Economic and environmental evaluation of alternative pollution-reducing nitrogen management practices in central Illinois

Abstract

Nitrogen fertilizer application from production agriculture is likely the largest contributor to non-point source nitrate pollution in the United States. This type of pollution from the agricultural sector is an important policy issue because it may cause serious environmental and health risks to society. There have been studies that examined the different effects of nitrogen timing and rate practices, but none has yet compared the economic and environmental effects of these practices to site-specific management (SSM) precision technology. This paper examines the economic and environmental impacts of alternative nitrogen management practices, including SSM, within the Lake Decatur watershed of central Illinois. Thus, this study provides evidence on how different nitrogen management practices perform in terms of their effect on water quality and profitability. Data for the analysis were derived from the Environmental Policy Integrated Climate (EPIC) agronomic simulation model due to unavailability of actual on-site data. The analysis revealed that SSM of nitrogen fertilizer has great potential in reducing the mean and variability of nitrate pollution in the watershed while improving profitability of producers, relative to the current practice in the watershed. The management practice where fertilizer is applied during the spring at 140 kg ha −1 provides reduction in mean and variability of nitrate pollution comparable to that of SSM. However, SSM technology substantially reduces the variability of net returns compared to the other management practices analyzed. Hence, SSM of nitrogen fertilizer has the potential to reduce nitrate pollution while reducing economic variability and maintaining profitability.