When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers, therefore,
are the founders of human civilization.
Daniel Webster, Remarks on Agriculture
How long has man been farming?
• Our planet is around 5 billion years old• Man (Homo sapiens) have been around for 100-
200, 000 years• Man has been farming for around 10, 000 years• Agriculture is the world's largest economic
sector. • On a worldwide basis, more people are involved
in agriculture than in all the other occupations combined.
What is sustainable agriculture?
• An integrated system of plant and animal production practices that over the long term:
• satisfy human food and fiber needs• enhance environmental quality and the natural resource
base upon which the agricultural economy depends • make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources
and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls
• sustain the economic viability of farm operations • enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a
whole.
Farming 101• The basic processes
of farming include:• preparing the land• Fertilization• Irrigation• weed and pest
control.
Preparing the land• Machinery powered by
fossil fuels prepare the soil
•Plowing was done by the farmer or draft animals
Fertilizing
• Fertilizer was animal manure
• Synthetic Fertilizer
Irrigation
• Irrigation involved water flowing through ditches
• Modern overhead irrigation
Removing weeds
• Weeds were removed by hand
• Synthetic herbicides
Controlling pests
• Biological control • Pesticide sprayer
http://www.wpro.who.int/hse/pages/agriculturallist.html
Harvest
• Harvesting corn by hand
• Combining corn
Precision agriculture - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJcrDRnuLCU
Conventional Corn in Iowa
• May 16, 2007 32,000 treated corn seeds/acre planted
• May 17, 2007 fertilized with145 lbs Nitrogen/acre along with 2.25 oz/acre of Balance Pro™ herbicide.
• June 25 sprayed with 0.66 oz/acre of Accent, (herbicide) 1 pt/acre of Buctril, (herbicide) 4 oz/acre of NIS, and 1.5 lbs/acre of AMS (herbicide).
• October 29th harvest (188bu/acre)
Iowa Agriculture
• Over 90% of Iowa’s land is used for agriculture
• Iowa ranks 1st in the U.S. for corn and soybean production
• There are 13.9 million acres of corn in Iowa with a value of $9.47 billion
• Iowa is home to 19.2 million hogs• Iowa chickens produced 13.9 billion eggs
in 2007
What is all this corn for?
• Animal feed• Ethanol• Of 10 000 items in a
grocery store, how many contain corn?
• 2 500• Corn syrup, cornmeal,
cornstarch, sorbitol, medicines, cosmetics, xanthan gum
The changing nature of farming
• There are 5 million fewer farms in the U.S. than there were in the 1930’s
• Between 1974 and 2002, the number of corporate-owned U.S. farms increased by more than 46 percent.
• The U.S. has the cheapest food in the world
• At what cost?
Is conventional agriculture sustainable?
Ecological concerns include:• Loss of soil organic matter• Erosion• Non-point source pollution• Eutrophication• Salinization• Water scarcity• Loss of wetlands• Pesticide resistance• Reduced genetic diversity
Economic and social concerns include:
• Increasing numbers of agri-businesses
• Loss of family farms• Loss of rural
communities and local markets
• Urban sprawl
Health concerns
• Pesticide residues in food
• Antibiotic resistance due to over use in animal production
• Farm workers poisoned by farm chemicals
• Pesticide drift
• Nitrate contamination of drinking water