Many good studies dealing with economics of conservation have been reported, but some essential questions remain unanswered. What effect does planning the farm to achieve conservation goals have on farm income? How much income could a farmer earn if he ignored conservation? How would income differ between farms planned to keep erosion losses below an acceptable physical level and the same farms planned to get the most profit? This article shows how linear programming can be used to answer questions of this type. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Farm Economics Division, Economic Research Service, or the U.S. Department of Agriculture.