The of recent origin York City Watershed Agricultural Program look fors to reduce the potential for phosphorus motion from farms to surface waters.

The of recent origin York City Watershed Agricultural Program look fors to reduce the potential for phosphorus motion from farms to surface waters. A "phosphorus index for site evaluation" (P-index) provides planners in the modern York City Watershed Agricultural Program with a tool for identifying individual farm business, phosphorus related question at issues and evaluating solutions. A linear programming type is employed to examine dairy farm resource use and profitability, with the P-index used to impose phosphorus motion constraints. Results indicate dramatic differences in farm resource use and farm business profitability depending upon the level of the P-index. Small changes in the target index of the same height result in large shifts in optimal resource use and business profitability. These differences illustrate that restrictions forward phosphorus movement from land to surface waters potentially have major impacts onward resource use and farm profitability in the just discovered York City Watershed.

Key Words: dairy, strange York City Watershed, phosphorus, profitability, water quality

Society is increasingly looking to nonpoint sources of water pollution for opportunities to obtain incremental improvements in water quality and/or to house water supplies from future declines in quality. As attention in succession pollution of water supplies from nonpoint sources increases, the focus in succession agriculture as a source of nonpoint source pollution intensifies. In the of recent origin York City Watershed (shown in figure 1) the recent York City Watershed Agricultural Program, by the agency of its whole-farm planning effort, seek fors to address dairy farming's potential to adversely affect water quality (Hanchar, Milligan, and Knoblauch, 1997) Dairy farms are potential sources of pathogens, nutrients, sediment, and other pollutants (Watershed Agricultural Council, 1997)

The eutrophication of reservoirs is the major pollution point to be solved [i]or[/i] settled associated with nutrients for the novel York City water supply (Watershed Agricultural Council, 1997) To address eutrophication in just discovered York City reservoirs, the recent York City Watershed Agricultural Program prosecutes to reduce the potential for phosphorus motion from dairy farms to surface waters. Since its beginning in late 1992 the program faced a major challenge in identifying workable tools to measure potential phosphorus motion for the purposes of identifying point in disputes and evaluating alternative solutions. The challenge of identifying workable tools for planning and evaluation views continues today as the program goe by the agency of a range of informal and formal evaluation efforts.

Adapting the "phosphorus index" introduced from Lemunyon and Gilbert (1993) to contemplate special conditions in the strange York City Watershed, Klausner (1997) exhibited a "phosphorus index for site evaluation" (P-index). P-index values cogitate the potential for phosphorus emotion from a site to surface waters. The P-index provides planners in the recently made known York City Watershed Agricultural Program with a tool for identifying question s and evaluating solutions at the individual field and whole-farm levels

Other watershed protection efforts in just discovered York and elsewhere are looking at tools as it was as the P-index to measure the potential for phosphorus motion from a site to surface waters for the intention of guiding planning efforts (Coale, 1999; Jokela, 1999) Using Lemunyon and Gilbert's phosphorus index, Sharpley (1995) compared index values with measured losse of phosphorus in runoff. he conclud "The conclude relationship between P index rating and total P los indicates that the indexing transaction can give reliable estimates of vulnerability to P los in runoff..." (p 949)

Since a variety of transport and source factors affect the P-index, alternatives to achieve desired targets for the P-index might exist. Runoff and erosion affect transport, and changes in farm business practices can convert into runoff and erosion. Changes in the farm business that affect sources of phosphorus onward the farm include changes in the amount, timing, form, location, and order of P applications to land (Sharpley, Daniel, and Edwards, 1993) We are not aware of any research that analyzes resource use, adaptations in resource use, and profitability associated with reducing the potential for phosphorus motion from farms as measured by means of the P-index.

The objective of this consideration is to examine the possible validitys on dairy farm resource use and profitability associated with meeting P-index targets in the recent York City Watershed Agricultural Program. This research contributes to a better understanding of the changes in resource use and tradeoffs required to convenient P-index targets by identifying profit-maximizing resource allocations forward dairy farms subject to resource constraints. Information regarding possible events will be useful to the Watershed Agricultural Council-the just discovered York City Watershed Agricultural Program's governing material part and policy maker, to just discovered York City Watershed Agricultural Program whole-farm planners, and to others looking at the P-index as a tool for guiding on-farm environmental planning efforts.