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Sustainable agriculture or Sustainable agriculture or regenerative farming has 2 goalsregenerative farming has 2 goals Produce food and fiber on a sustainable Produce food and fiber on a sustainable
basisbasis Repair damage caused by destructive Repair damage caused by destructive
farming practicesfarming practices
Soil ConservationSoil Conservation
Land managementLand management Ground coverGround cover ClimateClimate Soil typeSoil type Tillage systemTillage system
Managing TopographyManaging Topography
Contour plowingContour plowing Plow across the hill instead of up and downPlow across the hill instead of up and down
Strip farmingStrip farming Planting different crops in alternate stripsPlanting different crops in alternate strips
TerracingTerracing Creating shelves to hold soil and waterCreating shelves to hold soil and water
Perennial SpeciesPerennial Species Plants that do not need to be cultivated Plants that do not need to be cultivated
yearlyyearly
Providing Ground CoverProviding Ground Cover
Row crops (corn and beans)Row crops (corn and beans) High erosion ratesHigh erosion rates
Leave crop residues behindLeave crop residues behind 1 ton of crop of residue per acre1 ton of crop of residue per acre
Increased water infiltration and reduced Increased water infiltration and reduced erosion by 99%erosion by 99%
Increase disease and pest problemsIncrease disease and pest problems
Ground cover con’tGround cover con’t
Cover cropsCover crops Rye, alfalfa, or clover can be planted Rye, alfalfa, or clover can be planted
immediately after harvest to protect soilimmediately after harvest to protect soil InterplantingInterplanting
Place 2 crops in the same field Place 2 crops in the same field Plant beans/pumpkins between cornPlant beans/pumpkins between corn
MulchMulch Protective ground coverProtective ground cover
Reduced TillageReduced Tillage
Minimum tillMinimum till Reduces # of times farmer disturbs soilReduces # of times farmer disturbs soil
Conserv-tillConserv-till Uses sharp disc to slice through soil, Uses sharp disc to slice through soil,
opening slots for seedsopening slots for seeds No-tillNo-till
Drill seeds directly through mulch or Drill seeds directly through mulch or ground coverground cover
Cons of reduced tillageCons of reduced tillage Depend on pesticides to control insects Depend on pesticides to control insects
and weedsand weeds Is this a concern?Is this a concern?
Combat pests and disease with crop Combat pests and disease with crop rotation, trap crops, biological controlrotation, trap crops, biological control
Corporate FarmingCorporate Farming
Giant grain fields stretch over 1.000s Giant grain fields stretch over 1.000s of acresof acres
Lg #’s of cows, hogs and chickens Lg #’s of cows, hogs and chickens live in large warehouse size live in large warehouse size confinementsconfinements
Cows have individual diets, Cows have individual diets, antibiotics, hormone injectionsantibiotics, hormone injections
Large #’s of animals in a warehouse Large #’s of animals in a warehouse require antibiotics to keep them require antibiotics to keep them healthyhealthy
Vast amounts of manure pile up and Vast amounts of manure pile up and are spread on the large fields for cropsare spread on the large fields for crops Hurricane Floyd caused 2.5 billion gallons Hurricane Floyd caused 2.5 billion gallons
of manure to wash into rivers and out to of manure to wash into rivers and out to seasea
Organic FarmingOrganic Farming
Lichtenstein 33% of food is organicLichtenstein 33% of food is organic Switzerland 10% of food is organicSwitzerland 10% of food is organic Offer improved choices and higher Offer improved choices and higher
qualityquality Small scale family farmsSmall scale family farms Support local agricultureSupport local agriculture
Produce is fresh and pesticide freeProduce is fresh and pesticide free