NONPOINT POLLUTION, WEEDS AND RISK

Nonpoint pollution from agricultural production continues to force reg ulators to rethink policies aimed at reducing input sources such as he rbicides and fertilisers. This paper considers how a producer's choice of an input strategy defined by application rate or persistence affec ts input-use patterns, and consequently, nonpoint pollution. Working w ithin an endogenous risk framework, we explore how input sets with her bicides defined either as self-insurance or self-protection are affect ed by increased risk of herbicide treatment failure. Our results sugge st that increased risk will generally decrease both herbicide and fert iliser application rates, resulting in the use of less flexible and le ss persistent herbicides. In addition, a quantity constraint policy re stricting the amount of herbicide applied will decrease the amount of fertiliser applied. 4