claassen, Michael Roberts, Joseph Cooper, Anna Gueorguieva and Robert Johansson
  • 8/31/2006
  • ERR-25

Overview

This report examines evidence on the relationship between agricultural land-use changes, soil productivity, and indicators of environmental sensitivity. If cropland that shifts in and out of production is less productive and more environmentally sensitive than other cropland, policy-induced changes in land use could have production effects that are smaller-and environmental impacts that are greater-than anticipated. To illustrate this possibility, this report examines environmental outcomes stemming from land-use conversion caused by two agricultural programs that others have identified as potentially having important influences on land use and environmental quality: Federal crop insurance subsidies and the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), the Nation's largest cropland retirement program.

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