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 Changing agriculture in ways that make it more sustainable is a big challenge. Agriculture is an enormous and varied enterprise that is shaped by many forces. But it can be done. Essential to accomplishing change is knowing where we are and where we want to go. Below are snapshots of the present and the future for one agricultural region—the Midwest. These are necessarily limited. Similar snapshots of agriculture in North Carolina or California would be different not only in terms of crops and climate, but also in the history and culture of the region. But those differences should not obscure the common themes of a sustainable agriculture—biodiversity, a deep understanding of agricultural ecosystems, and economic reality.
The Present
Imagine driving across the northern half of the state of Iowa. What do you see? Fields of just two crops, corn and soybeans, mile after mile. Off in the distance maybe a huge swine operation that you smell long before you see it. If you were to stop for a picnic in the country, you probably wouldn't dream of drinking the water from a nearby stream. All the crop land around you is doused with chemicals: herbicides to control weeds, insecticides to control insects, and fertilizers to stimulate growth. You imagine those chemicals seeping into the groundwater and running off into waters to the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico.
In late summer, you would see huge combines crawling up and down the fields, but you don't see many people in the fields. In fact, you are struck by how few people you see even in the towns you drive through. Yet the highway is bustling with trucks bringing food to and from Iowa, linking it to distant parts of the country and even the world.
Why does Northern Iowa look like this? Some aspects are the result of powerful economic forces and intense competition from overseas. others are the result of poorly designed government policies and subsidies—and a heavy overdependence on chemical inputs.
The Future
What might a sustainable agriculture future look like? Farms of all sizes would grow a variety of crops and some would include livestock operations. Some would raise energy crops for use in producing electricity and fueling cars. The soil would regain its richness, since farmers would no longer poison it to control insects. New methods like crop rotation and the use of beneficial insects would control pest populations. Crops and livestock would have been bred (by old or new biotechnologies) to fit into the new operations. And rural streams and rivers would again run clean enough for people to swim and for fish, birds, and other wildlife to flourish.
Why does this differ from the snapshot of the present? Unlike industrial agriculture, which looks at the farm as an outdoor factory, sustainable agriculture views a farm as a system—an "agroecosystem"—made up of elements like soil, plants, insects, and animals. These elements can be enriched and adjusted to solve problems and maximize yields.
This approach is holistic: the emphasis is on the farm as an integrated whole, not as a set of inputs and outputs. It is also scientific: it relies on knowledge about the elements of the system and their interaction to achieve its results. It is a powerful approach that can produce high yields and profits for farmers.
What could bring about such a future? For sustainable agriculture that meets the nation's food, feed, fiber, and fuel needs to flourish in this country, it will need to be supported by innovative government policies: subsidy programs to help farmers through the transition to sustainable agriculture and the occasional crop failure, research to understand the interaction of all elements of farming and to produce appropriate new technologies, and extension services to update farmers about new developments in science and technology. |
