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Economic Consequences of Bans on Corn (Zea mays) and Soybean (Glycine max) Herbicides Commonly used on Indiana Farms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2017

C. M. Cashman
Affiliation:
Dep. Agric. Econ., Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN 47907
M. A. Martin
Affiliation:
Dep. Agric. Econ., Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN 47907
B. A. McCarl
Affiliation:
Dep. Agric. Econ., Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN 47907

Abstract

The short-run economic consequences of bans on herbicides commonly applied to corn (Zea mays L.) and soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] on a typical Indiana farm were analyzed. A dinitroaniline ban reduced soybean yields and net farm income 17 and 32%, respectively. A triazine ban reduced corn and soybean yields 3 and 20%, respectively, and net farm income by 38%. A simultaneous ban on all dinitroaniline, triazine, and amide herbicides reduced corn and soybean yields 14 and 17%, respectively, and net farm income by 65%. Harvest delays attributable to less effective weed control resulted in a loss in efficiency, yields, and profits, and increased machinery and labor requirements. Hence, herbicide bans under typical Indiana conditions would inflict substantial, short-run economic losses on individual farmers. This study did not measure any potential public benefits or costs of herbicide bans, however.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

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References

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