Economic Analysis of Vegetative Buffer Zone Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs) for a Mixed Farm Operation in the Lower Little Bow Watershed PDF Download

Author: University of Alberta. Department of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology
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Category : Agricultural productivity
Languages : en
Pages : 23

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Author: Dawn Trautman
Publisher:
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Category : Agriculture
Languages : en
Pages : 123

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Author: Watershed Evaluation of Beneficial Management Practices
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Category :
Languages : en
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Author: Sébastien Rivest
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Category :
Languages : en
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Author: Amy Elizabeth Kitchen
Publisher:
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Category : Agriculture
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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In British Columbia, the Canada-British Columbia Environmental Farm Plan Beneficial Management Practices Program (BMP Program) encourages the adoption of agri-environmental practices on farms. The BMP Program is a voluntary and confidential program, which is jointly funded by the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Since 2005 the BMP Program has provided funding to farmers to adopt agri-environmental Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs) and during this time no evaluation of the program has occurred resulting in a lack of program feedback to program directors. The specific objectives for this project were to (1) develop a methodology to conduct a social, economic and environmental outcome evaluation of BMPs adopted on BC farms; (2) evaluate the social, economic and environmental outcomes of four BMPs and; (3) make policy recommendations to the Ministry of Agriculture to allow for adaptive management of the BMP Program using the evaluation methodology. The four BMPs evaluated for this study included Alternative Watering Systems to Manage Livestock, Riparian Buffer Establishment, Irrigation Management, and Wildlife Damage Prevention. The evaluation was undertaken for four BMPs with partially overlapping surveys, which were administered with a sample of BMP adopters in the fall of 2011 with in-person interviews as well as with mail surveys. The surveys collected both baseline and social, economic and environmental BMP outcome data. Results show that environmental outcomes are positive but in some cases depend on on-going maintenance and upkeep of certain BMPs. Generally adopters of the riparian BMPs are motivated by stewardship and environmental factors whereas adopters of the Irrigation Management and Wildlife Damage Prevention BMPs are motivated by on-farm benefits offered by the BMPs. The largest barrier to adoption for all BMPs appears to be cost; however, barriers are overall lower for both the Irrigation Management and Wildlife Damage Prevention BMPs, which is reflected in the adoption levels to date. Results of the study highlight both the outcomes of the BMP to individual farm operations, and the overall impact of the BMP Program to society as well as provides critical feedback to program directors.

Author: Canada. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
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Category : Watersheds
Languages : en
Pages : 1

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Author: Yanan Liu
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Category :
Languages : en
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Agricultural Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs) are commonly applied in Ontario as a solution to solve the problem of eutrophication. It is important to assess their effectiveness in reducing excess phosphorus emissions and associated farm-level costs. This thesis uses a meta-analysis to examine abatement costs of nine selected BMPs in mitigating excess phosphorus loss on crop and livestock farms in Ontario. The set of BMPs included reduced tillage, crop nutrient management, cover crops, buffer strips, grassed waterways, water and sediment control basins, controlled tile drainage, livestock exclusion and livestock nutrient management. I found that controlled tile drainage is a highly preferable conservation practice for abating excess phosphorus emission with net return gains on the farm. No-till, buffer strips, grassed waterways and livestock exclusion are highly cost-effective practices. However, there is a wide variance in abatement costs on specific fields. Site-specific characteristics should be carefully considered.

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Languages : en
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The overall goal of this research was to increase, relative to targeting recommendations, the cost-effectiveness of pollution reduction measures within a watershed. The goal was met through development of an optimization procedure for best management practice (BMP) placement at the watershed level. The procedure combines an optimization component, written in the C++ language, with spatially variable nonpoint source (NPS) prediction and economic analysis components, written in the ArcView geographic information system scripting language. The procedure is modular in design, allowing modifications or enhancements to the components while maintaining the overall theory. The optimization component uses a genetic algorithm to optimize a lexicographic multi-objective function of pollution reduction and cost increase. The procedure first maximizes pollution reduction to meet a specified goal, or maximum allowable load, and then minimizes cost increase. For the NPS component, a sediment delivery technique was developed and combined with the Universal Soil Loss Equation to predict average annual sediment yield at the watershed outlet. Although this evaluation considered only erosion, the NPS pollutant fitness score allows for evaluation of multiple pollutants, based on prioritization of each pollutant. The economic component considers farm-level public and private costs, accounting for crop productivity levels by soil and for enterprise budgets by field.

Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309082951
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 449

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The Clean Water Act (CWA) requires that wetlands be protected from degradation because of their important ecological functions including maintenance of high water quality and provision of fish and wildlife habitat. However, this protection generally does not encompass riparian areasâ€"the lands bordering rivers and lakesâ€"even though they often provide the same functions as wetlands. Growing recognition of the similarities in wetland and riparian area functioning and the differences in their legal protection led the NRC in 1999 to undertake a study of riparian areas, which has culminated in Riparian Areas: Functioning and Strategies for Management. The report is intended to heighten awareness of riparian areas commensurate with their ecological and societal values. The primary conclusion is that, because riparian areas perform a disproportionate number of biological and physical functions on a unit area basis, restoration of riparian functions along America's waterbodies should be a national goal.

Author: Urban Drainage and Flood Control District
Publisher: Water Resources Publications
ISBN: 9781887201667
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 584

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