With the world population projected to reach 9.6 billion people by 2050, food production demands are steadily increasing. How do we meet the high demands and keep our lands from disappearing and becoming unusable?
There have always been significant challenges and environmental issues around farming practices, particularly over soil erosion and excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers. In the past decade, it has become more apparent that we need to shift our agriculture practices from the traditional industrial system to a more conservative farming approach. More awareness and education about adopting a more sustainable agricultural system has to be a priority. Systems and productions need to depend less on chemicals and other energy-based inputs.
Sustainable agriculture describes farming systems that are capable of maintaining their productivity and usefulness to society indefinitely. Under the Farm Bill law, “the term sustainable agriculture means an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will, over the long term:
- satisfy human food and fiber needs
- enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agricultural economy depends
- make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls
- sustain the economic viability of farm operations; and
- enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole”
The Farm Bill recognized that serious reforms are required in the agricultural sector to ensure that our food system is ready to meet the challenges of a burgeoning world population. Such reforms include growing vegetables free of chemicals, using cover crops, composting, drip irrigation, companion planting, and abstaining from the use of genetically modified seeds.
Soil Conservation
Sustainable agriculture can lead to healthy soils which lead to healthier plants and forests. Which in turn can ultimately lead to a healthy climate and planet. Through regenerative agricultural practices, formerly degraded farmland can become highly fertile and productive land. Certain initiatives must be taken to overturn conventional farming practices, such as eliminating tillage, harsh fertilizers, livestock grazing, and deforestation.
By promoting and practicing sustainable farming it will become a way to not just grow food but to progressively improve ecosystems. Focusing on soil nourishment in conventional agriculture often results in crops that are highly susceptible to drought, diseases, and pests. Reducing or eliminating harmful fertilizers also helps with reducing polluted runoff water and create healthier water systems.
The movement for soil conservation is on the rise, with some 35% of American cropland now being farmed with no-till methods. No-till farming helps to conserve soil and preserve its fertility and is essential for soil carbon sequestration.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Fuel and electricity use on farms is just as important to energy savings, as the use of soil and water. Reducing the use of nitrogen fertilizer by substituting it with manure can save thousands of cubic feet of natural gas. It also helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions while improving soil matter and decreasing soil erosion. Industrial agriculture is one of the leading sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the world today.
A significant portion of the energy costs of agriculture comes from sources such as fertilizers, pesticides, and other inputs that require significant energy to produce and apply. Farming practices such as cycling nutrients through manure and using cover crops reduce energy use while improving soil organic matter and decreasing soil erosion. Nutrient management plans, soil testing, banding fertilizers and pesticides, and precision agriculture similarly help reduce energy use.
Crop Resilience
Crops that grow in the same plot of land for several years deplete the soil of nutrients and decreases crop yield for future plantings. Enforcing crop rotation will help keep the soil healthy and fertile. This practice of growing different crops on the same land in a recurring order is called crop rotation. This method helps replenish the nutrients and minerals from the soil that were absorbed by the previous crop cycle.
Sustainable agriculture provides resilience because it focuses on growing a variety of crops as opposed to a single breed. It also helps control the spread of insects, diseases, and weeds. When a crop is planted in the same location year after year diseases can build up, but by rotating crops you can upset the disease life cycle and eliminate insects. Crop rotation will eliminate the host organism and cause a disruption in the annual life cycle of insects, diseases, and weeds.
It also improves microbiological activity which helps plants absorb nutrients more efficiently and helps keep weeds suppressed by maintaining better soil health.
Biodiversity
Biodiversity or diverse farming systems helps with air and water purification by breaking down pollutants and restoring nutrients. Planting multiple crops with a diversity of species is one strategy for increasing biodiversity. The diversity of crops ensures that they are more resilient to withstand any pests, diseases, and drought conditions.
Planting trees, flowers, shrubs and leaving areas of land uncultivated are methods of increasing diversity on non-cropped land. This allows pollinators to establish a place to nest providing them a home, which in turn will encourage more pollinators to cross-pollinate.
Pollinators contribute to biodiversity in agricultural ecosystems defending crops against disease and pests. For example, 90% of flowering plants need animal-assisted pollination.
Crop Resilience
Crops that grow in the same plot of land for several years deplete the soil of nutrients and decreases crop yield for future plantings. Enforcing crop rotation will help keep the soil healthy and fertile. This practice of growing different crops on the same land in a recurring order is called crop rotation. This method helps replenish the nutrients and minerals from the soil that were absorbed by the previous crop cycle.
Sustainable agriculture provides resilience because it focuses on growing a variety of crops as opposed to a single breed. It also helps control the spread of insects, diseases, and weeds. When a crop is planted in the same location year after year diseases can build up, but by rotating crops you can upset the disease life cycle and eliminate insects. Crop rotation will eliminate the host organism and disrupt the annual life cycle of insects, diseases, and weeds.
It also improves microbiological activity which helps plants absorb nutrients more efficiently and helps keep weeds suppressed by maintaining better soil health.
Measures have already been started to shift towards sustainable agriculture. Education and processes need to be aligned within the farming community. We all need to understand the relationship between organisms and the environment.
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