ABSTRACT
The discussion in preceding chapters has made two points relevant to soil conservation policy:
Continuation of 1977 rates of cropland erosion likely will reduce soil productivity and increase the cost of crop production. Compared with the effects of other factors bearing on production costs, the erosion effect seems small; however, under some plausible scenarios future erosion could rise substantially from the 1977 level, increasing the pressure on production costs even more.
There are measures farmers can take to either control erosion or offset its effects on productivity. This can also be achieved by means of public and private investment in research designed to develop new technologies that substitute for land.
