Our Environment: Part 10 – Improving Agriculture

Despite the issues with modern agriculture, we still need food, and we need it for a lot of humans.  So, what can be done to help improve things?  Let’s look at some ideas that were suggested when I was teaching the class.

Pesticides. There have been several methods employed to deal with the disadvantages of pesticides.  One is legislation.  In 1947 the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) was passed.  It was amended in 1972.  This law allows the EPA, USDA, and FDA to regulate the sale and use of pesticides.  In 1996 congress passed the Food Quality Protection Act.  This law requires the EPA to reduce the allowed levels of pesticide residues in food by a factor of 10 when there is inadequate information on the potentially harmful effects on children.  However, some studies from the National Academy of Science suggest these laws are not enforced as they should be for all pesticides.  There are other methods suggested by scientists to battle crop pests.

• Fool the pests. This can be done by rotating different crops on the land each year. This helps control the population of insects that feed on specific crops and reduce their impact.  Another idea is to plant crops during a time of year when the pest life cycle keeps it from being a problem, or when their predators are more abundant.
• Provide a home for pest enemies. Farmers can move from monocultured fields to polyculture fields which can decrease pest populations as well as enhance their predator’s population. This is also a method that could be used to reduce pesticides needed on homeowner lawns.
• Genetically modified plants. Though controversial, this method can produce both pest whose development is sped up, and crops that are resistant to the pest.
• Biological control. Introducing natural predators will reduce the need for pesticides all together. However, it is slow acting, not always available when needed, and can become pests themselves.
• Pheromones (sex attractants). These can be used to lure pests into traps or attract their natural predators. Pheromones are species specific so will not harm beneficial insects.
• Spraying hot water. This method has had success on cotton, alfalfa, potatoes, and citrus crops in Florida.

Many experts and farmers feel the best method to control pests is what is called the integrated pest management (IPM) plan.  In this method the farmers assess their situation and then develop a plan that uses a combination of the above methods including chemicals.  A study by the National Academy of Science found that using IPM methods can reduce pesticide use between 50-65% without reducing crop yield or food quality.  However, there are some drawbacks.  1) it does require expert knowledge about the pest situation – here Extension can help.  2) it takes more time to be effective than pesticides. 3) no one IPM plan works for all, there could be slight differences between neighboring fields.  There is also the issue of government subsides to encourage pesticide use, which has slowed this method down.

Soil. There are methods that have been used by farmers around the world to reduce soil erosion.

• Is used on land that is sloped. It helps retain water and soil from washing downhill.
• Contour farming. Is another method used on sloped land. Here the plowing goes across the landscape instead of up or down.
• Strip cropping. Is a method where one row is the row crop of interest (corn or cotton) with alternant rows of cover crops (alfalfa or clover). These cover crops help hold the soil in place and reduce water runoff.
• Alley cropping. Is a method where the crops are planted between rows of trees or shrubs – which provide some shade and reduces evaporation and helps slowly release soil moisture. The selected trees can provide fruit, and leaf litter than is used as mulch.
• Windbreaks or Shelterbelts. I see this a lot. This is a method where the larger field of crops is encircled by trees to reduce wind speed and erosion.  The trees help retain moisture, provide habitat for insect predators, and can be sold as a product itself.
• No till or minimum tillage. Tilling the soil is needed but can enhance wind blown erosion. There are special tillers and planting machines that can plant seeds directly into through the crop residue into the undisturbed soil.

Years of abuse have made some soils less fertile and non-productive.  There are methods being used to help restore this fertility.  Some of these methods include organic fertilizers – such as animal manure and green manure.  Green manure consists of using plant waste plowed into the soil.  Composting is an option, as are commercial inorganic fertilizers.

Sustainable Aquaculture. Many feel with the size of the human population now wild harvest seafood cannot sustain us.  Mass production of seafood – aquaculture – is the direction we should move.  However, in the last article we mentioned some of the problems with aquaculture.  Ways to improve this would include.

• Do not place aquaculture farms in/near environmentally sensitive systems – such as mangrove forest or salt marshes. Some aquaculture projects (oysters) can actually help enhance water quality.
• Improve management of aquaculture waste. Waste treatment facilities.
• Develop methods to reduce escape of aquaculture species into the wild.
• Caged methods in existing water systems can help reduce predation and disperse waste.

Meat Production. One issue with meat production is the amount of meat we consume.  Since 2011 between 30-40% of the grain grown is used to feed livestock – not humans.  Miller suggests that if the world had the average U.S. meat diet, our current grain harvest would only feed about 2.5 billion people.  Reducing meat in our diet would provide more grain-based foods for human consumption.  They also suggest shifting from less efficient grain fed meats – beef and pork – to more grain efficient forms of meat – chicken and fish – would also improve food production in general.  There are also concerns about how livestock are raised for mass production.  Large, overcrowded feedlots and pens are of concern.  Several major fast-food chains and grocery stores have invested in research to try and improve conditions for our livestock.  I watched a cooking show hosted by an Italian women.  She mentioned that they had livestock on the farm growing up.  During the spring, summer, and fall they ate primarily vegetables, fruit, and non-meat pasta dishes.  In the fall they would slaughter their livestock and switched to a meat diet during the winter – because that was when the meat was available.  It also makes sense from a biological point of view.  Your body requires higher protein-fat diets to keep warm in winter – this is not needed in the summer.  Consuming more fish in summer would make sense.  Many have converted to such diets and – to keep up with the growing human population – many more will need to.

References

 

Sloat, L., Ray, D., Gracia, A., Cassidy, E., Hanson, C. 2022. The World is Growing More Crops – But Not for Food. World Resources Institute. https://www.wri.org/insights/crop-expansion-food-security-trends.

 

Miller, G.T., Spoolman, S.E. 2011. Living in the Environment. Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning. Belmont CA. pp. 674.