Journal article details

Title

Estimating the range of economic impacts on farms of nutrient leaching reduction policies

Description

Declining agricultural incomes, increasing concern over rural poverty and sporadic crises such as those of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and Foot and Mouth Disease mean that the imposition of further costs on U.K. agriculture are likely to be politically and socially sensitive. Such additional costs are however on the agenda with the implementation of theWater Framework Directive (WFD; European Commission, 2000). The WFD aims to achieve “good ecological status” in EU water bodies reducing, inter alia, diffuse pollution from agriculture. In this study, we assess four possible WFD measures proposed to the U.K. Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs: reducing inorganic fertilizer application, conversion of arable land to ungrazed grassland, reducing livestock stocking rates, and reducing livestock dietary N and P intakes. For each measure, changes in farm gross margins (FGMs) are estimated using a dataset of over 2000 farms. In contrast to previous analyses, which have focussed upon mean responses on stylized farms, our approach allows the analysis of the range of impacts across a wide variety of real-world farms and farm types. Findings reveal high variability in impacts. Cost-effectiveness analysis indicates that, on average, cropping farms seem capable of reducing nutrient leaching in a more cost-efficient way than livestock or dairy enterprises.

URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-0862.2008.00323.x

URL Description

Abstract

Language

English

Primary contributor

Author

Carlo Fezzi

Additional contributors

Author

Paulette Posen

Author

Dan Rigby

Author

David Hadley

Author

Ian Bateman

Keywords

water framework directive; farm financial impacts; farm accounts; nitrate and phosphate leaching; cost-effectiveness

Additional details

Volume number

39

Issue number

2

Is this item peer reviewed?

Yes

ISSN

0169-5150

Copyright URL

http://olabout.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-406241.html

Publisher

Blackwell Publishing

Date of publication

01 January 2008

Page reference

197-205

Place of publication

Malden, MA

Is this item a pre-print or post-print?

Postprint

Title of journal

Agricultural economics

Files

Cite this output

Harvard

Fezzi, Carlo et al (2008) Estimating the range of economic impacts on farms of nutrient leaching reduction policies. Agricultural economics. 39 (2), pp. 197-205 Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Vancouver

Fezzi Carlo et al. Estimating the range of economic impacts on farms of nutrient leaching reduction policies. Agricultural economics 2008; 39 (2): 197-205.