Abstract
A nitrogen balance model is used to investigate the adoption of a crop rotation and the limitation on the application of nitrogen fertilizer to reduce excess nitrogen. For a farmer initially planting corn continuously, the adoption of a soybeans-corn rotation will have a smaller compliance cost but it will not eliminate the excess application of nitrogen fertilizer under a relatively low nitrogen fertilizer to corn price ratio. An explicit limitation on nitrogen fertilizer use would be needed to achieve this objective. Limiting nitrogen fertilizer use on cropland susceptible to a high potential for leaching will have a smaller compliance cost than on cropland with a moderate potential for leaching.
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The authors are with the Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the policies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or the views of other U.S. Department of Agriculture staff members.
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Huang, W.Y., Uri, N.D. The effect of farming practices on reducing excess nitrogen fertilizer use. Water Air Soil Pollut 77, 79–95 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00483051
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00483051