The dynamics of soil erosion in US agriculture

Abstract

Soil erosion has both on-farm and off-farm impacts. Reduction of soil depth can impair the land's productivity, and the transport of sediments can degrade streams, lakes, and estuaries. To address this problem, soil conservation policies have existed in the United States for over 60 years. Initially, these policies focused on the on-farm benefits of keeping soil on the land and increasing net farm income. Beginning in the 1980s, however, policy goals increasingly included reductions in off-site impacts of erosion. The Food Security Act of 1985 was the first major legislation explicitly to tie eligibility to receive agricultural program payments to conservation performance. The Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act (FAIR) of 1996 modifies the conservation compliance provisions by providing farmers with greater flexibility in developing and implementing conservation plans. As a consequence of conservation efforts, total soil erosion between 1982 and 1997 was reduced by 42% and the erosion rate fell from 8.0 tons per acre in 1982 to 5.2 tons per acre in 1997. Still, soil erosion is imposing substantial social costs. In 1997 these costs are estimated to have been approx. US$29.7 billion. To further reduce soil erosion and thereby mitigate its social costs, there are a number of policy options available to induce farmers to adopt conservation practices including education and technical assistance, financial assistance, research and development, land retirement, and regulation and taxes.