decide whether the delayed returns of the future are more valuable than returns that can be obtained more rapidly. The concept of discounting future returns is important in making decisions of this nature. The discount rate establishes a time preference for the returns accruing from an investment over its useful life. A high discount rate normally favors plans that give higher returns in the early years of the planning period, whereas a low discount rate favors plans giving higher returns in later years. A zero rate would mean, for example, that $100 at any time in the future would be worth exactly $100 today. This article shows how discounting and the length of the planning horizon affect the individual farmer's economic choice of a cropping system on a soil type in northeastern Illinois.2 These choices are then compared with the cropping systems consistent with soil loss tolerances. The amount of in-