Profitability of soil conservation practices in Missouri

Private economic incentives for selected soil conservation practices were estimated on the basis of reduced productivity losses on four common Missouri soils. Variations in the discount rate, planning period, and cost-sharing level were analyzed to determine their effects on the long-run profitability of the practices. Results showed that conservation practices were profitable only on the steeper soils under favorable discount-rate, planning-period, and cost-sharing conditions. Placing priority on steeper soils would increase the cost effectiveness of soil conservation cost-sharing programs, assuming limited funding in the future.