{"title":"Beneficial Management Practice (BMP) Adoption – Direct Farm Cost/Benefit Tradeoffs","authors":"D. Trautman, S. Jeffrey, J. Unterschultz","doi":"10.7939/R3DZ03198","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7939/R3DZ03198","url":null,"abstract":"Monte Carlo simulation was used to examine the on-farm economics from adoption of Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs) on four representative Alberta cropping farms. Adoption of shelterbelts, buffer strips, residue management, and the addition of annual and perennial forages, field peas, and oats in crop rotations were included as BMPs that contribute positively to Ecological Goods and Services production from agriculture. Results suggest positive on-farm benefits associated with perennial forage and field pea BMPs. Conversely, BMPs that reduce availability of land for cropping activities, such as shelterbelts and buffer strips, and BMPs that do not increase revenues, such as oats and annual forages in rotation, are costly to producers. The results presented and discussed in this report have important policy implications. Policy mechanisms that incorporate positive mechanisms may improve adoption of BMPs that are costly to producers, while extension mechanisms, such as information programs, may improve the adoption of economically feasible BMPs.","PeriodicalId":183610,"journal":{"name":"Project Report Series","volume":"93 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132361294","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Risk and Return Dimensions: Cow-Calf and Grain Enterprise Combinations","authors":"L. Bauer, F. Novak","doi":"10.7939/R37W6764S","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7939/R37W6764S","url":null,"abstract":"The majority of calf production in Alberta occurs in conjunction with grain growing enterprises. This study hypothesized that a major reason for this occurrence is the risk reduction opportunities which arise from on farm \"portfolios\" of grain and cattle. Annual rates of return were calculated over an 11 year period (1979-1989) for a 100 head cow herd in east central Alberta, and then compared to the performance of investments in grain growing land over the same period. The returns from cow-calf production were found to be uncorrelated with the returns from investment in grain growing land. In order to improve the length of the data series, correlations were also computer between the revenue from cattle and grain production, over an 18 year period (1974-1991). Revenues from grain and cattle were similiarly found to be uncorrelated with each other, leading to the conclusion that joint production of grain and cattle does, significantly, reduce the degree of risk exposure.","PeriodicalId":183610,"journal":{"name":"Project Report Series","volume":"2 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115172643","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}