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| ## ![](med   | ## What's                                             |
| ia/image1.wm | New in Economics? {#whats-new-in-economics .NL-Title} |
| f){width="1. |                                                       |
| 666666666666 |                                                       |
| 6667in" heig |                                                       |
| ht="1.136805 |                                                       |
| 5555555556in |                                                       |
| "} {#section |                                                       |
|  .NL-Name-1} |                                                       |
+--------------+-------------------------------------------------------+
| January,     | > Volume 1, Number 1                                  |
| 2004         |                                                       |
+--------------+-------------------------------------------------------+
| "Good        | # Purpose                                             |
| envi         | of Newsletter {#purpose-of-newsletter .NL-Headline-1} |
| ronmentalism |                                                       |
| is good      | As agricultural economist for the Ecological Sciences |
| economics."  | staff, information and data regarding economics and   |
|              | conservation passes across my desk daily and, until   |
| -Barber      | now, I have had no way to pass this information on to |
| Conable,     | the Field. The format of the newsletter will be       |
| President of | flexible, changing according to the information I     |
| The World    | want and/or need to include in the newsletter. In     |
| Bank         | each newsletter, I will discuss current economic      |
|              | trends in Minnesota associated with indicators that   |
| ![]          | could impact the adoption of conservation and         |
| (media/image | agriculture in general. Examples of other topics that |
| 2.jpeg){widt | may be discussed are my current projects,             |
| h="1.3444444 | spreadsheets that I or others have developed to       |
| 444444446in" | estimate economic costs and benefits, summaries of    |
| height       | reports or articles relevant to conservation, and     |
| ="1.56736111 | links to useful websites. I may also include          |
| 11111112in"} | statistics regarding conservation in Minnesota and    |
|              | the United States. If you have any suggestions for    |
| ![           | topics of discussion, please feel free to drop me an  |
| ](media/imag | email.                                                |
| e3.wmf){widt |                                                       |
| h="1.2604166 | # Do Conservation Buffe                               |
| 666666667in" | rs Pay? {#do-conservation-buffers-pay .NL-Headline-2} |
| height       |                                                       |
| ="1.23541666 | An operator walks into a NRCS field office and wants  |
| 66666666in"} | to know how he or she will financially benefit from   |
|              | installing a conservation buffer with and without     |
|              | enrollment in CRP. What type of information would the |
|              | employee need to provide the operator with an         |
|              | estimate of the costs and benefits of installing a    |
|              | buffer? The Economics of Buffers spreadsheet,         |
|              | originally developed by the National Conservation     |
|              | Buffer Council and updated for Minnesota, calculates  |
|              | the costs and monetary benefits that the producer     |
|              | **[may]{.underline}** realize by installing buffers   |
|              | and enrolling them in CRP. The spreadsheet includes   |
|              | detailed instructions. For additional information     |
|              | regarding the costs and monetary benefits of          |
|              | conservation buffers and a copy of the spreadsheet,   |
|              | please contact me via email. My contact information   |
|              | is located on Page 3. Additional resources include:   |
|              |                                                       |
|              | -   *The National Conservation Buffer Initiative: A   |
|              |     Qualitative Evaluation* at                        |
|              |     <http:/                                           |
|              | /www.nrcs.usda.gov/feature/buffers/pdf/BuffQual.pdf>. |
|              |                                                       |
|              | -   *Conservation Buffers Work...Economically and     |
|              |     Environmentally* at                               |
|              |     <http:/                                           |
|              | /www.nrcs.usda.gov/feature/buffers/pdf/BufferBr.pdf>. |
|              |                                                       |
|              | # Useful Websites {#useful-websites .NL-Headline-2}   |
|              |                                                       |
|              | There are a number of useful economics websites       |
|              | offering information regarding agriculture and        |
|              | conservation. In each Newsletter I will highlight one |
|              | or two of my favorites.                               |
|              |                                                       |
|              | -   <http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/land/pubs/> - |
|              |     This website contains a plethora of analysis      |
|              |     publications, such as *Profile of Farms with      |
|              |     Livestock in the United States: A Statistical     |
|              |     Summary*, published by USDA.                      |
|              |                                                       |
|              | -   <http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/> - This website  |
|              |     is a great place to learn about sustainable       |
|              |     agriculture and the newest publications.          |
+--------------+-------------------------------------------------------+
| National     | # The Cost of Com                                     |
| funding for  | prehensive Nutrient Management Plans {#the-cost-of-co |
| USDA's EQIP  | mprehensive-nutrient-management-plans .NL-Headline-1} |
| addresses    |                                                       |
| various      | The Nation's livestock sector is being scrutinized    |
| e            | for their potential contribution to non-point source  |
| nvironmental | pollution of water sources in Minnesota and the       |
| concerns:    | Nation. The USDA and EPA released a Strategy in 1999  |
|              | presenting a plan to address potential impacts of     |
| -   Water    | animal feeding operations (AFOs) on water quality and |
|     Quality  | public health. The Strategy purposed that all AFOs    |
|     -- 33%   | should develop and implement a comprehensive nutrient |
|              | management plan (CNMP) and called on USDA and EPA to  |
| -   Soil and | assess the costs and benefits of CNMPs.               |
|     Land     |                                                       |
|              | In June of 2003, USDA released Part I of the *Costs   |
| Conservation | Associated with Development and Implementation of     |
|     -- 21%   | Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans (CNMPs)*. The |
|              | report addresses the cost of upgrading livestock      |
| -            | facilities and practices to meet CNMP technical       |
|    Livestock | guidance and the technical assistance (TA) needed to  |
|     Manure   | plan, design, implement, and follow up on new and/or  |
|              | upgraded structures and practices. Part II will       |
|    Nutrients | address the cost of alternatives to land application  |
|     -- 19%   | of manure and ways to minimize the potential for      |
|              | excess nutrients.                                     |
| -   Crop     |                                                       |
|              | Summary of Part I                                     |
|    Nutrients |                                                       |
|     -- 7%    | To begin the analysis, the number of operations       |
|              | needing a CNMP was estimated based on the following   |
| -   Wildlife | three criteria: Number of animals, amount of          |
|     Habitat  | recoverable manure, and specialty livestock. Based on |
|     -- 6%    | these criteria, the total number of census farms in   |
|              | the US that are expected to need a CNMP is 257,201    |
| -   Other -- | farms. Of the farms needing a CNMP, 52,817 are        |
|     14%      | located in the Lake States (Minnesota, Wisconsin, and |
|              | Michigan) and are classified as 2.2% large farms,     |
| Source:      | 6.4% medium farms, and 91.5% small farms. For this    |
| Based on     | report, small farms are defined as farms producing    |
| 1997-2000    | less than 4 tons of manure phosphorus annually, while |
| data from    | farms producing more than 10 tons of manure           |
| FSA, USDA    | phosphorus annually are considered larger operations. |
| and [Amber   |                                                       |
| Waves,]      | Based on a number of assumptions laid out in the      |
| {.underline} | report, the annual CNMP costs per farm for the Lake   |
| ERS, USDA,   | States are as follows:                                |
| April 2003,  |                                                       |
| Volume 1,    | \- Recordkeeping Costs per Farm = \$123 per year      |
| Issue 2, pg  |                                                       |
| 44.          | \- Nutrient Management Costs per Farm = \$1,430 per   |
|              | year                                                  |
| Leah Moore   |                                                       |
|              | \- Off-farm Transport Costs per Farm = \$257 per year |
| ECS          |                                                       |
|              | \- Land Treatment Costs per Farm = \$990 per year     |
| USDA-NRCS    |                                                       |
|              | \- Manure & Wastewater Handling / Storage Costs per   |
| 375 Jackson  | Farm = \$1,669 per year                               |
| Street       |                                                       |
|              | ***- Average CNMP Implementation Costs per Farm =     |
| Suite 600    | \$4,469 per year***                                   |
|              |                                                       |
| St. Paul, MN | \- CNMP Development Costs = 170 hours per farm        |
| 55101        |                                                       |
|              | It is important to remember that there are several    |
| Phone:       | items that limit the accuracy of the estimates such   |
|              | as uncertainty regarding input data and assumptions,  |
| 651.602.7867 | changes in the livestock sector, state and local      |
|              | regulation, and inflation and potential cost offsets. |
| Fax:         | The CNMP Implementation Costs per Farm are estimates  |
|              | and should be starting point when analyzing CNMP      |
| 651.602.7914 | costs in Minnesota not as a final destination. If you |
|              | are interested in reading the report, check out the   |
| E-mail:      | web link listed in the following section.             |
|              |                                                       |
| leah.moore   | Web Link                                              |
| @mn.usda.gov |                                                       |
|              | Costs Associated with Development and Implementation  |
| We're on the | of Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans, Part I -- |
| Web!         | Nutrient Management, Land Treatment, Manure and       |
|              | Wastewater Handling and Storage, and Recordkeeping is |
| www.mn.n     | located at                                            |
| rcs.usda.gov | <http                                                 |
|              | ://www.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/land/pubs/cnmp1.html>. |
|              | The report was published by USDA and was issued June  |
|              | 2003.                                                 |
|              |                                                       |
|              | # 2003                                                |
|              |  Minnesota Harvested Acres, Yield, and Production as  |
|              | of January 12, 2004 {#minnesota-harvested-acres-yield |
|              | -and-production-as-of-january-12-2004 .NL-Headline-2} |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   ------------- ----------- ----                      |
|              | ------- --------- --------- ------------ ------------ |
|              |   Commodity     2002                                  |
|              |     2003        2002      2003      2002         2003 |
|              |                 Harvested   Ha                        |
|              | rvested   Average   Average   Production   Production |
|              |                 Acres (00                             |
|              | 0) Acres (000) Yield     Yield     (000)        (000) |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   Minnesota                                           |
|              |                                                       |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   Corn (Bu)     6,700                                 |
|              |  6,650       157.0     146.0     1,051,900    970,900 |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   Soybeans (Bu) 7,100                                 |
|              |  7,400       43.5      31.0      308,850      229,400 |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   Spring Wheat  1,800                                 |
|              |  1,800       34.0      58.0      61,200       104,400 |
|              |   (Bu)                                                |
|              |                                                       |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   Barley (Bu)   165                                   |
|              |   170         39.0      75.0      6,435        12,750 |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   Oats (Bu)     285                                   |
|              |   265         56.0      71.0      15,960       18,815 |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   Sugarbeets    476                                   |
|              |   487         18.6      20.6      8,854        10,032 |
|              |   (Ton)                                               |
|              |                                                       |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   Dry Beans 1/  150                                   |
|              |    110         1,650     1,700     2,475        1,870 |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   Canola (lb)   45                                    |
|              |  56          850       1,820     38,250       101,920 |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   Oil           37                                    |
|              |   54          1,450     1,650     53,650       89,100 |
|              |   Sunflowers                                          |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   (lb)                                                |
|              |                                                       |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   Non-Oil       27                                    |
|              |   34          1,200     1,550     32,400       52,700 |
|              |   Sunflowers                                          |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   (lb)                                                |
|              |                                                       |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   Alfalfa Hay   1,600                                 |
|              |    1,375       3.30      3.00      5,280        4,125 |
|              |   (ton)                                               |
|              |                                                       |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   Other Hay     700                                   |
|              |    700         1.90      1.60      1,330        1,120 |
|              |   (Ton)                                               |
|              |                                                       |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   Alfalfa       400                                   |
|              |    300         6.80      5.40      2,720        1,160 |
|              |   Haylage2/                                           |
|              |                                                       |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   All Alfalfa   1,850                                 |
|              |    1,525       3.58      3.23      6,624        4,926 |
|              |   Forage3/                                            |
|              |                                                       |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   Fall Potatoes 55                                    |
|              |   58          340       385       18,700       22,330 |
|              |   (Cwt) 4/                                            |
|              |                                                       |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   1/ Yield in                                         |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   lb;                                                 |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   production in                                       |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   cwt                                                 |
|              |                                                       |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   2/ Estimates                                        |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   began in                                            |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   2000. Yield                                         |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   and                                                 |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   production                                          |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   (tons) in                                           |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   green weight                                        |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   basis.                                              |
|              |                                                       |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   3/ Estimates                                        |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   began in                                            |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   2000. Yield                                         |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   and                                                 |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   production                                          |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   (ton) in dry                                        |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   weight basis                                        |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   (13%                                                |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   moisture)                                           |
|              |                                                       |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   4/ Estimate                                         |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   as of                                               |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   November 12,                                        |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   2003.                                               |
|              |                                                       |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   Source:                                             |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   Minnesota                                           |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   Agriculture                                         |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   Statistics                                          |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   Service,                                            |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   *2003 Annual                                        |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   Crop                                                |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   Summary*,                                           |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   January 12,                                         |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   2004                                                |
|              |                                                       |
|              |   ------------- ----------- ----                      |
|              | ------- --------- --------- ------------ ------------ |
+--------------+-------------------------------------------------------+