The impact of soil and water conservation policies on the soil resource. Some policy, such as land conversion, has diverted nearly 40 million acres of resource-sensitive crop land (highly erodable, adjacent to water bodies) into conserving land planted to grass and trees. Other policy, like free trade agreements, has directed production of tradable commodities, such as cotton and wheat. Erosion compliance programs have reduced the over-all erosion rate in this country by 40% by removing the most highly erodable land from crop production. This has put more intensity on the working lands (nearly 300 million acres) by increasing crop sequences, nutrient, pesticide, and energy use. Air quality and water quality have been strained. With economic strain has come a larger scale of production with more specialized management of production. Specialized production reduces the opportunity for flexibility and changes in the system which does not allow for rotations and varying inputs. Monocultures deserve careful management because of the risk to over-apply inputs or rely on fewer methods of management.