The future of farming: The value of ecosystem services in conventional and organic arable land. An experimental approach

In the current work, a novel, experimental ‘bottom-up’ approach is used to quantify the economic value of ecosystem services (ES) associated with highly modified arable landscapes in Canterbury, New Zealand. First, the role of land management practices in the maintenance and enhancement of ES in agricultural land was investigated by quantifying the economic value of ES at the field level under organic and conventional arable systems. This quantification was based on an experimental approach in contrast with earlier value transfer methods. Total economic value of ES in organic fields ranged from US $1610 to US $19,420 ha^− 1 yr^− 1 and that of conventional fields from US $1270 to US $14,570 ha^− 1 yr^− 1. The non-market value of ES in organic fields ranged from US $460 to US $5240 ha^− 1 yr^− 1. The range of non-market values of ES in conventional fields was US $50 — 1240 ha^− 1 yr^− 1. There were significant differences between organic and conventional fields for the economic values of some ES. Next, this economic information was used to extrapolate and to calculate the total and non-market value of ES in Canterbury arable land. The total annual economic and non-market values of ES for the conventional arable area in Canterbury (125,000 ha) were US $332 million and US $71 million, respectively. If half the arable area under conventional farming shifted to organic practices, the total economic value of ES would be US $192 million and US $166 million annually for organic and conventional arable area, respectively. In this case, the non-market value of ES for the organic area was US $65 million and that of conventional area was US $35 million annually. This study demonstrated that arable farming provides a range of ES which can be measured using field experiments based on ecological principles by incorporating a ‘bottom-up’ approach. The work also showed that conventional New Zealand arable farming practices can severely reduce the financial contribution of some of these services in agriculture whereas organic agricultural practices enhance their economic value.     

Maximising sustainability of Dutch dairy farming systems for different stakeholders: A modelling approach

A multi-attribute sustainability function is included into a dairy farm LP-model by using Weighted Goal Programming. The created Weighted Linear Goal Programming (WLGP)-model is used to maximise sustainability of different Dutch dairy farming systems and to analyse the impact of: (1) maximisation of individual sustainability aspects (economic, social and ecological sustainability) and (2) maximisation of overall sustainability using stakeholder preferences. Maximising the individual aspects of both dairy farming systems, i.e. conventional and organic, shows the trade-offs between different aspects of sustainability. For conventional as well as organic dairy farming maximum scores are highest for external social sustainability. The conventional dairy farm achieves a slightly higher score for overall sustainability than the organic dairy farm for all stakeholders (i.e. consumers and producers). This shows that it is possible for conventional dairy farms, similar to the conventional farm used in the analysis especially regarding the stocking density and under Dutch policy conditions, to achieve equal sustainability scores in comparison with organic dairy farms. It is concluded that the WLGP model is a suitable tool to analyse the sustainability of different dairy farming systems.     

The geography of market failure: Edge-effect externalities and the location and production patterns of organic farming

Perceptions of increasing land scarcity and negative impacts of chemical-based agriculture have led to increasing concern regarding the sustainability of food systems. Incompatible production processes among farming systems may lead to spatial conflicts and production losses between neighboring farms, and the magnitude of such losses may depend not only on the scale of each activity, but also on patterns of land use. Such conflicts can be classified as “edge-effect externalities”—spatial externalities whose marginal impacts decrease as distance from the border generating the negative impact increases. This paper tests the hypothesis that edge-effect externalities have influenced the location and production patterns of certified organic farms, using data from California Central Valley certified organic farmers. Using concepts from landscape ecology and spatial statistics, we investigate difference in parcel geometry and surrounding land uses between organic and non-organic parcels. Using a generalized method of moments (GMM) spatially autoregressive econometric model, we demonstrate that both parcel geometry and surrounding land uses influence the probability of a given parcel being certified organic. We conclude with suggestions for policies to encourage development of organic farming regions.     

Farming system modelling for agri-environmental policy design: The case of a spatially non-aggregated allocation of conservation measures

This paper addresses the issue of designing policies for habitat conservation on agricultural land. The case under study requires a non-aggregated spatial distribution of the fields to be enrolled in an agri-environmental programme. A spatially explicit mathematical programming farm-based model, which accounts for three spatial levels (field, farm and landscape), is coupled with a relevant spatial pattern index (the Ripley L-function) to analyse the design and implementation of an agri-environmental programme aimed to preserve the Tetrax tetrax in the Plaine de Niort, France. The model is run using a stylised map with heterogeneous soil types and both crop growing and mixed dairy farms. Results show that valuable insights into agri-environmental programme design are gained through a detailed representation of farming system management. The suitable, non-aggregated spatial pattern for T. tetrax conservation is more costly than less-suitable, more aggregated patterns, because it tends to require equal participation of all farms. The policy simulations reveal that the various spatial patterns can be obtained through relatively simple uniform contract structures. An effective contract structure entails a set of two degressive payments which encourages all farms to enrol at least a small share of their land in the program.     

Did the Thai rice-pledging programme improve the economic performance and viability of rice farming?

This article evaluates impacts of the rice-pledging programme on the economic performance and viability of rice farming in Thailand. It also investigates whether the effects of the programme are heterogeneous across different farm types using the propensity score matching technique to address the self-selection bias in the farm-level data set. We found that the programme enhanced the economic performance less than hoped for. Overall, the programme was estimated to improve the net direct farm income for participating farms by $175.12–$194.82 per hectare. Taking into account the heterogeneous effects of the programme across farm types, we calculated that the greatest effects may be realized by farmers within the small farms subsample, at $404.41–$439.85 per hectare, but only $139.80–$213.36 per hectare for midsize farms, and $138.82–$173.34 per hectare for large farms. With regard to the economic viability of the programme, we discovered that it had an insignificant effect on farm modernization investment initiatives. Thus, future strategies incorporated into the programme that better control increases in production costs, improve small farmers’ access to the programme and require participating farms to spend a portion of the money received on farm modernization may improve long-run benefits of the programme.     

Land use intensification potential in slash-and-burn farming through improvements in technical efficiency

Much attention is being paid to find alternative land use options in slash-and-burn (SaB) farming (or forest–fallow-based shifting cultivation) systems. The conservation objective is often twofold; that is, to discourage farmers from expanding into the forest frontier and to reduce the ecological damage from burning plots. Options include the total abandonment of forest plots, the adoption of productivity increasing green revolution-type technologies, and the application of modern ‘evergreen’ agroforestry knowledge. This paper evaluates another alternative: the intensification of land use by improving technical efficiency in farming. This involves the reduction of land clearing while at the same time maintaining crop output levels and the local (and traditional) low-input technology. The potential for such land use intensification is empirically assessed with ecological and socioeconomic household data from Yucatan (Mexico). The methodology is based on both parametric and nonparametric output and input distance functions. In addition, the sources of inefficiency are addressed. The results of the analysis suggest that on-and off-farm labour diversification can play a key role to help shifting cultivating households to improve their technical efficiency in farming and thus to help to intensify land use. Furthermore, while the empirical results point towards the positive effect of soil fertility, mainly determined by the length of forest fallows, on crop output levels, farmers appear to overcome the ecological constraint of farming in less fertile soils by being more technically efficient.     

Costs and benefits of on-farm nature conservation

The costs of on-farm nature conservation is an important issue in Dutch agriculture. As nature is a public good, nature conservation cannot do without subsidies from the government. The question of how much farmers should receive in subsidies in order to keep farms engaged in conservation activities is highly topical. In this article, the questions of how much farmers should receive in subsidies and what other factors motivate or demotivate farmers to participate in on-farm nature conservation are addressed. The study was carried out for a particular region in the northern Netherlands and was initiated by the concerns that farmers organisations had about the level of subsidies for landscape conservation as a major form of nature conservation on dairy farms in this region.In this study, both a normative model and a survey were employed. A normative economic dairy farm model was first used to determine differences in income between a typical farm involved in landscape conservation and a typical farm not involved in landscape conservation. Results from the model show that the farm involved in conservation earned a lower income than the farm not involved in conservation. This was due to the first farmer's smaller scale, lower intensity and lower productivity. The lower income, however, was compensated for by conservation subsidies. Next, a survey concerning on-farm nature conservation in general was carried out among the farmers in this area. From the survey results, it appeared that the majority of the respondents were satisfied, at least to some extent, with the level of subsidies for on-farm nature conservation. Moreover, the survey also revealed that the farmers' commitment to their natural environment strongly motivates farmers to get involved in on-farm nature conservation schemes, whereas the uncertainty about regulations and the feeling of being controlled too much demotivate them.The results show the complementarity of the two methods. The findings of the survey confirm the main findings of the normative model calculations, and, moreover, the survey reveals that in addition to monetary compensation, other factors play a role for farmers in the decision to get involved in on-farm nature conservation.     

Eco-efficiency of intensification scenarios for milk production in New Zealand

New Zealand (NZ) dairy farms used to be the lowest input and most efficient dairy farms of the world. However, intensification of the traditional pasture-based system has occurred over the last decade and has not always been accompanied by increased efficiency. The purpose of this paper is to produce an updated reference of the eco-efficiency of NZ dairy farm systems and to analyse the implications of intensification on their eco-efficiency. Results for an average NZ dairy farm system were compared with those for three dairy farmlet systems representing a wide range in intensification practices. A low input system (LI) (no N fertiliser, no brought-in feed supplement, stocking rate of 2.3 cows/ha) was compared with an N-fertilised farm system (NF) (170 kg fertiliser-N/ha/year, 3 cows/ha) representing a first level of intensification and with an N-fertilised and maize silage supplemented system (NFMS) (170 kg fertiliser-N/ha/year, 13 t DM maize silage/ha/year, 5.2 cows/ha), representing a possible future intensification option. Their eco-efficiency in terms of milk production and land use was compared using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. NZ dairy farm systems rely on favourable temperate climate conditions and long-term perennial ryegrass/white clover pasture, to achieve eco-efficient milk production and land use compared to European systems. However, intensification of NZ dairy farms was shown to be detrimental to their eco-efficiency in terms both of milk production and land use functions and could greatly reduce their advantage compared to European systems. The eco-efficiency of LI was very high whatever the functional unit which is remarkable from an LCA perspective. NF and NFMS had a similar eco-efficiency except for energy use which corresponded to the most critical hot spot of NFMS. All studied NZ systems presented some areas for improvement where some new technologies available for dairy farms might play a promising role in the future. Finally, it should be highlighted that the comparison with European studies based on the literature available needs validation through a more comprehensive study using harmonised methodology and assumptions across countries.     

Structural Change in Rural Croatia—Is Early Retirement An Option?

Structural change in agriculture, although often connected with social hardship of uncompetitive small-scale farms and a loss of tradition, is inevitable. It is the basis for successful rural development. We discuss whether early retirement schemes (ERS) are a good value for public money in terms of the necessary adaptations of the farming sector in the course of economic development, and if they are an option for the EU candidate country Croatia. In Croatia, the small scale farm structure leads to widely uncompetitive farms. A study on farmers’ socioeconomic situation as well as actual and expected reactions to policy support is based on results of a household survey. The sample includes farm households from two Croatian regions: The peri-urban Zagreb county and the typically rural region of Bjelovar-Bilogora. Despite unfavourable economic conditions and insufficient farm incomes, rural people are often reluctant to give up farming. We present results on the age structure, income and production structure of farms and farmers’ likely reactions on ERS. We discuss incentives which push farmers to leave the farming sector and ask in which direction farm families plan their future. We conclude with a synthesis of the theoretical advantages and disadvantages of early retirement schemes and link them with possible outcomes in the Croatian case.     

镇江市土地利用景观格局分析

以镇江市土地利用现状数据为研究对象,基于景观格局指数和GIS空间分析方法,对镇江市土地利用景观总体格局特征及空间分异规律进行了初步地分析与探讨。结果表明：镇江市最大优势景观类型为耕地,占土地总面积的50%左右,其次为建设用地和水域用地,林地也是镇江市较为重要的景观类型;土地利用景观格局存在显著的东西空间分异特征,在地形起伏较大的镇西丘陵区,景观的多样性和均匀度较高,而景观优势度及集聚度则相对较低;在人类活动影响较大的镇东平原区,景观呈现较低的多样性和均匀度,而景观优势度及集聚度却较高;景观破碎化程度在镇江中东部地区较高,表明人类开发活动与景观破碎化呈显著的正相关性规律。     

Labor income and risky investments: can part-time farmers compete?

In the developed countries, a majority of farm households receive at least as much income from nonfarm sources as from the farm. Such part-time farms have survived inspite of lower returns than full-time farms. This paper considers when lower returns to part-time farming could be compensated by risk-reduction due to diversification of income sources. The paper uses a dynamic portfolio choice model with labor income. The model and results could be applied in other contexts as well.     

Measuring the effects of preservation on farm profits in a continuous treatment setting

Despite billions of dollars of public appropriations to state purchase of development rights (PDR) programmes, there has been limited evaluation of the effects of these investments on the economic performance of preserved farms. This article estimates dose-response functions to evaluate the effects of enrolment in New Jersey’s PDR programme on farm profitability. The generalized propensity score method in a continuous treatment setting is used to address selection bias arising from voluntary programme participation. Treatment effects are measured across treatment levels to determine whether farm profitability is affected differently across levels of programme participation. Our findings reveal that, relative to unpreserved farms, profit per acre tends to increase along lower treatment levels. The profit per acre of preserved farms in the 1–40% treatment range is, on average, $407 higher than that of unpreserved farms in the full sample. Positive profit differentials averaging between $317 and $472 per acre are also observed in the 1–20%, 1–40% and 1–60% treatment quintiles in the farming occupation sample. We do not observe statistically significant profitability differentials when treatment effects are averaged across all positive treatment values.     

Economic and environmental impact of the CAP mid-term review on arable crop farming in South-western France

The issue addressed in this paper is whether implementation of the CAP MTR, (involving decoupled payments reduced by “modulations” and subject to cross-compliance measures) can be effective in improving the environmental impact of arable farming. The focus is on two French cross-compliance measures (compulsory buffer strips along rivers and crop diversity). A farm-level bio-economic model incorporating yield uncertainty is built and adjusted to represent two typical arable farms in the Southwest of France. The model also combines agro-environmental indicators. The results indicate that a simple decoupling of direct payments, without cross-compliance measures, has no impact on allocations between different crops. If cross-compliance measures are imposed, a small reduction in the cultivated area of irrigated crops is observed. The penalty levied (1% of the total subsidy paid) when farmers do not comply with the “buffer strips” requirement is sufficient for both farm-types. Decoupling and modulation result in a fall in the total gross margin of around 3%, principally because of the 5% modulation rate, while the “buffer strips” requirement leads to a further decrease of around 1%. Moreover, this requirement improves the environmental indicators at the farm level.     

Assessment of net ecosystem services of plastic greenhouse vegetable cultivation in China

Plastic greenhouse vegetable cultivation is rapidly expanding in China and elsewhere worldwide. In order to comprehensively understand the impacts of plastic greenhouse vegetable cultivation on agricultural ecosystem services and dis-services, we developed an assessment framework for the net ecosystem services and used China as a case study. Our results showed that, compared to conventional vegetable cultivation, plastic greenhouse vegetable cultivation has higher fresh vegetable production, greater CO₂ fixation (3.61 t CO₂ ha^− 1 yr^− 1), better soil retention (23.1 t ha^− 1 yr^− 1), and requires less irrigation (2132 m³ water ha^− 1 yr^− 1), maintains similar soil fertility, but also has higher NO₃⁻ accumulation and N₂O emissions. In 2004, plastic greenhouse vegetable cultivation in China provided an overall net economic benefit of 67,956 yuan ha^-1 yr^− 1 (8.28 yuan = 1 USD in 2004), where 68,240 yuan ha^− 1 yr^− 1 represented ecosystem services and 284 yuan ha^− 1 yr^− 1 for dis-services. The transition from conventional vegetable cultivation to plastic greenhouse vegetable cultivation resulted in a net economic benefit of 24,248 yuan ha^− 1 yr^− 1. A cost-benefit analysis suggests that plastic greenhouse vegetable cultivation in China has the potential to optimize social benefits in addition to increasing annual economic income to farmers directly.     

农地流转影响因素的实证分析* ——基于CHIPS 8 000农户数据

大量的劳动力流失使得以家庭劳动力为主体的小规模农业经营体系已经难以维持。构建具有现代农业特点的新型农业经营体系需要通过土地流转来扩大农户的经营规模,实现机器对劳动的替代。然而,现实中土地流转受到各种因素的影响,流转速度仍然很缓慢。本文通过Probit模型对CHIPS2008的8 000户农户数据进行了分析,并采用IV Probit和2SLS方法来回避内生性问题。本文研究发现：第一,农户家庭中非农就业劳动力比例增大有助于提高农地流动的概率,但非农就业比对土地流转的正面作用会受到来自农业兼业化的负面影响。第二,与非农就业收入水平相比,非农就业稳定性对农地流转的影响程度更高,这揭示了城乡分隔体制下的中国小农经营与外国单纯追求利润的企业化农场经营行为方式是有差异的。第三,养老和医疗保险可以减少农民家庭的后顾之忧,降低他们对土地作为社会保障手段的依赖程度。但从具体数据分析结果来看,有无城市户口对农户土地流转的影响程度要比养老和医疗保险的因素更为显著。     

基于GIS的城镇用地空间演化与景观特征分析

选择武汉城市圈内的嘉鱼县鱼岳镇为研究区,以2005年和2010年两期土地利用数据为数据源,利用GIS技术,分析鱼岳镇城镇用地空间动态变化与景观结构特征。结果表明：鱼岳镇城镇用地呈快速上升趋势,城镇用地扩展来源以耕地为主,其次是其他农用地和林地;同时存在城镇用地转变为其他类型用地的自我调节现象,反映了城镇用地发展中自组织与被组织的过程。城镇用地扩展来源中的不同地类在空间分布与景观格局上存在较大差异,被占用的农用地尤其是耕地的斑块破碎度明显小于其他地类,新增城镇用地与减少城镇用地的动态变化,更多体现了一种有序扩张和无序缩减的发展过程。     

Total factor productivity in the Lithuanian family farms after accession to the EU: application of the bias-corrected Malmquist indices

The non-parametric measures of efficiency and productivity do not enable to fathom the underlying technology changes in terms of input saving and consumption. However, the bias-corrected Malmquist productivity index offers a remedy to this shortcoming. This paper, thus, employed the bias-corrected Malmquist productivity index to measurement of the total factor productivity changes in the Lithuanian family farms. The paper employed the Malmquist productivity indices to measure the technical changes (TCs) in terms of input-saving or input-use. Specifically, a sample of 200 family farms was used for the analysis. The research period covered years 2004–2009. The three farming types were considered, namely crop, livestock, and mixed farming. The analysis indicted that crop farming was peculiar with land-using and asset-saving TC, whereas labour-using and intermediate consumption saving TCs were observed only for certain combinations of inputs. As for livestock farms these generally experienced intermediate consumption and asset saving TCs against all the remaining inputs, whereas labour-saving and land-using TC varied with the reference inputs. Finally, mixed farms can be considered as those peculiar with increasing land use and decreasing capital consumption. Labour-using and intermediate consumption saving TCs did also hold for most of the analysed factors. The Lithuanian agricultural sector has not been analysed by the means of the bias-corrected Malmquist indices. Furthermore, there is a gap in the literature on the efficiency and total factor productivity in the Lithuanian farms in general. The present study, therefore, presents insights on the technology change based on non-parametric estimates.     

Quantifying production-environment tradeoffs for grazing land management — A case example from the Australian rangelands

Contemporary management of Australian rangeland grazing enterprises is characterised by concurrent processes of a continuing intensification of land management practices and simplification of landscape ecological processes. This dual characteristic is associated with increasing levels of potential conflict between land management practices that promote improved economic performance of these enterprises at the apparent expense of the ecological health of the landscape; and vice versa. A framework is described for assisting private range managers to make an assessment of prospective production and environmental tradeoffs for a range of rangeland management practices. Two examples of the application of the framework are presented - tree clearing and riparian fencing - both using case studies of rangeland livestock enterprises that are located in two regions of the northern Australian rangelands.     

近50年湖南省耕地数量动态变化研究

湖南省是全国的农业大省之一,在全国农业发展格局中具有举足轻重的地位,其耕地数量的变化直接影响到全省乃至全国的粮食安全态势。文章利用1949-1999年的统计和普查数据,分析了湖南省近50年来耕地数量动态变化及地域差异,并进一步探讨了影响耕地动态变化的驱动因子。结果表明：50年来,湖南省耕地总体呈逐年下降态势,且区域变化差异明显;其中经济发展、社会系统和科技进步构成了耕地数量变化的主要驱动因子。     

基于基尼系数的耕地保有量分配优化模型

为了确保粮食安全,我国政府强调18亿亩耕地红线坚决不能突破,但未提出耕地保有量在各个地区如何进行公平分配。针对此问题,借鉴基尼系数,构建我国耕地保有量公平分配的优化模型。以2010年各省（市、自治区）的耕地保有量公平分配为例,利用各地区现有耕地面积数据,选取各地区人口、二三产业产值、粮食产量、农用地面积、水资源总量、≥10℃年积温、太阳辐射作为指标,结合各地区粮食自给率与后备耕地资源,构建基于基尼系数的耕地保有量分配优化模型,利用Lingo软件求出模型最优解并结合GIS技术绘制各地区耕地面积增减比例图。根据优化后耕地面积增减量占现有耕地面积的比例,我国各地区耕地面积需要调整情况可以分为五类：耕地削减区、耕地保持区、耕地小幅度增加区、耕地中幅度增加区、耕地大幅度增加区。结论表明,基于基尼系数的耕地保有量分配结果既公平又可行,可为耕地保护提供借鉴。