Sustainable Agriculture
Sustainable agriculture is a farming concept that promotes ecological and economical sustainability - new environmentally friendly farming practices must be economically viable for a producer to adopt. The goal is to improve natural resources while maintaining and/or improving farm income at the same time. Some of the aspects of sustainable agriculture include improving soil quality, reducing water use, improving irrigation, nutrient and pest management and using biological or cultural alternatives to chemicals wherever possible. Crop rotation is a practice that breaks up pest and disease cycles and may even add nutrient to the soil for a following crop. The practice involves alternating the crop grown on a particular field, because often one pest or disease requires a specific crop or two to grow. Conservation tillage reduces soil erosion by not stirring up the soil quite to much as traditional tillage and by leaving residue from previous crops on the soil surface to reduce erosion losses by wind and water. Sustainable Agriculture is NOT the same thing as organic farming. A farm does not usually have to completely convert to organic methods to be environmentally sound enough to continue production, profitability and natural resource protection for future generations. These are just a few quick examples of many aspects of sustainable agriculture. To learn more, check out the links below.
Related links:
Sustainable Agriculture Network
Florida Plants Online Sustainable Agriculture Homepage - lots of links