Scott Swinton
Frank Lupi

Scott Swinton, professor of agricultural economics

Phone: (517) 353-7218
E-mail: swinton@msu.edu
Profile: www.msu.edu/edu/~swintons/
Photo: hi-res jpg

Frank Lupi, associate professor of agricultural economics and fisheries and wildlife

Phone: (517) 432-3883
E-mail: lupi@msu.edu
Profile: www.msu.edu/~lupi/
Photo: hi-res jpg

Presentation: “Harvesting Ecosystem Services from Agriculture – Cost-Effective Ecosystem Service Production fro Row-Crop Agriculture”

Abstract: Crop systems cover roughly 25 percent of the United States. They have been optimized under current markets and policies to produce plentiful food and fiber. They also sequester carbon, offer green space and various other ecosystem services. But agriculture is also the source of ecosystem damage from habitat loss, excess nutrient pollution, and release of toxic pesticides. Properly managed, crop agriculture can mitigate these problems while continuing to produce abundant food. The precedent of U.S. farm subsidies creates an opportunity for cost-efficient production of ecosystem services and damage mitigation from crop systems that currently excel chiefly in the services of food and fiber production.

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