© 2007 Plant Management Network.
Accepted for publication 16 February 2007. Published 14 June 2007.
Estimating Economic Impact of Conservation
Field Borders on Farm Revenue
Philip J. Barbour, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, 259
Thompson Hall, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State 39762;
Steven W. Martin, Delta Research and Extension Center, P. O. Box
69, Stoneville, MS 38776; and Wes Burger, Department of Wildlife
and Fisheries, 259 Thompson Hall, Mississippi State University,
Mississippi State 39762
Corresponding author: Steven W. Martin. smartin@ext.msstate.edu
Barbour, P. J., Martin, S. W., and Burger, W. 2007. Estimating economic impact of
conservation field borders on farm revenue. Online. Crop Management doi:10.1094/CM-
2007-0614-01-RS.
Abstract
Potential opportunity costs of conservation buffer practices were examined to
determine the effects of proximity to field edge and adjacent plant community
(APC) type (crop, herbaceous, and wooded) on crop yields, relative to field
interiors for corn (Zea mays) and soybean (Glycine max) systems on 150 fields in
Mississippi. Yield data were obtained from combines equipped with a yield
monitor and Global Position System (GPS) for years 1999-2003 for three counties
in central Mississippi. A partial budget format was used to develop net change in
profit analyses on corn and soybean crops with and without conservation practice
CP-33: Habitat Buffers for Upland Birds. Yield reductions averaged across three
APC types at swath 1 (defined as one 7.32-m-wide combine header pass) were -
2,963 kg/ha and -230 kg/ha compared to mean interior yields of 9,828 kg/ha and
2,498 kg/ha for corn and soybeans, respectively. Partial budget analyses for corn
showed that on average, enrollment of a 7.32-m (36-ft) CP-33 border would
increase net returns when next to APC-type crop, herbaceous, and wood.
Introduction
As part of a larger investigation studying wildlife benefits of field border
management practices (13), agronomic impacts