What can SWCS do to speed development and adoption of sustainable systems? Sustainable agriculture is central to the missions of the Society and its members relative to education, research, and policy activities. It is crucial that policies and programs support and enhance ways to speed development and adoption of sustainable agricultural systems that meet the demand for food and fiber, while maintaining the economic viability of the producer who controls and manages the land.
Most complex issues in our society defy precise definition. Sustainable agriculture is no exception. Rather than attempt to put boundaries on a definition, we propose to use the description in the 1990 U.S. Farm Bill:
"...an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will, over the long-term (A) satisfy human food and fiber needs; (B) enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agricultural economy depends; (C) make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate, wherever appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls; (D) sustain the economic viability of farm operations; and (E) enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole" (U.S. Congress, Food, Agriculture, Conservation and Trade Act of 1990, Title XVI, Research Subtitle A, Section 1602).
This description encompasses the entire spectrum of issues facing agriculture today: environmental, economic, and social with the overlapping requirement for adequate food production. Of the issues in the FACTA description, two most directly concern SWCS; namely (B) the environmental quality and natural resource base issues and (C) the use of appropriate biological controls and cycling in the practices of farming and ranching.
A productive, profitable agriculture cannot continue to exist if it does not sustain the soil, water, air, and biological systems in a productive state. Numerous civilizations in the past have failed because the soil and water resources were damaged beyond the point of productive use. However, these civilizations did not have access to our knowledge of agronomic and ecological systems. This knowledge points out that we cannot continue to rely on nonrenewable resource inputs including fossil fuels, pesticides, and fertilizers that mask yield-depressing effects of soil degradation, mine the soil resource, and degrade the surrounding ecosystem.
Population pressures today in many countries are pushing the food production system to the limit. This results in soils, water, and even entire ecosystems being severely damaged. These ecosystems will be difficult and costly to restore, if restoration is even possible.
Gains in the adoption of soil conservation practices have prevented large losses in soils due to erosion, and protected water quality while enhancing yields. However, much remains to be done to improve on our present methods of agricultural production and to provide technologies that both protect the environment and are useable in today's agricultural systems.
More and more the public worldwide is expecting greater environmental goods and services from agriculture. These products are hard to define and price but they encompass wildlife for pleasure and hunting, well-cared-for working landscapes, and clean water and air, among others. These expectations can be enhanced with a sustainable agricultural resource base.
Agriculture over the past 4,000 years relied heavily on labor and management and less on inputs of chemicals and mechanical aids to maintain and expand yields. The technology base that was applied to societies to lessen the drudgery and lower the risk of damage or death to its citizens also was applied to agriculture. Only in the very recent past, around 1940, did the use of fertilizers and pesticides begin to dominate farming in industrialized nations, and particularly in North America. These technologies, when applied to crops bred to take advantage of the greater inputs, markedly increased yields. It is not likely that North American agriculture will ever again see such a large magnitude gain in yield from technological advances, despite continued scientific developments in areas such as plant and animal genetics.
However, these modern farming techniques have also had unintended consequences. Soil erosion increased, fragile lands were brought into production, water quality deteriorated, biological diversity was lessened, and surpluses accumulated. Lower net returns to farming due to surplus production along with labor saving techniques accelerated the exodus of farmers from agriculture. Many agricultural systems, particularly those involving animals, have incorporated industrial models to enhance efficiency and decrease risk. Risk is perhaps the major barrier to adoption of sustainable practices. For example, it is recognized that incorporating biological pest controls into agriculture management systems can reduce reliance on non-renewable inputs and lead to a more sustainable agricultural system. However, there may be an initial increased risk to a producer switching from a more chemical intensive system to one that adopts biological controls. Additional research and the subsequent transfer of research results will generate information to help minimize such risks.
Farming and ranching have an inherently high financial risk. Yields and profit margins are subject to the vagaries of weather, markets, and changing government policies. Crops and animals are continually challenged by pests. Some risks are carried, in part, by government programs. But others must be borne by farm management. Many of the environmental problems such as groundwater contamination, soil erosion, and the decline in biodiversity, can be traced to the overuse of management strategies in the attempt to reduce risk. For example, management strategies such as monoculture production (cultivation of a single crop such as wheat, corn, or cotton on an individual farm or throughout a region), have been supported by government programs. Monoculture systems were promoted, in part, to minimize financial risks associated with changing markets. Yet these systems that attempt to reduce some forms of risk also have unintended consequences for soil and water quality. Many of the methods and programs designed to minimize risks are barriers to adoption of sustainable farming systems.
The Soil and Water Conservation Society adopts the following policy positions:
1. Research, education, and policy initiatives should be directed to reducing the barriers to development and adoption of more sustainable agricultural systems.
This can be done in the following way:
2. Develop a realistic approach to providing relative costs and benefits to adoption of sustainable practices. These costs and benefits should include economic, environmental, rural development, and social well-being.
3. Form new partnerships in agriculture that encompass the concerns of the many groups with a stake in sustainability.
DATE
Adopted by the SWCS Board of Directors on August 5, 1995
POSITION CONTACT
Norm Berg, SWCS (202) 659-5668
Michele Frome, SWCS (301) 593-7814, email mfrome@swcs.org
James P. Bruce, SWCS (613) 731-5929, email jpbruce@swcs.org