Farming for Improved Ecosystem Services Seen as Economically Feasible

Research conducted over 25 years shows that lowering -- or avoiding -- the use of chemical fertilizers in row-crop agriculture in the northern United States can reduce polluting nitrogen runoff, mitigate greenhouse warming, and improve soils while producing good crop yields.  'No-till' agriculture provided some similar benefits.  The most effective regimes required that farmers adopt more complex crop rotations, but many indicated that they would accept payments to do so, and the public seems willing to pay.

Farming for Improved Ecosystem Services Seen as Economically Feasible