112 • Wetlands: Their Use and Flegulation 



the topography, the conversion technique used, and 

 the availabiUty of an outlet for drainage. Owner- 

 ship of the areas to be converted and of equipment 

 to perform the work also are factors in the cost. For 

 example, the prairie-pothole case study cited six 

 studies of costs of open drainage conducted from 

 1971 to 1981 by four different investigators. Costs 

 per acre ranged from $11.24 to $400.00 (6). The 

 Nebraska case study makes estimates of conversion 

 costs for different methods for its analysis of the 

 profitability of conversion. Conversion of Rain- 

 water Basin wetlands (with an average size of 10 

 acres) to irrigated agricultural use with a reuse pit 

 ranged from about $2,000 in 1965 to $6,600 in 1980 

 (9). Amortized costs over a 30-year period ranged 

 from $12.95 to $84.99/acre/yr in 1965 and 1980, 

 respectively (9). Estimates of landshaping costs in 

 the Sandhills for irrigation veiry with the terrain and 

 range from $4,000 to $26,000/center-pivot (9). 

 Converting pocosin wetland to cropland in North 

 Carolina could cost as much as $740/acre (13). 



Incentives from Federal programs (and in a few 

 ses, State programs) to landowners to preserve 



wetlands are sometimes enough to outweigh the 

 profitability of drainage and conversion (see follow- 

 ing section). In many cases, however, payments 

 from such programs as USDA's Water Bank Pro- 

 gram and FWS easements are less than profits from 

 conversion. A survey of landowner attitudes in 

 Minnesota and North Dakota found that low pay- 

 ments from FWS and Agricultural Stabilization and 

 Conservation Service (ASCS) programs were the 

 overriding reason for refusal to participate in these 

 protection programs (6). (Other important factors 

 listed included the long period that the agreements 

 cover and the lack of information about programs.) 

 The Nebraska case study noted that wetland pay- 

 ments under the ASCS program of $10/acre and 

 State habitat program contracts of $15 to $30/acre 

 appear to be inadequate. To be successful, pay- 

 ments should be increased to the $35 to $45/acre 

 range in Nebraska. The higher range would reflect 

 not only the modest return that may sometimes be 

 received by converting wetlands but also the par- 

 tial value to society in preserving wetlands (9). 



cases 



NATIONAL TRENDS IN AGRICULTURAL LAND USE 



The amount of total cropland planted nationwide 

 declined between 1954 and 1972 from 355 million 

 to 295 million acres. This decline was largely a 

 result of production controls that were fairly con- 

 stant throughout the 1960's. Some shifts of lands 

 in and out of production did occur during this time, 

 however. Land in major crops increased from 295 

 million acres in 1972 to 326 million acres in 1974 

 and then increased steadily until 1981, when 365 

 million acres were planted. (The year 1978 was an 

 exception; there was a significant set-aside in that 

 year, so land in crops decreased.) It is widely 

 assumed by agricultural analysts that a major por- 

 tion of the gains in planted cropland after 1972 

 came from areas that previously were idled by Gov- 

 ernment programs. 



The nationwide expansion in cropland is attrib- 

 uted to the growth in export demand for grains and 

 oilseeds that began in 1972. Primary factors for this 



increase in demand include the entry of the Soviets 

 into the international market, a shortfall in crop 

 production on the Indian Subcontinent, and the de- 

 valuation of the doUar in 1971. Major increases in 

 commodity prices occurred between 1972 and 1976. 

 Although the prices declined in 1977 and 1978, 

 prices in general were sufficiently high during the 

 late 1970's for farmers to increase their amount of 

 land in crops. 



The demand for new cropland is expected to in- 

 crease over the next 20 years, despite expected ad- 

 vances in productivity. The amount of additional 

 cropland needed will depend on the food needs of 

 the United States, the production capability of U.S. 

 soils, and the total export demand. Maximum esti- 

 mates for cropland needed by the year 2000 range 

 from 378 million to 437 million acres, depending 

 on rates of increase in crop yields (4). Although 

 USDA's National Resources Inventory identified 



