Costs and benefits of no‐tillage (NT) were analyzed and compared with conventional tillage (CT) for irrigated corn (Zea mays L.) in the northern Texas High Plains. Research results, from a 4‐yr wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)/corn/fallow rotation, were used to validate the Erosion Productivity Impact Calculator (EPIC), a widely used daily time‐step hydrologic and crop growth simulator. The yields generated by EPIC were used in the Farm Level Income and Policy Simulation Model (FLIPSIM), to analyze the long‐term (10 yr) economics of NT and CT corn production on a whole farm basis under various irrigation strategies. The results indicated that NT increased the probability of survival for the low water irrigation strategy while increasing net cash farm income by 8,5% on the more frequent irrigations strategy. NT resulted in higher present values of ending net worth for all irrigation strategies. NT's ability to reduce water needs, decrease yield variability, and reduce machinery use (fuel, replacement, and repair costs) more than offset the increase in chemical costs associated with NT compared with CT. Research Question Economic impacts of residue management on Great Plains farmers producing irrigated crops were largely unknown when the Food Security Act of 1985 mandated that participants in farm programs who farm highly erodible cropland must implement SCS approved soil conservation farm plans by January 1995. The mandate was intended to reduce soil erosion, both by wind and water. While dryland crop production in the Great Plains often results in inadequate residue for erosion control, irrigation generally produces adequate residue for soil protection if properly managed. The threat of losing farm program benefits is a concern to both dryland and irrigated producers. The purpose of this research is to quantify the economic benefits (costs) of producing no‐tillage (NT) corn for a representative feed grain farm in the northern Texas High Plains. Literature Summary Conservation tillage research in the Great Plains dates back to the 1930s. Early research investigated dryland benefits of residue management during nonuse periods, or fallow, primarily for enhancing soil water storage and reducing crop yield variability. Past research has found that NT practices increase yields proportionally more under dryland conditions than under irrigated conditions. Previous studies have also shown that furrow erosion can be reduced with NT practices, which may reduce seed bed preparation time and costs in subsequent years. Economic impacts of residue management are both short term and long term, depending largely on the immediate increase in herbicide expenses, which substitute for short‐run costs of tillage, and the reduction in long‐term equipment depreciation costs. Study Description Field research data is used to validate the Erosion Productivity Impact Calculator (EPIC), a widely used daily time‐step hydrologic and crop growth simulator. EPIC is then used to develop long‐term and stochastic corn yields for NT and conventional til...

We test the sensitivity of per capita expenditures to several methods of per adult equivalent expenditures to control for economies of scale and household composition. Simulation analysis determines the indifference point between per capita expenditures and per adult equivalent measures in order to identify the factors contributing to the dominance of one measure over another. Results indicate that overall poverty and inequality measures in northern Ghana are highly sensitive to the use of equivalence scales. Poverty measures for children and the elderly and in urban and rural areas are also sensitive to equivalence scales.

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