Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T09:16:04.813Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Agricultural chemicals in ground water: Preventing contamination by removing barriers against low-input farm management

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2009

Malcolm H. Fleming
Malcolm H. Fleming
Affiliation:
MPP, is a Program Analyst with the California Legislative Analyst's Office, Sacramento, California 95814.
Get access

Abstract

Agricultural pesticides and fertilizers have contaminated ground water in areas throughout the U.S. This contamination may adversely affect more than 50 million people. The cost of monitoring to determine the extent of ground water contamination in vulnerable areas is likely to exceed one billion dollars. To reduce the possibility of contamination farmers can adopt “low-input” production methods. Unfortunately, several factors inhibit farmers from adopting low-input methods. These factors include the tendency of farmers to ignore the external costs of agrichemical use, especially environmental damage, the lack of up-to-date information describing low-input farming techniques, and government support programs that indirectly discourage farmers from adopting low-input methods. The federal government can take several steps to eliminate these obstacles. Farm support programs can be changed to eliminate incentives that encourage heavy agrichemical use and to require more stringent environmental compliance to be eligible for program benefits. Taxes can be imposed on agrichemicals to offset their external costs and to provide new funds for research on alternatives. Finally, current agricultural research priorities can be shifted to emphasize low-input production methods.

Type
Articles
Information
American Journal of Alternative Agriculture , Volume 2 , Issue 3 , Summer 1987 , pp. 124 - 130
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1987

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Busch, D., and Meyer, M.. 1982. A case of infantile methemoglobinemia in South Dakota. Journal of Environmental Health 44:310–311.Google Scholar
2.California Assembly. 1985. The leaching fields: A nonpoint threat to groundwater. Assembly Office of Research, Sacramento, California.Google Scholar
3.Coburn, Grady. March, 1987. Private communication. Coburn was formerly the President of the National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants.Google Scholar
4.Cohen, Stuart. 1987. Presentation at the symposium on Ground water protection: Potential for avoiding contamination by agricultural chemicals. Institute for Alternative Agriculture, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
5.Cohen, Stuart. February, 1987. Private communication. Cohen was formerly the Groundwater Team Leader of the Office of Pesticide Programs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.Google Scholar
6.1985 Congressional Quarterly Almanac. 1986. pp. 518–525.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7. Daberkow, Stan. Private communication. Daberkow is with the Economics Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
8.Fox, R. H., and Piekielek, W. P.. 1984. Relationships among anaerobically mineralized nitrogen, chemical indexes, and nitrogen availability in corn. Soil Science Society of America Journal 48:1087–1090CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9.Francis, Charles A. 1987. Groundwater research, information, and policy needs: Strategies and priorities for extension. University of Nebraska, Department of Agronomy, Lincoln, Nebraska.Google Scholar
10.Frank, K. D., Bockstadter, T., Bourg, C., Buttermore, G., Eisenhauer, D., and Krull, D. 1984. Nitrogen and irrigation management. Hall County Water Quality Project. University of Nebraska, Cooperative Extension Service, Lincoln, Nebraska.Google Scholar
11.Fruhling, Larry. 1986. Farmers may lose millions on fertilizers. Des Moines Sunday Register, June 15, Section A.Google Scholar
12.Hallberg, George R. 1986. Agrichemicals and water quality. Prepared for the colloquium on Agrichemical Management and Water Quality. Board on Agriculture, National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
13.Hinton, Royce. March, 1987. Private communication. Royce is Professor of Agricultural Economics, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois.Google Scholar
14.Hoar, S. K. et al. , 1986. Agricultural herbicide use and the risk of lymphoma and soft-tissue sarcoma. Journal of the American Medical Association 256:1141–1147CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
15.Madison, R. J., and Brunett, Jilann O.. 1985. Overview of the occurrence of nitrate in ground water of the United States. In U.S. Geological Survey Water Summary 1984. U.S.G.S. Water Quality Paper 2275. pp. 93–105.Google Scholar
16.Nielsen, Elizabeth, and Lee, Linda. 1987. The magnitude and costs of groundwater contamination from agricultural chemicals: A national perspective. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Natural Resource Economics Division, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
17.Office of Technology Assessment. 1986. Technology, public policy, and the changing structure of American agriculture. OTA-F-285. U.S. Congress, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
18.U.S. Department of Agriculture. 1980. Report and recommendations on organic farming. Washington, DC.Google Scholar
19.U.S. Department of Agriculture. 1985. Cooperative extension and agricultural profitability: Integrated pest management reduces costs and increases income. Extension Service, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
20.U.S. Department of Agriculture. 1987. Agricultural resources: Inputs situation and outlook report. Economic Research Service, Natural Resource Economics Division, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
21.U.S. Department of Agriculture. Groundwater education: A challenge for the cooperative extension system. Extension Committee on Organization and Policy, Groundwater Task Force.Google Scholar
22.Zellner, James. 1985. Direct payments and acreage reduction: An estimate of program induced export subsidies and taxes. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Agricultural Economics Association, Ames, Iowa.Google Scholar