Environmental and Economic Tradeoffs of Alternative Cropping Systems

ABSTRACT The tradeoffs between economic profitability and environmental impacts of five cropping systems being used by farm managers in northeast Kansas were examined. The Erosion/Productivity Impact Calculator (EPIC) was used to estimate potential crop yields, nitrate (NO3) contamination, and soil erosion from the cropping systems. Prices and enterprise budget data were combined with the crop yields simulated by EPIC to calculate annual net returns for each system. The tradeoff between net returns and environmental contaminants were evaluated using a Chance Constrained Programming (CCP) model. The overall results of the CCP models, including targets for all contaminants, indicated that the alternative cropping system of wheat and grain sorghum was preferred to the traditional system, which also includes corn and soybeans. An alfalfa-wheat-soybean rotation generally was preferred when the contaminant targets were restricted to NO3 runoff and soil erosion. The results also imply that financial incentives and site- and soil-specific policies for reducing groundwater contamination are needed if environmental contaminants are to be reduced.