Environmental and Production Cost Impacts of No-till in Finland: Estimates from Observed Behavior

No-till has been promoted as a cultivation method that reduces both production costs and the environmental impacts of farming relative to conventional tillage. Using farm-level data from Finland, we show that no-till has no statistically significant effect on total variable costs but that it increas...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Land economics 2011-08, Vol.87 (3), p.508-527
Main Authors: Laukkanen, Marita, Nauges, Céline
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural economics
Agricultural industry
Agricultural management
Cost functions
Crop economics
Crop production
Crop protection
Crops
Economic models
Economic theory
Environmental impact
Environmental impact studies
Environmental protection
Farm management
Farming methods
Farming systems
Fertilizers
Finland
Humanities and Social Sciences
Land use
No tillage
Phosphorus
Production costs
Studies
Tillage
Variable costs
Western Europe
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Summary:No-till has been promoted as a cultivation method that reduces both production costs and the environmental impacts of farming relative to conventional tillage. Using farm-level data from Finland, we show that no-till has no statistically significant effect on total variable costs but that it increases the use of plant protection products and fertilizers, and decreases the use of labor. An environmental impact simulation combining the results on input use with a nutrient and herbicide runoff model predicts that notill produces environmental benefits on highly erodible land but may be even detrimental to the environment in average conditions.
ISSN:0023-7639
1543-8325
DOI:10.3368/le.87.3.508