CONSERVATION BENEFITS OF THE USDA'S 1983 PAYMENT-IN-KIND AND ACREAGE REDUCTION PROGRAMS

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's 1983 Payment-in-Kind and Acreage Reduction Programs reduced soil erosion on the land withdrawn from production by an average of 1.8 tons per acre per year over the 80 million acres diverted. The erosion reduction could have been significantly greater had the program targeted highly erodible land and had the diverted acres been adequately protected from erosion. Water withdrawal was reduced by 1.6 acre-feet per acre because of diverted lands that would have been irrigated. About 35 percent of the diverted acres provided suitable cover for wildlife. The analysis was based on data from a sample of over 4,900 farms in 278 counties