Procedures for Evaluating Alternative Farming Systems: A Case Study for Eastern Nebraska

Acknowledgments .i Table of Contents ii List of Tables .iv List of Figures viii Disclaimer ix I. Introduction 1 II. Baseline Descriptions and Assumptions for the Five Farm Types .l5 III. Operational Descriptions of the Five Farm Types .l9 IV. Single-Year Economic Comparisons 27 V. Long-Term Economic Variability 42 VI. Energy Analysis and Comparison of Five Farming Systems 46 VII. Nutrient Budgets and Soil Erosion 53 VIII. Relative Susta.inability of Five Farming Systems 55 IX. Conclusions 63 Appendix 1. Deriving baseline descriptions 69 Appendix 2. Machinery tables 78 Appendix 3. Selected reference materials 93 Appendix 4. Economic analysis 97 4A. Conventional 108 4B. Modified conventional. 120 4C. Agroforestry 136 4D. Organic 162 4E. Beef 210 Appendix 5. Estimating income variability 224 Appendix 6. Energy budgets 241 Appendix 7. Erosion and nutrient budgets 283 Appendix 8. Sustainability 297 References 30