More than 15 years after their first successful commercial introduction in the United States, genetically engineered (GE) seeds have been widely adopted by U.S. corn, soybean, and cotton farmers. Still, some questions persist regarding the potential benefits and risks of GE crops. The report...

Global climate models predict increases over time in average temperature worldwide, with significant impacts on local patterns of temperature and precipitation. The extent to which such changes present a risk to food supplies, farmer livelihoods, and rural communities depends in part on the...

We utilize a treatment effects model to examine if there are differences in costs/profits for manure-using corn producers versus non-users. We find that manure users have lower peracre operating costs via reductions in fertilizer and soil conditioner costs; however, the use of manure reduces...

Nitrous oxide is a powerful greenhouse gas that is emitted from cropland treated with nitrogen fertilizer. Reducing such emissions through nutrient management might be able to produce offsets for sale in a cap and trade program aimed at reducing greenhouse gases. We use the Nitrate Leaching and...

Nitrogen is an important agricultural input that is critical for crop production. However, the introduction of large amounts of nitrogen into the environment has a number of undesirable impacts on water, terrestrial, and atmospheric resources. This report explores the use of nitrogen in U.S....

Recent survey data are examined to improve current understanding of the factors that help to determine the value of information reported on a website that serves as the centerpiece of the USDA’s “Soybean Rust Integrated Pest Management—Pest Information Platform for Extension...

We estimate the cost of offsets tied to reductions in the use of nitrogen on U.S. cornfields under the proposed American Clean Energy and Security Act.