| Автор | Poincelot, Raymond P. |
| Дата выпуска | 1990 |
| dc.description | Agriculture in the United States has been successful in terms of productivity, assets, and employment. Maintaining our agriculture, however, is becoming more cosily in terms of declining resources and offsite environmental damage. Some of the very technology enhancing productivity is part of the cause. Over half the energy costs to produce U.S. crops are for fertilizers and fuel for farm machinery. Tillage and irrigation often bring about heavy soil erosion and water pollution. Some pesticides used to protect our crops may pollute the water supply. Valuable water resources are diminished by heavy irrigation. Adaptation of crops to our current agricultural systems leads to germplasm uniformity. While most practices and technologies that maintain current cannot be abandoned, some modifications are needed to promote a more sustainable agriculture. Presently, U.S. agriculture is in transition. A trend to adopt practices that favor reduced inputs and costs has appeared. Such practices also conserve resources and lead to less pollution. Prime examples include conservation tillage, integrated pest management, drip irrigation, and computer-assisted management. Future hopes for new technologies stress biotechnology and alternate energy sources. Our current transition is likely to lead to a new breed of farmer, one who will be computer-literate, efficient at managing scarce resources, and adept at choosing the appropriate high technology. The future farm will likely maintain high productivity, utilize some organic farming practices, and depend upon internal resources. Farming practices will be chosen specifically to conform closely to local conditions, regional availability, and goals of the farm family. |
| Формат | application.pdf |
| Издатель | Taylor & Francis Group |
| Копирайт | Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC |
| Название | Agriculture in Transition |
| Тип | research-article |
| DOI | 10.1300/J064v01n01_03 |
| Electronic ISSN | 1540-7578 |
| Print ISSN | 1044-0046 |
| Журнал | Journal of Sustainable Agriculture |
| Том | 1 |
| Первая страница | 9 |
| Последняя страница | 40 |
| Аффилиация | Poincelot, Raymond P.; Senior Editor for Food Products Press, Editor for the Journal of Sustainable Agriculture and Series on Sustainable Food, Fiber, and Forestry Systems, Department of Biology, Fairfield University, Fairfield, CT, 06430 |
| Выпуск | 1 |
