Hole in ground showing healthy soil with person in work clothes standing above it
Colette Kessler/USDA NRCS南达科他州

可持续农业

美国的食品生产正处于十字路口.

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美国的食品生产正处于十字路口.

几十年来,, the public policies and big corporations that shape our food and agricultural system have pressed farmers to manage their land like food factories—places where inputs in the form of seed, 肥料, 农药, or animal feed are converted to outputs in the form of marketable food products.

This model of agriculture is marked by practices such as monoculture (planting the same one or two crops over a large area year after year), 孤立地饲养庄稼和牲畜的, and leaving farmland bare and vulnerable to erosion and nutrient loss between commercial crops.

工业化模式忽略了一个至关重要的事实:农场是生态系统的综合体, 生物相互依赖的网络. 农民通过管理他们的生态系统来有效地生产粮食,从而取得成功. 但如果我们想要这种成功长期持续下去, 我们还必须可持续地管理农业生态系统, 培养他们的韧性和自我再生能力.

恢复土壤健康

Multiple generations of industrial farming have taken a toll on one of our most precious resources: the “dirt” beneath our feet.

Healthy soil is a rich, complex system teeming with microbial and invertebrate life. This diverse biological community performs vital services to maintain the soil’s chemical balance and physical structure so that it can continue producing a rich harvest for generations to come.

Industrial agriculture damages soil through practices that deplete its organic matter and degrade its structure. The result is farmland that needs heavy doses of 肥料 to be productive, 容易受到侵蚀和径流污染水道, and is increasingly vulnerable to 洪水 and droughts—a vulnerability that will only worsen as climate change impacts grow more severe.

The solutions are out there: reduce plowing; protect soil year-round with cover crops and more complex crop rotations; incorporate deep-rooted plants on and around farms to hold nutrients and water (while also providing habitat for wildlife and pollinators).

越来越多的农民, 借助农业生态617888九五至尊娱乐, are taking on the challenge of using these methods to rebuild healthy soils.

多样化的农场景观

“保持简单”通常是个好建议. But when you’re trying to manage a healthy farm ecosystem, it’s a recipe for failure. 自然系统是多样而复杂的, 可持续农场经营旨在反映和培育这种复杂性.

以效率的名义过度简化景观, 工业化农业使农场生态系统变得贫瘠. This creates resource deficits that farmers must make up through heavy application of 肥料s and 农药, 造成严重的环境后果.

而不是, 可持续农业与自然共存, using practices such as uncultivated “prairie strips” and integrated crop/livestock management to increase biodiversity and keep the farm ecosystem healthy. 这大大减少了对化学品投入的需求, 从长远来看,使农场更具活力和生产力.

建立617888九五至尊娱乐适应能力

617888九五至尊娱乐 change is hitting farmers hard already, and it’s only going to get worse. 干旱, 洪水, 极端高温和其他617888九五至尊娱乐影响将对农业国家造成严重破坏, 减少产量, 日益严重的侵蚀和污染, 并威胁到农民的生意和我们的食物供应.

The predominant industrial agriculture model has left farms even more vulnerable to climate impacts. But policies and tools that support farmers in adopting science-based sustainable practices can make agriculture more resilient and adaptable, ensuring that farmers—and our food supply—can withstand climate challenges.

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