Multiple objective linear programming for environmental farm planning

We present a multiple objective linear programming model developed to consider a wide range of farming situations, which allows optimisation of profit or environmental outcome(s) or both. The modelling considers the problem of planning a farming system within a world where environmental considerations are increasing. The objective is to identify the best cropping and machinery options which are both profitable and result in improvements to the environment, depending upon the farm situation of market prices, potential crop yields, soil and weather characteristics. In particular, the model uses a flexible approach to choosing the machinery, timing of operations, crop rotations and levels of inputs. We show for a UK scenario, that large reductions in environmental impact can be achieved for reductions in farm profit which are insignificant relative to the annual variation due to yields and prices.