800-346-9140 MAKING THE TRANSITION TO SUSTAINABLE FARMING Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas FUNDAMENTALS OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE www.attra.ncat.org ATTRA is the national sustainable agriculture information center funded by the USDA’s Rural Business -- Cooperative Service. Sustainable farming is a management-intensive It is widely agreed that a truly sustainable farm method of growing crops at a profit while system must be sustainable economically, concurrently minimizing negative impact on the ecologically and socially: environment, improving soil health, increasing biological diversity, and controlling pests. To be economically sustainable, farms should Sustainable agriculture is dependent on a whole- generate sufficient equitable returns to support system approach having as its focus the long- farm families and to provide an economic base term health of the land. As such, it concentrates for the surrounding community. on long-term solutions to problems instead of short-term treatment of symptoms. One result of To be ecologically sustainable, farming methods such a strategy is that use of agricultural must be modeled on nature to foster energy flow, chemicals and similar inputs is reduced, though effective water and mineral cycles, and viable not necessarily eliminated. As a consequence, community dynamics. the land develops diversity and resiliency that further reduce the need for agricultural ✔ Energy flow is enhanced through increased chemicals. capture of solar energy and strategies to effectively utilize and store it. Off-season ❁❁❁❁ CONTENTS ❁❁❁❁ cover crops, perennial vegetation and relay planting are among the tools for capturing Planning and Decision Making ..........................2 Rotations and Cover Crops...............................3 more sunlight; feeding livestock on-farm and Composts, Manures and Fertilizers ...................4 carefully managing soil organic matter are Weed and Pest Management ...........................5 means of conserving and storing it. Key Ideas for Transition...................................8 Final Note.......................................................9 Strategies that conserve fossil-based fuels References .....................................................9 and/or substitute renewable energy sources also contribute positively to energy flow. IS A PROJECT OF THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY ✔ Water cycling is improved through Several useful processes for decision making, strategies and techniques that prevent goal formation, and whole farm management erosion, increase the infiltration and have been developed. The Kerr Center for water-holding potential of the soil, and Sustainable Agriculture, for example, has reduce contamination of water resources developed 10 criteria for wholistic evaluation of by pesticides, fertilizers, and suspended farming systems (1). A more comprehensive matter. approach called Holistic Management is more widely known and practiced, however. Both ✔ The mineral cycle is fostered by the processes (and others like them) guide the farmer cycling and recycling of wastes on-farm. through an evaluation procedure to test the On-farm feeding of livestock is especially suitability of tools and enterprises for the useful, as is the careful management of crop operation. residues, the use of catch crops to reduce leaching losses, and practices that prevent One key element of success in the transition to wind and water erosion. sustainable farming is the farmer’s ability to monitor both progress towards the goal and the ✔ Effective community dynamics is overall health of the system. It is advisable to encouraged through increased biodiversity. assume that one’s plan will not work and develop Crop rotation, companion planting, strip a system for determining (as soon as possible) if cropping, and the integration of livestock indeed it isn’t working. For example, if the goal and crop enterprises are all means of includes increased biodiversity, the farmer needs increasing farm biodiversity. Community to know—quickly—if the grazing management dynamics is also enhanced by the system being used is actually decreasing the appropriate introduction of perennial number of plant species per acre; or if hiring a crops and trees where possible. neighbor to combine grain is more economical than personal combine ownership. To be socially sustainable, agriculture should promote the physical, spiritual, cultural, and The ability to evaluate and replan is a vital tool economic health of farm families and for the farmer wishing to become more communities. sustainable. When part of the plan is not working as intended, it becomes necessary to Sustainable agriculture is neither high technology replan and reflect the new conditions. This nor low technology, rather it is appropriate conceptthe idea of planning−monitoring− technology; and unlike the conventional controlling−replanningis a key characteristic of approaches of the late 20th century it varies Holistic Management and is referred to as the considerably with each farm and farmer. In place feedback loop. of the prescriptions characteristic of conventional agriculture, the modern farmer has access to An international organization, the Center for descriptions of new, innovative, and highly Holistic Management, has several publications on effective approaches that can be applied to Holistic Management, and offers a series of virtually any farm situation from micro-scale courses that may be quite helpful to farm families vegetable growers to large-scale cash crop moving towards sustainable farming (2). farmers. The transition towards more sustainable farming Planning And Decision Making requires not only more responsibility for decision making on the part of the farmer, but also access Because sustainable producers are much more to appropriate and helpful information. sensitive to the complexity of healthy natural Fortunately, increased interest in sustainable systems, effective management depends on clear agriculture has stimulated greater investment in goal-setting and effective decision making. research and education. As a result, much more usable information is available today than ever // MAKING THE TRANSITION TO SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE Page 2 before. Access to this information can be made will, in any case, have a noticeable impact on through various means, one of them being cash flow; if expenses do not decrease at least as ATTRA. In addition to its publications and much as income decreases, there will also be a custom reports on production and marketing, negative impact on net income. Therefore, ATTRA also provides resource lists covering careful planning is essential to avoid negative sustainable agriculture organizations, educational results. programs, internships, and related resources. Please consult the ATTRA Materials List for a In planning rotation options it is also important detailed publications listing. to consider that cultivated row crops, such as corn and beans or vegetables, tend, by their Hiring a consultant can also pay off well, nature, to be soil-degrading crops especially in especially in the early years of transition. A warmer climates. Since the soil is open and study by Iowa State University Extension (3) cultivated between rows, microbes break down reports that 59% of farmers hiring a consultant soil organic matter at a more rapid pace. reported an increase in profits and attributed that Furthermore, row crops have modest root increase to their consultant. However, be certain systems and consequently do not contribute to check credentials and ask for references before enough new organic matter to replace that lost making a commitment. from the open soil between rows; in most cases above-ground crop residues make only minor Rotations And Cover Crops contributions to replacing lost organic matter. A continuous CORN-BEAN-CORN-BEAN "rotation" Crop rotation, the planned sequencing of crops can, therefore, lead to soil degradation similar to over time on a field, is one of the cornerstone that found in systems of continuous corn techniques of sustainable farming. Rotating production. Cropping continuous vegetables has crops diversifies farm income, increases the a roughly similar effect. biodiversity of the farm organism both within and on top of the soil, breaks many weed and A noteworthy challenge in sustainable row-crop other pest life cycles, improves nutrient cycling production is that reduction of herbicide use may and utilization especially where legumes are lead to increased tillage (for weed control). used to fix nitrogenand provides the Unless great care is taken, this may actually result opportunity for soil building where sod crops are in a loss of organic matter comparable to that of employed. similar conventional systems. Consequently, it is important to develop production systems that Crop rotation improves overall soil health and reduce tillage in a manner consistent with increases farm system diversity through time and effective weed control. Careful timing, for across space. Good rotations are sufficiently long example, can substantially reduce the number of and diverse to minimize pressure from weeds, cultivations required each season. insects, and diseases. Whereas conventional production seeks to maximize the productivity of Management of soil organic matter is especially an individual crop with agricultural chemicals, the important in sustainable systems particularly sustainable approach makes the whole system where row cropping is involved.