WASTES IN RELATION TO AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY 



87 



Pesticides 



A wide variety of chemicals, varying in degree 

 of toxicity, are available for use in controlling 

 agricultural pests. Little information is available 

 regarding the economic impact of the use of the 

 various chemicals and associated practices in the 

 production of specific crop and livestock commodi- 

 ties in the different agricultural regions of the 

 United States. Reports are being compiled to deter- 

 mine the increased crop productivity due to pesti- 

 cides and to evaluate alternate methods of pest 

 control. Information in these reports will facilitate 

 evaluations of the contributions of pesticides to 

 agricultural production. 



Economists in the U.S. Department of Agricul- 

 ture are tabulating and analyzing data from the 

 Pesticide and General Farm Survey for 1966. In 

 the evaluation of problems concerning the chemi- 

 cal pollution of our natural environment, compari- 

 son of the 1966 data with the 1964 data will indi- 

 cate trends in the intensity of pesticide use by 

 geographic areas, types of farms, and specific crops 

 and livestock. 



As in the 1964 survey, the 1966 questionnaire in- 

 cludes information on the use of pesticides in agri- 

 culture, and related information on farm organiza- 

 tion and operations. About 10,000 farmers 

 were interviewed. In contrast to the previous sur- 

 vey, these farmers represent all the economic 

 strata. The farmers with low sales were excluded 

 in the 1964 survey. 



Statistical data from the 1964 nationwide pesti- 

 cide survey show the quantities of selected pesti- 

 cide ingredients applied to crops and livestock by 

 region, by type of farm, by economic class of farm, 

 and by type of pesticide. 



The basic economic questions inherent in the 

 pesticide issue concern the effect that restrictions 

 on the use of toxic chemicals in the control of agri- 

 cultural pests will have upon production costs, 

 farm incomes, and the supply and quality of food 

 and fiber produced. Information obtained in the 

 1966 nationwide survey can be useful in evaluating 

 approaches for reducing contamination from 

 chemicals. 



Water Quality. — The U.S. Department of Agri- 

 culture and the land-grant universities have 

 initiated economic research related in some degree 

 to land and water quality pi-oblems. The studies 

 include evaluation of erosion control, wafer qual- 



ity, and the impact of high-salinity irrigation 

 waters on land values. 



Recent research objectives are concerned mainly 

 with waste disposal and management. They in- 

 clude studies on the accumulation, movement, and 

 adverse impacts of pesticide residues on soil and 

 water resources and ways to reduce these effects; 

 economic analysis of pesticide residues and agri- 

 cultural waste problems in a watershed of river 

 basin planning complex ; a study, cooperative with 

 the Oregon State University, of legal-institutional 

 approaches for pulpmill waste disposal where con- 

 trol needs involve mill and recreation interests; 

 and a study of the Federal Water Pollution Con- 

 trol Act to determine the implications of the act 

 for agricultural and other rural resources. 



Plant Nutrients. — There is a continuing re- 

 search program in the economics of fertilizer use. 

 These studies provide current information on the 

 amount and type of commercial fertilizers used in 

 agriculture and returns from their use. They show 

 that, over the period 1960-64, farmers received an 

 average return of $2.50 for every dollar spent on 

 fertilizer. Projections of fertilizer use to meet 1980 

 production needs do not consider any harmful 

 effects associated with the use of commercial fertil- 

 izers. Economic questions related to the impact of 

 restrictions on fertilizer use could be evaluated in 

 terms of production costs, farm incomes, and the 

 supply and quality of food and fiber produced. 

 These economic studies have a primary interest in 

 farm production, and only secondarily in nutrients 

 that may impair the quality of surface and ground 

 waters. 



Organic Wastes. — Cooperative research en the 

 economies of size and livestock operations and 

 materials handling is underway at the University 

 of Illinois, University of Minnesota, and Colorado 

 State University. Current studies consider the 

 economics of waste disposal only as a part of the 

 overall feeding operations. 



New and different methods of materials 

 dling and livestock confinement are an important 

 part of modern major feeding operations. O >ncen- 

 trated milking and feeding operal ions permit e< 

 omies as the size of the operation increases. Bu 

 such operations become larger, conventional 

 methods o( waste disposal become less adequate. 

 Modern livestock waste disposal systems are pri- 

 marily limited to large hog and lii feeding 



