1. Locate the report titled "Agricultural Resources and Environmental Indicators, 1996-97" published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
   
   Read through Section 6.3 of the report concerning the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Summarize how the program works and the intent of the program. What are the estimated net social benefits of the program? What are the costs? Finally, use a supply and demand graph to illustrate how the government should determine the optimal price that should be paid for land in the CRP.
   
   
2. Go to the Food and Agriculture Organization's conservation agriculture website and read the report, "Intensifying Crop Production with Conservation Agriculture."
   
   Summarize how farmers practice conservation agriculture. What are the advantages of conservation agriculture over industrial farming? What are the disadvantages?