Policies affecting the use of public lands can have direct consequences for industries that rely on outputs from those lands. In recent years, environmental concerns have prompted a revisiting of the policies governing the use of those lands. Subsequently, alternative policies have been proposed...

This report estimates the impact that high levels of enrollment in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) have had on economic trends in rural counties since the program's inception in 1985 until today. The results of a growth model and quasi-experimental control group analysis indicate no...

This report represents a continuation of investigation of factors influencing the profitability of livestock production in North Dakota.

This report focuses on the economic impact of selected agricultural management policies and the corresponding effect upon soil erosion.

Society has recently increased the value it places on the services that wetlands provide, including water quality improvements, flood control, wildlife habitat, and recreation. However, owners of wetlands are often unable to profit from these services because the benefits created are freely...

Land development in the United States is following two routes: expansion of urban areas and large-lot development (greater than 1 acre per house) in rural areas. Urban expansion claimed more than 1 million acres per year between 1960 and 1990, yet is not seen as a threat to most farming,...

Land quality and land degradation affect agricultural productivity, but quantifying these relationships has been difficult. Data are limited, and impacts are sensitive to the choices that farmers make. Summarizing new research by economists, soil scientists, and geographers, this report explores...