IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jagris/v13y2023i4p891-d1126569.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Simulated Ecosystem and Farm-Level Economic Impacts of Conservation Tillage in a Northeastern Iowa County

Author

Listed:
  • Edward Osei

    (Department of Agriculture Education and Communication, Tarleton State University, Stephenville, TX 76402, USA)

  • Syed H. Jafri

    (Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics, Tarleton State University, Stephenville, TX 76402, USA)

  • Philip W. Gassman

    (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA)

  • Ali Saleh

    (Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research, Tarleton State University, Stephenville, TX 76402, USA)

Abstract

While the ecological benefits of no-till are largely indisputable, the economic impacts are less certain, and the latter may be partly to blame for lower-than-expected adoption of no-till. In this study, we contribute to a better understanding of the ecosystem and farm-level economic impacts of no-till, with Buchanan County in the northeastern region of the U.S. State of Iowa as the backdrop due to previously established data and model validation efforts in that region. Using the Agricultural Policy Environmental eXtender (APEX) and Farm Economic Model (FEM), we simulated two tillage scenarios—a conservation tillage baseline and no-till—for continuous corn and corn–soybean rotations in Buchanan County using gridded historical climate data. We find that no-till provides clear ecosystem benefits, except that soluble nutrient losses might actually rise. We also find that under current commodity prices for corn and soybeans, no-till is not as profitable as the conservation tillage baseline. For no-till to be at least as profitable as the baseline under current commodity prices, the yield penalty associated with no-till cannot be higher than 1.5% for corn and 0.8% for soybeans, or similar combinations that entail a revenue penalty of about $24,000 for an 809-hectare continuous corn or corn–soybean operation. Given the simulated yield penalties associated with no-till, corn and soybean prices would have to be substantially lower in order for no-till to break even. Consequently, incentives for conservation practice implementation may need to be tied to commodity prices and yield penalties in order to elicit greater adoption rates.

Suggested Citation

  • Edward Osei & Syed H. Jafri & Philip W. Gassman & Ali Saleh, 2023. "Simulated Ecosystem and Farm-Level Economic Impacts of Conservation Tillage in a Northeastern Iowa County," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-22, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:13:y:2023:i:4:p:891-:d:1126569
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/4/891/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/4/891/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tadesse, Haile K. & Moriasi, Daniel N. & Gowda, Prasanna H. & Marek, Gary & Steiner, Jean L. & Brauer, David & Talebizadeh, Mansour & Nelson, Amanda & Starks, Patrick, 2018. "Evaluating evapotranspiration estimation methods in APEX model for dryland cropping systems in a semi-arid region," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 217-228.
    2. Kamruzzaman, Mohammad & Hwang, Syewoon & Choi, Soon-Kun & Cho, Jaepil & Song, Inhong & Jeong, Hanseok & Song, Jung-Hun & Jang, Teail & Yoo, Seung-Hwan, 2020. "Prediction of the effects of management practices on discharge and mineral nitrogen yield from paddy fields under future climate using APEX-paddy model," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    3. Timlin, Dennis & Chun, Jong Ahn & Meisinger, John & Kang, Kwangmin & Fleisher, David & Staver, Ken & Doherty, Craig & Russ, Andrew, 2019. "Evaluation of the agricultural policy environmental extender (APEX) for the Chesapeake Bay watershed," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 477-485.
    4. Lattz, Dale & Schnitkey, Gary, 2021. "Machinery Cost Estimates for 2021," farmdoc daily, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, vol. 11(143), October.
    5. Wallace, Carlington W. & Flanagan, Dennis C. & Engel, Bernard A., 2017. "Quantifying the effects of conservation practice implementation on predicted runoff and chemical losses under climate change," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 186(C), pages 51-65.
    6. Edward Osei & Syed H. Jafri & Philip W. Gassman & Ali Saleh & Oscar Gallego, 2023. "Climate Change Impacts on Surface Runoff and Nutrient and Sediment Losses in Buchanan County, Iowa," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-21, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ramazan Çakmakçı & Mehmet Ali Salık & Songül Çakmakçı, 2023. "Assessment and Principles of Environmentally Sustainable Food and Agriculture Systems," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-27, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Edward Osei & Syed H. Jafri & Ali Saleh & Philip W. Gassman & Oscar Gallego, 2023. "Simulated Climate Change Impacts on Corn and Soybean Yields in Buchanan County, Iowa," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-21, January.
    2. Zhao, Jie & Zhang, Xuepeng & Yang, Yadong & Zang, Huadong & Yan, Peng & Meki, Manyowa N. & Doro, Luca & Sui, Peng & Jeong, Jaehak & Zeng, Zhaohai, 2021. "Alternative cropping systems for groundwater irrigation sustainability in the North China Plain," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 250(C).
    3. Edward Osei & Syed H. Jafri & Philip W. Gassman & Ali Saleh & Oscar Gallego, 2023. "Climate Change Impacts on Surface Runoff and Nutrient and Sediment Losses in Buchanan County, Iowa," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-21, February.
    4. Bazrkar, Mohammad Hadi & Danquah, Eric Owusu & Choi, Soon-Kun & Kim, Min-Kyeong & Jeong, Jaehak & Cho, Jaepil, 2023. "Projected unseasonable and shorter actual growth period for paddy rice and more pollutant loads into water bodies in a changing climate," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    5. Plunge, Svajunas & Gudas, Mindaugas & Povilaitis, Arvydas, 2022. "Effectiveness of best management practices for non-point source agricultural water pollution control with changing climate – Lithuania’s case," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    6. Pignalosa, Antonio & Silvestri, Nicola & Pugliese, Francesco & Corniello, Alfonso & Gerundo, Carlo & Del Seppia, Nicola & Lucchesi, Massimo & Coscini, Nicola & De Paola, Francesco & Giugni, Maurizio, 2022. "Long-term simulations of Nature-Based Solutions effects on runoff and soil losses in a flat agricultural area within the catchment of Lake Massaciuccoli (Central Italy)," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 273(C).
    7. Wu, Lei & Liu, Xia & Chen, Junlai & Li, Jinfeng & Yu, Yang & Ma, Xiaoyi, 2022. "Efficiency assessment of best management practices in sediment reduction by investigating cost-effective tradeoffs," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    8. Kim, Dong-Hyeon & Jang, Taeil & Hwang, Syewoon & Jeong, Hanseok, 2021. "Paddy rice adaptation strategies to climate change: Transplanting date shift and BMP applications," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 252(C).
    9. A, Tadesse & Jeong, Jaehak & Green, Colleen H.M., 2022. "Modeling landscape wind erosion processes on rangelands using the APEX model," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 467(C).
    10. Luo, Yao & Wang, Hongya, 2019. "Modeling the impacts of agricultural management strategies on crop yields and sediment yields using APEX in Guizhou Plateau, southwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 325-338.
    11. Langemeier, Michael, 2021. "Benchmarking Crop Machinery Cost and Investment," farmdoc daily, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, vol. 11(149), October.
    12. Renfang Chang & Yunqi Wang & Huifang Liu & Zhen Wang & Lei Ma & Jiancong Zhang & Junjie Li & Zhiyi Yan & Yihui Zhang & Danqing Li, 2024. "Optimizing Non-Point Source Pollution Management: Evaluating Cost-Effective Strategies in a Small Watershed within the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-21, May.
    13. Dechmi, Farida & Skhiri, Ahmed & Isidoro, Daniel, 2021. "Modeling environmental impact in a semi-arid intensive irrigated watershed," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    14. Zhang, Zepeng & Wang, Qingzheng & Guan, Qingyu & Xiao, Xiong & Mi, Jimin & Lv, Songjian, 2023. "Research on the optimal allocation of agricultural water and soil resources in the Heihe River Basin based on SWAT and intelligent optimization," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    15. Dong, Shide & Wang, Guangmei & Kang, Yaohu & Ma, Qian & Wan, Shuqin, 2022. "Soil water and salinity dynamics under the improved drip-irrigation scheduling for ecological restoration in the saline area of Yellow River basin," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:13:y:2023:i:4:p:891-:d:1126569. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.