This study focuses on the interaction of U.S. agricultural exports, regional patterns of farm production, and the problem of agricultural sediment. It also evaluates alternative policies in abating sedimentation of the nation's main river basins. One underlying hypothesis of the study is that changes in agricultural export demands cause shifts in the comparative advantage among producing regions within the United States and alter regional land use patterns, farm incomes, consumer food prices, and soil loss. Given this hypothesis, the study uses a mathematical model and two estimates of the U.S. 1985 agricultural exports to investigate if and how these interactions occur.