Economic Research Service; Environmental Quality

ERS analyzes the use and efficacy of conservation practices and of Federal programs and policies in combating the harmful effects of agriculture as they relate to: Soil quality, as compromised by wind and water erosion; Water quality, as compromised by chemical/pesticide and nutrient runoff; Air quality, as compromised by soil particulates, farm chemicals, and odor from livestock; Wildlife habitat, as compromised by fragmentation, monoculture (which reduces landscape diversity), and diverting water for irrigation; and Wetlands, as compromised by conversion to cropland