The role of public policy in the use of conservation tillage in the USA

A number of policy tools are used to reduce soil erosion from agricultural lands in the United States, including education and technical assistance, financial assistance, land retirement and conservation compliance requirements. Education and technical assistance by public and private sources can be effective in promoting the adoption of conservation tillage by farmers for whom that practice will be profitable. Financial incentives may be necessary to induce the voluntary adoption of conservation tillage by farmers for whom the practice would not be more profitable than conventional tillage but on whose land the use of conservation tillage would provide substantial offsite benefits.