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What is the
sustainable ag? |
"Sustainable" means many things to many
people. The law that created the Leopold Center defines a
sustainable agriculture as one that maintains "economic and
social viability while preserving the high productivity and
quality of Iowa's land."
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In general, sustainable agriculture
addresses the ecological, economic and social
aspects of agriculture. To be sustainable, agriculture can
operate only when the environment, its caretakers and
surrounding communities are healthy.
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Sustainable agriculture, as defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the 1990 Farm Bill:
"...over the long term, satisfy human needs, enhance environmental quality and natural resource base, make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and integrate natural biological processes, sustain
economic viability, and enhance
quality of life."
Another definition comes from the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program of the USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES).
Sustainable agriculture refers to an agricultural production and distribution system that:
• Achieves the integration of natural biological cycles and controls,
• Protects and renews soil fertility and the natural resource base,
• Optimizes the management and use of on-farm resources,
• Reduces the use of nonrenewable resources and purchased production inputs,
• Provides an adequate and dependable farm income,
• Promotes opportunity in family farming and farm communities, and
• Minimizes adverse impacts on health, safety, wildlife, water quality and the environment.
Read more in SARE’s
Exploring Sustainability in Agriculture
[PDF].
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Wendell Berry may have said it best
years ago when he defined sustainable agriculture as
"agriculture that does not deplete soils or
people."
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The Center's first director, Dennis
Keeney, outlined key components of sustainable
agriculture in 1989:
Interdependence also is important in sustainable agriculture, according to professor emeritus
John Ikerd, University of Missouri:
A sustainable
agriculture must be economically viable, socially
responsible, and ecologically sound. The economic, social,
and ecological are interrelated, and all are essential to
sustainability.
An agriculture that
uses up or degrades its natural resource base, or pollutes
the natural environment, eventually will lost its ability to
produce. It's not sustainable.
An agriculture that
isn't profitable, at least over time, will not allow its
farmers to stay in business. It's not sustainable.
An agriculture that
fails to meet the needs of society, as producers and
citizens as well as consumers, will not be sustained by
society. It's not sustainable.
A sustainable agriculture must
be all three -- ecologically sound,
economically viable, and socially responsible.
And the three must be in harmony.
Gail Feenstra, food systems analyst
at the University of California-Davis Sustainable
Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP), notes
these
recurring themes in sustainable agriculture:
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Stewardship of both natural and
human resources to meet the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs
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Systems perspective from individual fields and
farms to local ecosystems and communities affected both
locally and globally
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Transition to
sustainable agriculture is a process
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Reaching the goal of
sustainable agriculture is the responsibility of all
participants in the system
The Library of Congress offers an excellent annotated bibliography on sustainable agriculture
that lists selected research papers and dissertations, handbooks, web sites, conference proceedings and governmental publications
on the topic.
More
The National Ag Library also offers
an excellent overview of sustainable agriculture.
More
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