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Measuring Farm Policy, Part 2: Conservation & A Nutrient Loss Reduction Perspective

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  • Coppess, Jonathan

Abstract

February 7th marked the 10th anniversary of the Agriculture Adjustment Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-79). Among other things, the 2014 Farm Bill initiated the ARC/PLC era of farm policy in which the choice between the two programs replaced the annual direct payments that had been a feature of farm policy since the 1996 Farm Bill. Roughly coinciding with the 2014 Farm Bill were key milestones in the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Task Force efforts by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, including the framework memo in 2011 and the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2014 (EPA, History of the Hypoxia Task Force, updated August 29, 2023; P.L. 113-124). Illinois initiated its Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy (NLRS) in 2015 and released its latest biannual report in December 2023 (INLRS, 2023 Biennial Report; Illinois Department of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Agency, December 1, 2023). The latest report delivered unwelcome news: the levels of nitrogen and phosphorus exported from Illinois increased by 5% and 35% (respectively) as compared to the baseline (Jones, December 11, 2023; Haynes, January 5, 2024; Atkins, January 28, 2024). Also notable in the biannual report, the river flow or water yield was 23% higher than the baseline; when it rains, it pours, with consequences for nutrient losses (farmdoc daily, December 1, 2023; January 4, 2024; January 15, 2024). Farmers cannot control the weather or precipitation, but they can influence nutrient losses based on farm practices; similarly, farmers cannot control federal farm policy but can influence the priorities and outcomes in a farm bill. This article seeks to measure the conservation side of farm policy with perspectives from the efforts to reduce nutrient losses in Illinois.

Suggested Citation

  • Coppess, Jonathan, 2024. "Measuring Farm Policy, Part 2: Conservation & A Nutrient Loss Reduction Perspective," farmdoc daily, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, vol. 14(27), February.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:illufd:358287
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.358287
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