ABSTRACTThis paper reports on research to develop a methodology for estimating agricultural off‐site sediment damage costs and includes an empirical estimate of such damages for a watershed. The economics of off‐site sediment damage costs are discussed as a theoretical basis for the procedures developed. A detailed methodology is described for estimating five different types of off‐site sediment damages commonly associated with rural watersheds. The methodology is then applied to a central Illinois watershed and estimates of individual types of damage are made. The estimates are combined into an off‐site sediment damage function for the watershed, and the usefulness of the damage function for analyzing off‐site sediment damages and achieving a reduction in those costs is
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