PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Marita Laukkanen
AU  - Céline Nauges
TI  - Environmental and Production Cost Impacts of No-till in Finland: Estimates from Observed Behavior
AID  - 10.3368/le.87.3.508
DP  - 2011 Aug 01
TA  - Land Economics
PG  - 508--527
VI  - 87
IP  - 3
4099  - http://le.uwpress.org/content/87/3/508.short
4100  - http://le.uwpress.org/content/87/3/508.full
SO  - Land Econ2011 Aug 01; 87
AB  - 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 no-till produces environmental benefits on highly erodible land but may be even detrimental to the environment in average conditions. (JEL C51, Q57)