EVALUATING THE ENVIRONMENTAL-EFFECTS OF AGRICULTURAL POLICY - THE SOIL BANK, THE CRP, AND AIRBORNE PARTICULATE CONCENTRATIONS

The fact that agricultural policy decisions can have important environ mental consequences has become common knowledge among policy scholars and policy practitioners. This relationship is reflected in the increa singly prominent soil conservation and environmental protection compon ents of the 1985 and 1990 Farm Bills. In debating the value of continu ing these provisions in the upcoming reauthorization of this legislati on, scholars and politicians alike focus almost exclusively on their w ater quality benefits. However, the soil conservation components of ag ricultural policy also may affect air quality significantly. Using mul tivariate transfer function analysis, we find that implementation of t he 1985 Farm Bill's Conservation Reserve Program has improved air qual ity significantly in that area of the country most plagued by agricult ural air pollution.