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