Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-fv566 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-17T13:35:39.676Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Farm Level Dynamic Analysis of Soil Conservation: An Application to the Piedmont Area of Virginia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2016

Eduardo Segarra  and
Daniel B. Taylor
Eduardo Segarra
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas Tech University
Daniel B. Taylor
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

A conceptual optimal control theory model which considers farm level decision making with respect to soil management is developed. A simplified version of the theoretical model is applied to the Piedmont area of Virginia. The model includes the productivity impacts of both soil erosion and technological progress. Both the theoretical model and its empirical application are improvements over previous efforts. Results suggest that farmers in the study area can achieve substantial reductions in soil erosion by adopting alternative farming practices.

Keywords

optimal control theorysoil conservationdynamic anlysisproductivity
Type
Submitted Articles
Information
Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics , Volume 19 , Issue 2 , December 1987 , pp. 61 - 73
Copyright
Copyright © Southern Agricultural Economics Association 1987

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aoki, M. Optimal Control and System Theory in Dynamic Economic Analysis. Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Co., 1976.Google Scholar
Bhide, S., Pope, C. A. III, and Heady, E. O.. A Dynamic Analysis of Economics of Soil Conservation: An Application of Optimal Control Theory. CARD Report 110, SWCP Series III, Iowa State University, 1982.Google Scholar
Burt, O. R. “The Economic Theory of Soil Conservation.” Unpublished Manuscript, 1972.Google Scholar
Burt, O. R. “Farm Level Impacts of Soil Conservation in the Palouse Area of the Northwest.” Amer. J. Agr. Econ., 63(1981):83–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burt, O. R., and Cummings, R. G.. “Natural Resource Management, the Steady State and Approximately Optimal Decision Rules.” Land Econ., 53(1977):1–22.Google Scholar
Davidson, W. C. Variable Metric Methods for Minimization. Argonne, Illinois: Argonne National Laboratory, Report ANL-5990, 1959.Google Scholar
Dorfman, R. “An Economic Interpretation of Optimal Control Theory.” Amer. Econ. Rev., 69(1979):817–831.Google Scholar
Kamien, M. J., and Schwartz, N. L.. Dynamic Optimization: The Calculus of Variations and Optimal Control in Economics and Management. Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Co., 1981.Google Scholar
McConnell, K. E. “An Economic Model of Soil Conservation.” Amer. J. Agr. Econ., 65(1983):83–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murtagh, B. A., and Saunders, M. A.. “Large-Scale Linearly Constrained Optimization.” Math. Programming, 14(1978):41–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saliba, B. C. “Soil Productivity and Farmers' Erosion Control Incentives—A Dynamic Modeling Approach.” West. J. Agr. Econ., 10(1985):354–364.Google Scholar
Segarra, E. “A Dynamic Analysis of the Crop Productivity Impacts of Soil Erosion: An Application to the Piedmont Area of Virginia.” Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1986.Google Scholar
Sheti, S. P., and Thompson, G. L.. Optimal Control Theory: Applications to Management Science. London: Martinous Nijhoff Publishing, 1981.Google Scholar
Soil Conservation Service. Piedmont Bright Leaf Erosion Control Area. Richmond, VA: United States Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service, 1983.Google Scholar
Soil Conservation Service. Crop Budget System Users Guide. Economics Division, United States Department of Agriculture, 1977.Google Scholar
Stamley, W. L., and Smith, R. M.. “A Conservation Definition of Erosion Tolerance.” Soil Science, 4(1964):183–186.Google Scholar
United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census. 1982 Census of Agriculture Preliminary Report. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1983.Google Scholar
Wischmeier, W. H., and Smith, D. D.. Predicting Rainfall Erosion Losses: A Guide to Conservation Planning. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Agriculture Science and Education Administration, Agr. Handbook No. 537, Dec. 1978.Google Scholar
Wolfe, P. “The Reduced Gradient Method.” Unpublished Manuscript, RAND Corporation, 1962.Google Scholar
Young, D. L. “A Practical Procedure for Eliciting Subjective Probability Distributions.” Paper prepared for the Symposium “Introduction to Risk Measures from the Behavioral Sciences,” American Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, 1983.Google Scholar