University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Three essays on the economic and environmental impacts of production practices in cornbelt agriculture

Sellars, Sarah Christine

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SELLARS-DISSERTATION-2023.pdf

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/121476

Description

Title
Three essays on the economic and environmental impacts of production practices in cornbelt agriculture
Author(s)
Sellars, Sarah Christine
Issue Date
2023-07-12
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Schnitkey, Gary D
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Schnitkey, Gary D
Committee Member(s)
  • Paulson, Nicholas D
  • Skidmore, Marin E
  • Zulauf, Carl R
Department of Study
Agr & Consumer Economics
Discipline
Agricultural & Applied Econ
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
  • Conservation practices
  • Farmer profitability
Abstract
Cornbelt farmers have been encouraged to adopt practices with environmental benefits, such as cover crops, reduced or no-tillage, and reduced nitrogen application, but there has not been comprehensive research done on the impact the adoption of these practices have on farmer returns. These three essays investigate the effect that these environmental practices have on farmer yield and returns using a unique, field-level panel dataset from Illinois. Understanding the costs and returns of conservation practices is essential for helping farmers to adopt environmentally beneficial practices in a profitable way. The first essay investigates the effect of cover crops and tillage on farmer profitability and yield in soybean fields. Using a unique, field-level panel dataset of fields from 28 counties in Illinois, we find cover crops have a negative significant effect on returns and no effect on yield compared to fields with no cover crops. No-till has a negative effect on yield, but we find that no-till and strip-till systems have the same profit as one-pass tillage systems. Three-pass tillage systems have no effect on yield compared to one-pass tillage systems but reduce returns by $39 per acre. Results from this paper have real-world, applied implications for farmers and policymakers. For the second essay, we focus on the adoption of the Maximum Return to Nitrogen (MRTN) recommendation by farmers. In Illinois, university nitrogen recommendations shifted from a yield-based recommendation, called the proven-yield (PY) method to the Maximum Return to Nitrogen (MRTN) recommendation in 2005 after research showed yield-based recommendations, which had been the standard for almost 40 years, were too high for Illinois soils and little or no relationship exists between nitrogen rates and yield at those levels. We identify if farmers in the sample are following the MRTN and analyze the effect following the MRTN recommendation has on yield and operator and land return. We also look at nitrogen use overall and how it affects yield and operator and land return. The data show 66% of the field observations in the sample receive a nitrogen application above the MRTN recommended rate. A fixed effects regression model is used to test the effect of nitrogen application rate on both yield and operator and land return. Results show that applying above the MRTN results in higher yields but does not result in higher operator and land return. When considering nitrogen timing, applying nitrogen 50% pre-plant/50% post-plant resulted in the highest yield and return. The third essay identifies factors related to the use of the MRTN. Within our field-level data, 68% of fields receive a nitrogen application above the MRTN. Enrollment in an NRCS program, planting cover crops, and using no-till or strip-till increase the likelihood of adopting the MRTN. Receiving a custom nitrogen application decreases MRTN adoption, suggesting that dealing with retailers is important in reducing nitrogen use.
Graduation Semester
2023-08
Type of Resource
Thesis
Handle URL
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/121476
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2023 Sarah Sellars

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Graduate Theses and Dissertations at Illinois