Farm Futures Publishes Special Issue on Sustainable Farming
Special report aims to move U.S. farmers toward practices that raise profits and shelter resources for long-term productivity.
Mike Wilson
Published: Jul 18, 2011
Global agriculture faces tremendous challenges that must be addressed if farmers hope to feed 9 billion people by 2050 without harming our food-producing resource base. That's why Farm Futures is publishing a special issue this week, The Greening of U.S. Agriculture. The "Extra 2011" issue is sponsored by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation.
 Sustainable practices are simply profitable management techniques that boost yield and profits, yet lower costs and conserve resources. The issue is chock-full of ideas and examples from real-world farm operations.
The issue aims to show readers how sustainable practices can lower production costs, boost organic matter, lower risk of unneeded regulations, align commercial farming with consumer interests, and position U.S. farmers to feed the planet.
It also includes results of an exclusive Farm Futures survey of 1,000 growers that found those on the cutting edge of conservation are actually more profitable than other producers.
"The public believes that farmers are destroying their land base, and they may be right," says soil conservation consultant Mike Plumer. "Sustainable practices don't mean organic, they mean maintaining soil quality and productivity for generations. Our soils have significantly degraded over the past 100 years."
The success of agriculture is astonishing, but there's a new sense of urgency in how farmers provide life-sustaining nourishment. As this report points out, new challenges must be addressed, through research, policy change, and on-farm practices. Addressing the food and nutrition needs of a growing population is the defining challenge of this century.
To see the issue in electronic form, go to 2011 Extra
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