Farm-scale economic and environmental tradeoffs of land use and land management decisions

Farm-scale decisions are key determinants of water quality and water use on a regional scale. This paper evaluates farm-scale economic–environmental tradeoffs associated with row crop land management decisions as well as land use decisions in a 15-county area of the Suwannee River Basin in North Florida. Discussions with stakeholders through a participatory modeling process identified the farm-scale land management and land use choices relevant for the study region. Land management choices included three fertilizer and irrigation management systems, and land use choices included a combination of corn, carrot, and peanut crop rotations. Farm-scale nitrate leaching and crop yield outcomes were simulated using the Soil & Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), and annualized net returns were simulated using Simetar Excel Add-In based on Extension production budgets and USDA crop and input price history. We show that the impacts from farmers’ crop rotation choices outweigh the impacts from the irrigation and fertilizer management system choices. This difference in impacts can lead to a rebound in nutrient leaching if water policy regulates land management but not the land use. Nitrate leaching abatement cost were found to be comparable with the costs for other, non-agricultural pollution reduction projects in the region. •Conservation practices can reduce nitrate leaching in a corn–peanut rotation.•Adoption of conservation practices can impact net returns.•Adding carrots to the traditional corn–peanut rotation increases profits.•However, adding carrots almost doubles farm-scale nitrate leaching.•Changing crop rotations require flexible policies and evolving conservation practices.