Petr Prochazka initially came to NSAC through an exchange program from the Czech University of Agriculture. In 2003, he took Dr. Steven Clark’s Environmental and Resource Economics class. This experience led to his enrollment in the M.Sc. program in the Department of Business & Social Sciences, with Dr. Clark as his supervisor.

Currently in his second year of his program, Petr’s project is titled “Dynamic economic model of potato production systems in Prince Edward Island (PEI).

As one of the most important crops in Atlantic Canada, PEI potatoes accounts for almost one-third of the total production in Canada. However, producers face economic and environmental pressures and one of the responses to addressing environmental issues was introducing the Agricultural Crop Rotation Act. One of its important recommendations is a mandatory crop rotation for potatoes, which means that regulated crops cannot be grown in a field no more than once in three years.

The objective of Petr’s research is to introduce a study of the long-term effects of various crop rotation practices, specifically with respect to nitrogen movement using dynamic optimization methods. The dynamic economic model will include bio-physical aspects, (mainly the nitrogen cycle), soil erosion and thirdly, external off-site environmental damages associated with given management practices. The results should be optimal soil management strategies which will help to develop policies that maximize benefits of both agricultural producers and society.

Petr says that potato producers have a direct influence upon the level of nitrogen in the environment. “Production decisions are influenced by several ever-changing variables such as prices in world markets, agricultural policies or bio-physical realities” and acknowledges that an understanding of farmer’s behavior and its modeling within the dynamic framework (the “big picture”) has economic values.

“To my knowledge, there have been no studies that would deal with potato production systems in PEI that account for long-term environmental impacts”, says Petr. “Ideally, my work will be the first to incorporate well-known biophysical models of nutrients cycle and soil erosion in the economic framework.

Petr hopes that his research and the finished model could provide some insight for policy makers to evaluate the long-term effects of different crop sequences. “I am anticipating that this could be used both as a tool for decision making and for analyzing the benefits and costs associated with implementing some of these agricultural policies such as the Crop Rotation Act.” says Petr. “Other provinces could benefit from this type of model also, as the dynamic nature allows for adjustment.”

When Petr isn’t working on his thesis, he is actively involved in collaborating with his supervisor Dr. Clark on a number of other research projects with both a national and international scope, including Dr. Clark’s work with the Agricultural Policy Research Network (APRN). Says Petr, “Students that work with Dr. Clark do a lot of interesting projects.”

In fact, Petr has co-authored several papers with Dr. Clark which have been invited to been invited to a number of conferences and workshops in Canada, United States and the European Union. Petr also gets the opportunity to travel, so far he has been to three international conferences, in Banff, AB, Montreal and Toronto and earlier this year he and Dr. Clark traveled to Luxembourg for to obtain data for a commissioned paper they are working on. “Our research is used as a vehicle to promote NSAC internationally”, says Petr.

When asked about his future plans, Petr said he hopes to continue working with Dr. Clark to finish all their projects and broaden their research activities towards the European Union.

“Graduate studies and research is a busy life, but definitely worth it. Students working with Dr. Clark do research that is highly competitive on both national and international level and recognized by highest levels of academia”, says Petr. “I am treated more like a colleague than a student, which gives me confidence in conducting my research.”