RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Environmental and Production Cost Impacts of No-till in Finland: Estimates from Observed Behavior
JF Land Economics
JO Land Econ
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 508
OP 527
DO 10.3368/le.87.3.508
VO 87
IS 3
A1 Laukkanen, Marita
A1 Nauges, Céline
YR 2011
UL http://le.uwpress.org/content/87/3/508.abstract
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)