Review of Agricultural Economics—Volume 22, Number 1—Pages 237–244 Data, Information, and Rural Environmental Policy: What Will the Next Ten Years Bring?

The next ten years will see an acceleration of three current trends: (1) the growing use of geographical information systems, (2) increasingly detailed farm-level record keeping, tracking the location and timing of fertilizer, pesticide, and water use, and (3) increased reporting requirements for farm-level chemical use. Combined, these changes will reduce the costs of monitoring and regulating farmer behavior. Yet, they may also allow information to substitute for both inputs and for regulation. Improved linkage of agronomic, economic, and environmental data can help ago-environmental subsidy programs achieve greater environmental benefits at lower budgetary cost and can help in the design of more flexible, less costly environmental regulations. The next ten years will see an acceleration of three current trends. The first isthe growing use of geographical information system (GIS) data and software to analyze agro-environmental relationships. GIS will be used increasingly, not only by agricultural researchers, but also by regulatory agencies, commodity groups, and environmental and consumer advocacy groups. The second trend is increasing detail in farm-level data collection and record keeping. Because of innovations in personal computing and precision technologies, farmers will be able to monitor and record field conditions more closely. They will also be better able to track and record the location and timing of fertilizer, pesticide, and water use. The third trend will be increasing reporting requirements for farm-level input use. Together, these three trends will have a profound effect on the way agricultural producers use inputs and how they may be regulated. Improved information systems and precision technologies will allow farmers to use inputs more efficiently and reduce pollution. Yet, more detailed geographical informatio