US Green Living .com
Sustainable agriculture is agriculture that is practiced that will not cause long term or permanent damage to the ecosystem in turn making a plot of land able to produce food season after season. Sustainable agriculture is achieved by a variety of means including careful selection of crops and avoiding many practices common to industrial agriculture. There are very important reasons, economic and otherwise, for making agriculture
sustainable and much research has been conducted to preserve the life cycle of farms worldwide.
Vital soil nutrients are depleted from the soil after years of planting and harvesting on a farm. One crucial element for crop fertility that often is removed from the soil is nitrogen. In order to preserve nitrogen in order for crops to continue producing, farmers can employ a variety of methods. This can be done by recycling livestock waste and growing crops that naturally create nitrogen like alfalfa, peanuts, and legumes. Irrigation must be done in a fashion to prevent accumulation of large amounts of water that can wash nutrients out of the soil.
Traditionally, only one or two cash crops are grown on a given piece of land. This practice is not sustainable. Instead, rotating crops and mixing different crops together can be done to keep the soil nutrient rich. By planting crops that grow in different seasons or planting crops that do not compete with each other, you ensure that nutrients in the soil are not overused. Trees and bushes also can be grown alongside crops in a process known as agroforestry. These plants are permanent which helps to strengthen the soil.
One key aspect of sustainable agriculture is by not using methods typically done in industrial agriculture. Excessive use of pesticides and herbicides can damage soil over long periods of time. One alternative method of controlling pests and weeds is by encouraging an environment where predators that feed on pests and weeds are made more welcome through crop selection or even introducing natural predators to the farm in some cases. Tilling can lead to soil erosion making it difficult to plant crops so farmers are urged to keep it to a minimum in order to preserve soil sustainability.
The process of making a farm agriculturally sustainable requires research and intelligent choices. By choosing crops that are naturally well equipped to perform well in a farm’s environment, farmers can avoid many problems, particularly with irrigation and pest and weed control. Soil should be carefully examined before choosing which fertilizer to use. The better a farmer knows his surroundings, the more likely he is to make intelligent choices and maintain the sustainability of his farm.
Although large scale industrial agriculture is more profitable over a short period of time, farms that are agriculturally stable are usually more profitable in the long run. This is because land can be used over and over again instead of having to search out new places with more fertile soil. Aside from the economic factors, sustainable agriculture is also much healthier for the environment, including all who live in it.
