Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 April 2005
The application of manure phosphorus at rates above crop uptake has resultedin water pollution for some regions. In response, new manure managementstandards will require some farms to match manure phosphorus applicationrates with crop uptake. For some regions, this will lead to more crop acresand a shift toward crops with greater nutrient uptake, both of which willincrease nitrogen runoff. The greater nitrogen runoff could offset the lowerphosphorus runoff to result in greater water pollution. This demonstratesthe law of unintended consequences, which results when policy does notconsider how economic agents respond to incentives.