It has been suggested that Small-scale agriculture be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

Sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals: environmental stewardship, farm profitability, and prosperous farming communities. These goals have been defined by a variety of disciplines and may be looked at from the vantage point of the farmer or the consumer. Image File history File links Mergefrom. ... Small-scale agriculture is an alternative to factory farming or more broadly, intensive agriculture or unsustainable farming methods that are prevalent in primarily first world countries. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Look up stewardship in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Farm (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Farming, ploughing rice paddy, in Indonesia Agriculture is the process of producing food, feed, fiber and other desired products by cultivation of certain plants and the raising of domesticated animals (livestock). ... A community is a social group of organisms sharing an environment, normally with shared interests. ... Contents   Overviews   Academia   Topics   Basic topics   Glossaries   Portals   Categories // This is a list of academic disciplines. ... For other uses, see Farmer (disambiguation). ... Consumers refers to individuals or households that purchase and use goods and services generated within the economy. ...

"It's easy to understand why key individuals and organizations in agriculture have flocked to this term. After all, who would advocate a 'non-sustainable agriculture?'" - Charles A. Francis. ^[1]

Description

Agriculture General Agribusiness · Agriculture Agricultural science · Agronomy Animal husbandry Extensive farming Factory farming · Free range Green Revolution History of agriculture Industrial agriculture Intensive farming · Organic farming Permaculture Sustainable agriculture Urban agriculture Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 644 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (900 × 838 pixel, file size: 187 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... In agriculture, agribusiness is a generic term that refers to the various businesses involved in the food production chain, including farming, seed, agrichemicals, farm machinery, wholesaling, processing, distribution, and retail sales. ... Agricultural science is a broad multidisciplinary field that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic, and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. ... Agronomy is a branch of agricultural science that deals with the study of crops and the soils in which they grow. ... Shepherd with his sheep in FăgăraÅŸ Mountains, Romania. ... The small pig farm in Swiss mountains. ... The factual accuracy of part of this article is disputed. ... Free range is a method of farming husbandry where the animals are permitted to roam freely instead of being contained in small sheds. ... The Green Revolution is a term used to describe the worldwide transformation of agriculture that led to significant increases in agricultural production between the 1940s and 1960s. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... These female brood sows are confined most of their lives in gestation crates too small to enable them to turn around. ... Intensive Farming Intensive agriculture is an agricultural production system characterized by the high inputs as relative to land area (as opposed to extensive farming). ... Organic farming is a form of agriculture which avoids or largely excludes the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, plant growth regulators, and livestock feed additives. ... Permaculture Mandala summarising the ethics and principles of permaculture design. ... Urban (or peri-urban) agriculture is the practice of agriculture (including crops, livestock, fisheries, and forestry activities) within or surrounding the boundaries of cities. ... Particular Aquaculture · Christmas trees · Dairy farming Grazing · Hydroponics · IMTA Intensive pig farming · Lumber Maize · Orchard Poultry farming · Ranching · Rice Sheep husbandry · Soybean System of Rice Intensification Wheat Workers harvest catfish from the Delta Pride Catfish farms in Mississippi General Agribusiness · Agriculture Agricultural science · Agronomy Animal husbandry Challenges of industrial farming Extensive farming Factory farming · Free range Green Revolution History of agriculture Industrial agriculture Industrial agriculture (animals) Industrial agriculture (crops) Intensive farming · Organic farming Permaculture Sustainable agriculture Zero... A Christmas tree farmer in the U.S. state of Florida explains the pruning and shearing process of cultivation to a government employee. ... Dairy farming is a class of agricultural, or more properly, an animal husbandry enterprise, raising female cattle, goats, or other lactating animals for long-term production of milk, which may be either processed on-site or transported to a dairy for processing and eventual retail sale. ... Grazing To feed on growing herbage, attached algae, or phytoplankton. ... NASA researcher checking hydroponic onions with Bibb lettuce to his left and radishes to the right Example of Autotrophic Metabolism [1] Hydroponics is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions instead of soil. ... Harvesting of kelp (Saccharina latissima, previously known as Laminaria saccharina) cultivated in proximity to Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) at Charlie Cove, Bay of Fundy, Canada. ... Intensively farmed pigs in batch pens Intensive piggeries (or hog lots) are a type of factory farm specialized for the raising of domestic pigs up to slaughter weight. ... Timber in storage for later processing at a sawmill Lumber or Timber is a term used to describe wood, either standing or that has been processed for use—from the time trees are felled, to its end product as a material suitable for industrial use—as structural material for construction... This article is about the maize plant. ... A community apple orchard originally planted for productive use during the 1920s, in Westcliff on Sea (Essex, England) An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs maintained for food production. ... Poultry farming is the practice of raising poultry, such as chickens, turkeys, ducks geese, as a subcategory of animal husbandry, for the purpose of farming meat or eggs for food. ... This article is about a type of land use and method of raising livestock. ... For other uses, see Rice (disambiguation). ... Australian Sheep Sheep husbandry is the raising and breeding of domestic sheep. ... Binomial name (L.) Merr. ... The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is a method of increasing the yield of rice produced in farming. ... Species T. aestivum T. boeoticum T. compactum T. dicoccoides T. dicoccon T. durum T. monococcum T. spelta T. sphaerococcum T. timopheevii References:   ITIS 42236 2002-09-22 For the indie rock group see: Wheat (band). ... Issues Animal rights · Animal welfare Antibiotics Battery cage · Biosecurity · BSE Crop rotation Ethical consumerism Environmental science Foie gras Foodborne illness Foot-and-mouth disease Genetically modified food Gestation crate Growth hormone Pesticide Veal crates Water conservation Weed control For the album by Moby, see Animal Rights (album). ... Animal welfare is the viewpoint that animals, especially those under human care, should not suffer unnecessarily, including where the animals are used for food, work, companionship, or research. ... An antibiotic is a drug that kills or slows the growth of bacteria. ... Battery Cage is an American electronic music project led by Tyler Newman. ... A biosecurity guarantee attempts to ensure that ecologies sustaining either people or animals are maintained. ... Classic image of a cow with BSE. Source: APHIS Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is a fatal, neurodegenerative disease of cattle, which infects by a mechanism that surprised biologists upon its discovery in the late 20th century. ... Satellite image of circular crop fields in Haskell County, Kansas in late June 2001. ... Ethical consumerism is buying things that are made ethically. ... Environmental science is the study of the interactions among the physical, chemical and biological components of the environment; with a focus on pollution and degradation of the environment related to human activities; and the impact on biodiversity and sustainability from local and global development. ... Pâté de foie gras (right) with pickled pear. ... A foodborne illness (also foodborne disease) is any illness resulting from the consumption of food. ... Not to be confused with hand, foot and mouth disease. ... Genetically Modified (GM) foods are produced from genetically modified organisms (GMO) which have had their genome altered through genetic engineering techniques. ... Female pigs used for breeding are confined in 7 ft by 2 ft gestation crates for most of their lives. ... Growth hormone (GH or somatotropin) is a 191-amino acid, single chain polypeptide hormone which is synthesised, stored and secreted by the somatotroph cells within the lateral wings of the anterior pituitary gland, which stimulates growth and cell reproduction in humans and other animals. ... A cropduster spreading pesticide. ... Veal is the meat of young calves (usually male) appreciated for its delicate taste and tender texture. ... Water conservation refers to reducing use of fresh water, through technological or social methods. ... Weed control, a botanical component of pest control, stops weeds from reaching a mature stage of growth when they could be harmful to domesticated plants, sometimes livestocks, by using manual techniques including soil cultivation, mulching and herbicides. ... Large corporations Bernard Matthews Cargill ContiGroup Companies Maple Leaf Foods Monsanto Philip Morris Smithfield Foods Tyson Foods Wayne Farms Bernard Matthews is a food processing company headquartered in Norwich, Norfolk, with 57 farms throughout Norfolk, Suffolk and Lincolnshire [1]. They produce and market turkey and other meat products, oven-ready turkeys, day-old turkeys, fish products and other poultry products. ... Cargill, Incorporated is a privately held, multinational corporation, and is based in the state of Minnesota in the United States. ... Formed in 1813, ContiGroup Companies, Inc (CGC) was originally founded by Simon Fribourg in Arlon, Belgium as a grain-trading firm. ... Maple Leaf Foods TSX: MFI is a major Canadian food processing company. ... The Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) is a multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation. ... Altria Group, Inc. ... Smithfield Packing Company was founded in 1936 by Joseph W. Luter and his son Joseph W. Luter, Jr. ... Tyson Foods, Inc. ... Formerly operating under Allied Mills, the Poultry Division of ContiGroup Companies, Wayne Farms LLC is the sixth largest vertically integrated producer and processor of poultry in the United States. ... Categories Agriculture by country Agriculture companies Agriculture companies, U.S. Biotechnology Farming history Livestock Meat processing Poultry farming Agropedia Portal

Sustainable agriculture refers to the ability of a farm to produce food indefinitely, without causing irreversible damage to ecosystem health. Two key issues are biophysical (the long-term effects of various practices on soil properties and processes essential for crop productivity) and socio-economic (the long-term ability of farmers to obtain inputs and manage resources such as labor). Image File history File links Portal. ...

The physical aspects of sustainability are partly understood (Altieri 1995). Practices that can cause long-term damage to soil include excessive tillage (leading to erosion) and irrigation without adequate drainage (leading to accumulation of salt in the soil). Long-term experiments provide some of the best data on how various practices affect soil properties essential to sustainability. Severe soil erosion in a wheat field near Washington State University, USA. For erosion as an operation of Mathematical morphology, see Erosion (morphology) Erosion is displacement of solids (soil, mud, rock and other particles) by the agents of ocean currents, wind, water, or ice by downward or down-slope movement... Several agricultural field experiments have run for more than 100 years, but much shorter experiments may qualify as long-term in other disciplines. ...

While air and sunlight are generally available in most geographic locations, crops also depend on soil nutrients and the availability of water. When farmers grow and harvest crops, they remove some of these nutrients from the soil. Without replenishment, the land would suffer from nutrient depletion and be unusable for further farming. Sustainable agriculture depends on replenishing the soil while minimizing the use of non-renewable resources, such as natural gas (used in converting atmospheric nitrogen into synthetic fertilizer), or mineral ores (e.g., phosphate). Possible sources of nitrogen that would, in principle, be available indefinitely, include: Look up air in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Prism splitting light High Resolution Solar Spectrum Sunlight in the broad sense is the total spectrum of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun. ... Agriculture (encompassing farming, grazing, and the tending of orchards, vineyards and timberland) is the production of food, feed, fiber and other goods by the systematic raising of plants and animals. ... Loess field in Germany Surface-water-gley developed in glacial till, Northern Ireland Technically, soil forms the pedosphere: the interface between the lithosphere (rocky part of the planet) and the biosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere. ... Nutrients and the body A nutrient is any element or compound necessary for or contributing to an organisms metabolism, growth, or other functioning. ... Water resources are sources of water that are useful or potentially useful to humans. ... Look up Harvest in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

1. recycling crop waste and livestock or human manure
2. growing legume crops and forages such as, peanuts, or alfalfa that form symbioses with nitrogen-fixing bacteria called rhizobia
3. industrial production of nitrogen by the Haber Process uses hydrogen, which is currently derived from natural gas, but could instead be made by electrolysis of water using electricity (perhaps from solar cells or windmills) or
4. genetically engineering (non-legume) crops to form nitrogen-fixing symbioses or fix nitrogen without microbial symbionts.

The last option was proposed in the 1970s, but would be well beyond the capability of current (2007) technology, even if various concerns about biotechnology were addressed. Sustainable options for replacing other nutrient inputs (phosphorus, potassium, etc.) are more limited. Sheep are commonly bred as livestock. ... Humanure is a neologism designating human waste (feces and urine) that is recycled via composting for agricultural or other purposes. ... Animal manure is often a mixture of animals feces and bedding straw, as in this example from a stable. ... Varieties of soybean seeds, a popular legume Pea pods A legume is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or a fruit of these plants. ... Binomial name L. This article is about the legume. ... For the Our Gang (Little Rascals) character, see Carl Switzer. ... Nitrogen fixation is the process by which nitrogen is taken from its relatively inert molecular form (N2) in the atmosphere and converted into nitrogen compounds (such as, notably, ammonia, nitrate and nitrogen dioxide)[1] useful for other chemical processes. ... Phyla Actinobacteria Aquificae Chlamydiae Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi Chloroflexi Chrysiogenetes Cyanobacteria Deferribacteres Deinococcus-Thermus Dictyoglomi Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria Firmicutes Fusobacteria Gemmatimonadetes Lentisphaerae Nitrospirae Planctomycetes Proteobacteria Spirochaetes Thermodesulfobacteria Thermomicrobia Thermotogae Verrucomicrobia Bacteria (singular: bacterium) are unicellular microorganisms. ... Soybean root nodules, each containing billions of Bradyrhizobium bacteria Rhizobia (from the Greek words riza = root and bios = Life) are soil bacteria that fix nitrogen (diazotrophy) after becoming established inside root nodules of legumes (Fabaceae). ... The Haber Process (also known as Haber–Bosch process) is the reaction of nitrogen and hydrogen to produce ammonia. ... This article is about the chemical process. ...

In some areas, sufficient rainfall is available for crop growth, but many other areas require irrigation. For irrigation systems to be sustainable they must be managed properly (to avoid salt accumulation) and not use more water from their source than is naturally replenished, otherwise the water source becomes, in effect, a non-renewable resource. Improvements in water well drilling technology and the development of submersible pumps have made it possible for large crops to be regularly grown where reliance on rainfall alone previously made this level of success unpredictable. However, this progress has come at a price, in that in many areas where this has occurred, such as the Ogallala Aquifer, the water is being used at a greater rate than its rate of recharge. Irrigation is the artificial application of water to the soil usually for assisting in growing crops. ... A submersible pump is a pump which has a hermetically sealed motor close-coupled to the pump body. ... The Ogallala aquifer underlies portions of eight states. ...

Socioeconomic aspects of sustainability are also partly understood. Regarding nonindustrialized farming, the best known analysis is Netting's (1993) study on smallholder systems through history.

Economics

Given the finite supply of natural resources, agriculture that is inefficient may eventually exhaust the available resources or the ability to afford and acquire them. It may also generate negative externality, such as pollution as well as financial and production costs. Agriculture that relies mainly on inputs that are extracted from the earth's crust or produced by society, contributes to the depletion and degradation of the environment. Despite this continuing practice, unsustainable agriculture continues because it is financially more cost-effective than sustainable agriculture in the short term. In economics, an externality is a cost or benefit resulting from an economic transaction that is borne or received by parties not directly involved in the transaction. ...

In an economic context, the need for the farm to generate revenue depends on the extent to which it is market oriented and on government subsidy. The way that crops are sold must be accounted for in the sustainability equation. Fresh food sold from a farm stand requires little additional energy, aside from that necessary for cultivation, harvest, and transportation (including consumers). Food sold at a remote location, whether at a farmers' market or the supermarket, incurs a different set of energy cost for materials, labour, and transport. Economics (deriving from the Greek words οίκω [okos], house, and νέμω [nemo], rules hence household management) is the social science that studies the allocation of scarce resources to satisfy unlimited wants. ... Look up revenue in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... www. ... An equation is a mathematical statement, in symbols, that two things are the same (or equivalent). ... Tillage (American English), or cultivation (UK) is the agricultural preparation of the soil to receive seeds. ... Roadside farmers market in Bridgehampton, New York Dutch bell peppers at a farmers market in Montpelier, Vermont A farmers market near the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet. ... Exterior of a typical British supermarket (a Tesco Extra) Exterior of typical North American supermarket (a Safeway) This Flagship Randalls store in Houston, Texas is an example of an upscale supermarket. ... Look up material in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In classical economics and all micro-economics labour is a measure of the work done by human beings and is one of three factors of production, the others being land and capital. ...

To be sold at a remote location requires a complex economic system in which the farm producers form the first link in a chain of processors and handlers to the consumers. This practice allows greater revenue because of efficient transport of a large number of items, but because it produces externalities and relies on the use of non-renewable resources, shipping, processing, and handling, it is not considered sustainable^{[citation needed]}. Moreover, such a system is considered vulnerable to fluctuations, such as strikes, oil prices, and global economic conditions including labour, interest rates, futures markets, and farm product prices^{[citation needed]}. A natural resource qualifies as a renewable resource if it is replenished by natural processes at a rate comparable to its rate of consumption by humans or other users. ... Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Lubbock, Texas Ignacy Łukasiewicz - inventor of the refining of kerosene from crude oil. ... In finance, a futures contract is a standardized contract, traded on a futures exchange, to buy or sell a certain underlying instrument at a certain date in the future, at a specified price. ...

In Third World agriculture, much of what is known about the social components of sustainability comes from anthropologist Robert Netting's work. In Smallholders, Householders: Farm Families and the Ecology of Intensive, Sustainable Agriculture, he defines an important cross-cultural pattern of high-labor, high-production cultivation exemplified East Asian paddy rice cultivators, African cultivators such as the Kofyar, alpine peasants, and Mesoamrican farmers of raised fields. One key to socio-economic sustainability in such systems is that these farmers systems provide for much of their own subsistence and also participate in the market. The Kofyar are a population in central Nigeria numbering around 50,000. ...

From a system's view, the gain and loss factors for sustainability can be listed. The most important factors for an individual site are sun, air, soil and water as rainfall. These are naturally present in the system as part of the larger planetary processes and incur no costs. Of the four, soil quality and quantity are most amenable to human intervention through time and labour. (The economic input depends solely on the price of labour and cost of machinery used). In meteorology, precipitation is any kind of water that falls from the sky as part of the weather. ... Sheep pasture with macroscale erosion, Australia Soil Conservation is a set of management strategies for prevention of soil being eroded from the earth’s surface or becoming chemically altered by overuse, salinization, acidification, or other chemical soil contamination. ...

Natural growth and outputs are also subject to human intervention. What grows and how and where it is grown are a matter of choice. Two of the many possible practices of sustainable agriculture are crop rotation and soil amendment, both designed to ensure that crops being cultivated can obtain the necessary nutrients for healthy growth. Satellite image of circular crop fields in Haskell County, Kansas in late June 2001. ... A soil amendment is any of a class of materials which are used to adjust the soil for increased fertility. ... Link title {{portal|Food} A nutrient is either a chemical element or compound used in an organisms metabolism or physiology. ...

Methods

Monoculture, a method of growing only one crop at a time in a given field, is a very widespread practice, but there are questions about its sustainability, especially if the same crop is grown every year^{[citation needed]}. Growing a mixture of crops (polyculture) sometimes reduces disease or pest problems (Nature 406:718, Environ. Entomol. 12:625) but polyculture has rarely, if ever, been compared to the more widespread practice of growing different crops in successive years crop rotation with the same overall crop diversity. For example, how does growing a corn-bean mixture every year compare with growing corn and bean in alternate years? Cropping systems that include a variety of crops (polyculture and/or rotation) may also replenish nitrogen (if legumes are included) and may also use resources such as sunlight, water, or nutrients more efficiently (Field Crops Res. 34:239). Monoculture describes systems that have very low diversity. ... Satellite image of circular crop fields in Haskell County, Kansas in late June 2001. ...

Some pesticides, though sometimes useful in the short term, can harm the soil food web, a complex ecology of micro-organisms in soil that helps sustain the plant from the roots down^{[citation needed]}. Experiments comparing plants grown in soil compared to plants grown through hydroponics have shown a thirty-three percent higher growth rate when there are beneficial soil microorganisms available^{[citation needed]}. Soil Food Web The Soil food web describes a complex living system in the soil and how it interacts with the environment, plants, and animals. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A microorganism or microbe is an organism that is so small that it is microscopic (invisible to the naked eye). ... NASA researcher checking hydroponic onions with Bibb lettuce to his left and radishes to the right Example of Autotrophic Metabolism [1] Hydroponics is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions instead of soil. ...

Certain pesticides synthesized by chemical companies can impart a sometimes fatal toxicity to humans^{[citation needed]}, livestock and insect pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, which may be necessary for plant success^{[citation needed]}. Without insect pollinators, farm labor must be expended to manually pollinate each plant. Crops such as cacao beans and vanilla are examples of crops requiring highly labor-intensive practices in the absence of natural pollinators. A pollinator is the agent that moves pollen from the male anthers of a flower to the female stigma of a flower to accomplish fertilization or syngamy of the female gamete in the ovule of the flower by the male gamete from the pollen grain. ... Binomial name L. Cacao (Theobroma cacao) is a small (4–8 m tall (15-26 ft)) evergreen tree in the family Sterculiaceae (alternatively Malvaceae), native to the deep tropical region of the Latin Americas. ... Vanilla pods Vanilla is a flavouring derived from orchids in the genus Vanilla native to Mexico. ...

Throughout history, farmers seeking to grow crops usually confine themselves to growing only the fastest and most productive plants. Such practices can result in growing crops without the genetic diversity found in wildlife^{[citation needed]}. Without such diversity in the genes, crops may become more susceptible to disease and crop failure^{[citation needed]}. The Great Irish Famine (1845-1849) is a well-known example of the dangers of monocultural and mono-varietal crop cultivation^{[citation needed]}. For a non-technical introduction to the topic, see Introduction to Genetics. ... This article is about the medical term. ... Great Irish Famine may also refer to Great Irish Famine (1740-1741) This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

Many scientists, farmers, and businesses have debated how to make agriculture farming sustainable^{[citation needed]}. One of the many practices includes growing a diverse number of perennial crops in a single field, each of which would grow in separate season so as not to compete with each other for natural resources^{[citation needed]}. This system would replicate the biodiversity already found in a natural environment, resulting in increased resistance to diseases and decreased effects of erosion and loss of nutrients in soil^{[citation needed]}. Nitrogen fixation from legumes, for example, used in conjunction with plants that rely on nitrate from soil for growth, will allow the land to be reused annually^{[citation needed]}. Legumes will grow for a season and replenish the soil with ammonium and nitrate, and the next season other plants can be seeded and grown in the field in preparation for harvest^{[citation needed]}. This method is considered to require a minimal amount of outside resources^{[citation needed]}. Nitrogen fixation is the process by which nitrogen is taken from its relatively inert molecular form (N2) in the atmosphere and converted into nitrogen compounds (such as, notably, ammonia, nitrate and nitrogen dioxide)[1] useful for other chemical processes. ...

In practice, there is no single approach to sustainable agriculture, as the precise goals and methods must be adapted to each individual case. There may be some techniques of farming that are inherently in conflict with the concept of sustainability, but there is widespread misunderstanding on impacts of some practices. For example, the slash-and-burn techniques that are the characteristic feature of shifting cultivators are often cited as inherently destructive, yet slash-and-burn cultivation has been practiced in the Amazon for at least 6000 years (Sponsel 1986); serious deforestation did not begin until the 1970s, largely as the result of Brazilian government programs and policies (Hecht and Cockburn 1989). Assarting in Finland in 1892 Slash and burn (a specific practice that may be part of shifting cultivation or swidden-fallow agriculture) is an agricultural procedure widely used in forested areas. ... Shifting cultivation is an agricultural system in which plots of land are cultivated temporarily, then abandoned. ... Assarting in Finland in 1892 Slash and burn (a specific practice that may be part of shifting cultivation or swidden-fallow agriculture) is an agricultural procedure widely used in forested areas. ...

There are also many ways to practice sustainable animal husbandry. Some of the key tools to grazing management include fencing off the grazing area into smaller areas called paddocks, lowering stock density, and moving the stock between paddocks frequently.,^[2] Dots and Boxes (also known as Boxes, Squares, Paddocks, Square-it, Dots and Dashes, Dots, or, simply, the Dot Game) is a pencil and paper game for two players (or sometimes, more than two). ...

Off-farm impacts

What if a farm is able to "produce perpetually", yet has negative effects on environmental quality elsewhere? Most people concerned with sustainability take a global view, so they try to avoid negative off-farm impacts. For example, over-application of synthetic fertilizer or animal manures can pollute nearby rivers and coastal waters. On the other hand, if crop yields are too low, because of soil exhaustion of nutrients or reduced ability to retain water, farmers would need to access new lands for agriculture, leading to the decimation of the rainforest, draining wetlands, etc. It has been suggested that fertilization (soil) be merged into this article or section. ... Animal manure is often a mixture of animals feces and bedding straw, as in this example from a stable. ... The Daintree Rainforest in Queensland, Australia. ... Small Text A subtropical wetland in Florida, USA, with an endangered American Crocodile. ...

Urban planning

There has been considerable debate about which form of human residential habitat may be a better social form for sustainable agriculture. Generally, it is thought that village communities can improve sustainability in that such communities tend to provide a cooperative environment that supports farming^{[citation needed]}.

Many environmentalists pushing for increased population density to preserve agricultural land point out that urban sprawl is less sustainable and more damaging to the environment than living in the cities where cars are not needed because food and other necessities are within walking distance^{[citation needed]}. However, others have theorized that sustainable ecocities, or ecovillages which combine habitation and farming with close proximity between producers and consumers, may provide greater sustainability^{[citation needed]}. A biped is an animal that travels across surfaces supported by two legs. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Ecovillages are intended to be socially, economically and ecologically sustainable intentional communities. ...

The use of available city space (e.g., rooftop gardens and community gardens) for cooperative food production is another way to achieve greater sustainability^{[citation needed]}. A roof garden is any garden on the roof of a building. ... Community gardens are small plots of land allocated to groups of people by some organization that holds title or lease to the land, sometimes for rent, sometimes simply as a grant of land. ...

One of the latest ideas in achieving sustainable agricultural involves shifting the production of food plants from major factory farming operations to large, urban, technical facilities called vertical farms. The advantages of vertical farming include year-round production, isolation from pests and diseases, controllable resource recycling, and on-site production that eliminates the need for transportation costs^{[citation needed]}. While a vertical farm has yet to become a reality, the idea is gaining momentum among those who believe that current sustainable farming methods will be insufficient to provide for a growing global population^{[citation needed]}.

Universities with Sustainable Agriculture Programs

• North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
• University of Maine, Orono, Maine
• Central Carolina Community College, Pittsboro, North Carolina
• Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa, California
• West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia
• Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina
• University Of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont
• University of California, Davis, California
• Washington State University, Pullman, Washington
• University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
• University Of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii
• University Of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
• University Of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska
• Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
• Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
• Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
• University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
• University Of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri
• Universidad Bolivariana de Venezuela, Caracas-Ciudad Bolivar-Coro-Maracaibo, Venezuela

Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda North Carolina State University is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. ... See also Raleigh, North Carolina and Sir Walter Raleigh. ... Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area  Ranked 28th  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 150 miles (240 km)  - Length 560[1] miles (901 km)  - % water 9. ... The University of Maine, established in 1865, is the flagship university of the University of Maine System. ... Orono is the name of some places in the United States of America: Orono, Maine Orono, Minnesota It is also the name of a place in Canada: Orono, Ontario This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Official language(s) None (English and French de facto) Capital Augusta Largest city Portland Area  Ranked 39th  - Total 33,414 sq mi (86,542 km²)  - Width 210 miles (338 km)  - Length 320 miles (515 km)  - % water 13. ... Central Carolina Community College logo Central Carolina Community College is a tax supported, public non-profit school under the control of a local board of trustees. ... Pittsboro may refer to: Pittsboro, North Carolina Pittsboro, Mississippi Pittsboro, Indiana This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area  Ranked 28th  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 150 miles (240 km)  - Length 560[1] miles (901 km)  - % water 9. ... The Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC) is a community college located in the city of Santa Rosa in Sonoma County, California. ... Santa Rosa is the Spanish name for Saint Rose. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Largest metro area Greater Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... West Virginia University is an institution of higher learning based in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser; and a clinical campus for the Universitys... Morgantown is the name of several places in the United States of America: Morgantown, Indiana Morgantown, Kentucky Morgantown, Pennsylvania Morgantown, West Virginia (Not to be confused with Morganton, also found as a place name: Morganton, Georgia Morganton, North Carolina) There are also places named Morgan and Morganville. ... Official language(s) English Capital Charleston Largest city Charleston Area  Ranked 41st  - Total 24,244 sq mi (62,809 km²)  - Width 130 miles (210 km)  - Length 240 miles (385 km)  - % water 0. ... Clemson University is a public, coeducational, land-grant, research university located in Clemson, South Carolina, United States. ... This article discusses Clemson University. ... Official language(s) English Capital Charleston(1670-1789) Columbia(1790-present) Largest city Columbia Largest metro area Columbia Area  Ranked 40th  - Total 34,726 sq mi (82,965 km²)  - Width 200 miles (320 km)  - Length 260 miles (420 km)  - % water 6  - Latitude 32° 2′ N to 35° 13′ N  - Longitude... The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, or simply The University of Vermont, is a public university located in Burlington, Vermont. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Official language(s) None Capital Montpelier Largest city Burlington Area  Ranked 45th  - Total 9,620 sq mi (24,923 km²)  - Width 80 miles (130 km)  - Length 160 miles (260 km)  - % water 3. ... Berkeley Davis Irvine Los Angeles Merced San Diego Santa Barbara Santa Cruz UC Office of the President in Oakland The University of California (UC) is a public university system in the state of California. ... Davis is a city in Yolo County, California, United States. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Largest metro area Greater Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... Washington State University (WSU) is a major public research university in Pullman, Washington. ... Pullman is the name of some places in the United States of America: Pullman, Michigan Pullman, Washington Pullman, Chicago Pullman, West Virginia Pullman, Richmond Pullman, Illinois, now within the city limits of Chicago, was a company town of the Pullman Company, where a famous strike took place in 1894. ... For the capital city of the United States, see Washington, D.C.. For other uses, see Washington (disambiguation). ... The University of Florida (commonly referred to as Florida, UFL, or UF) is a public land-grant, space-grant, research university located in Gainesville, Florida. ... Gainesville is the name of several places in the United States of America: Gainesville, Alabama Gainesville, Florida - the largest Gainesville in the United States. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Largest metro area Miami metropolitan area Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,795[1] sq mi (170,304[1] km²)  - Width 361 miles (582 km)  - Length 447 miles (721 km)  - % water 17. ... This article is about the University of Hawaii system. ... Honolulu as seen from the International Space Station Honolulu is the largest city and the capital of the U.S. state of Hawai‘i. ... Official language(s) English, Hawaiian Capital Honolulu Largest city Honolulu Area  Ranked 43rd  - Total 10,931 sq mi (29,311 km²)  - Width n/a miles (n/a km)  - Length 1,522 miles (2,450 km)  - % water 41. ... A Corner of Main Quad The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, or simply Illinois), is the oldest and largest campus in the University of Illinois system. ... The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, also known as UIUC and the U of I (the officially preferred abbreviation), is the flagship campus in the University of Illinois system. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Metropolitan Area Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... The University of Alaska is a Land-Grant, Sea-Grant, and Space Grant university founded in 1922 in Fairbanks, Alaska. ... Fairbanks is a city located in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, United States. ... Official language(s) English[1] Spoken language(s) English 85. ... Purdue redirects here. ... West Lafayette is a city located in Tippecanoe County, Indiana. ... Official language(s) English Capital Indianapolis Largest city Indianapolis Area  Ranked 38th  - Total 36,418 sq mi (94,321 km²)  - Width 140 miles (225 km)  - Length 270 miles (435 km)  - % water 1. ... The Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (commonly known as Penn State) is a state-related land-grant university in Pennsylvania, with over 80,000 students at 24 campuses throughout the state. ... University Park is the name of several places in the United States of America: University Park, Florida University Park, Illinois University Park, Iowa University Park, Maryland University Park, New Mexico University Park, Pennsylvania University Park, Texas This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that... Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  Ranked 33rd  - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 km²)  - Width 280 miles (455 km)  - Length 160 miles (255 km)  - % water 2. ... Iowa State University of Science and Technology (ISU) is a public land-grant and space-grant university located in Ames, Iowa, USA. Until 1959 it was known as Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. ... Main Street in downtown Ames in 2006 Ames is a city located in the central part of the U.S. state of Iowa, about 30 miles north of Des Moines in Story County. ... Official language(s) English Capital Des Moines Largest city Des Moines Area  Ranked 26th  - Total 56,272 sq mi (145,743 km²)  - Width 310 miles (500 km)  - Length 199 miles (320 km)  - % water 0. ... The University of Kentucky, also referred to as UK, is a public, co-educational university located in Lexington, Kentucky. ... Lexington is: The USS Lexington is one of five different ships of the United States Navy named after the battle of the American Revolutionary War at Lexington, Massachusetts. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Frankfort Largest city Louisville Area  Ranked 37th  - Total 40,444 sq mi (104,749 km²)  - Width 140 miles (225 km)  - Length 379 miles (610 km)  - % water 1. ... The University of Missouri System is the designated public research and land-grant university system of the state of Missouri. ... Official language(s) English Capital Jefferson City Largest city Kansas City Largest metro area St Louis[1] Area  Ranked 21st  - Total 69,709 sq mi (180,693 km²)  - Width 240 miles (385 km)  - Length 300 miles (480 km)  - % water 1. ... The Universidad Bolivariana de Venezuela (UBV, English: ) is a state university in Venezuela founded in 2003 by decree of President Hugo Chávez. ...

Notes

The Evergreen State College, Olympia, Washington

See also

Sustainable development Portal

• Agriculture
• Agroecology
• Agroforestry
• Allotment gardens
• Analog forestry
• Aquaponics
• Biodynamic agriculture
• Ecological sanitation
• Factory farming
• Fire-stick farming
• Holistic management
• Industrial agriculture
• Integrated production
• Land Allocation Decision Support System
• Landcare
• List of sustainable agriculture topics
• Organic farming
• Organic movement
• Permaculture
• Polyculture
• Reconciliation Ecology
• The Rodale Institute
• Slash-and-burn technique, a component of Shifting cultivation
• Sustainable development
• Terra preta
• The Natural Step
• Urban agriculture

Image File history File links Sustainable_development. ... Agroecology is the science of applying ecological concepts and principles to the design, development, and management of sustainable agricultural systems. ... Parkland in Burkina Faso: Sorghum grown under Faidherbia albida and Borassus akeassii near Banfora, Burkina Faso Agroforestry combines agriculture and forestry technologies to create more integrated, diverse, productive, profitable, healthy and sustainable land-use systems. ... A typical allotment plot, Essex, England Allotment gardens are characterized by a concentration in one place of a few or up to several hundreds of land parcels that are assigned to individual families. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... aqua·pon·ics Pronunciation - Spelled: [ak-wuh-pon-iks] IPA: /ˈækwəˈpɒnɪks/ - noun (used with a singular verb) The symbiotic cultivation of plants and aquatic animals in a recirculating environment. ... // Biodynamic® agriculture is a method of organic farming that treats farms as unified and individual organisms,[1] emphasizing balancing the holistic development and interrelationship of the soil, plants, animals as a closed, self-nourishing system. ... Ecological Sanitation One person produces about 500 litres of urine and only 50 litres of faeces per year. ... The factual accuracy of part of this article is disputed. ... Fire-stick farming is a term coined by Australian archeologist Rhys Jones in 1969 to describe the practice of Indigenous Australians where fire was used regularly to burn vegetation to facilitate hunting and to change the composition of plant and animal species in an area. ... A system of resource management created by Allan Savory. ... These female brood sows are confined most of their lives in gestation crates too small to enable them to turn around. ... The International Organization for Biological Control (IOBC; iobc. ... LADSS or Land Allocation Decision Support System, is an agricultural land use planning tool being developed at The Macaulay Institute. ... Landcare Research, or Manaaki Whenua in the Maori language, is a Crown Research Institute of New Zealand. ... This page aims to list articles on Wikipedia that are related to sustainable agriculture. ... Organic farming is a form of agriculture which avoids or largely excludes the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, plant growth regulators, and livestock feed additives. ... Organic movement broadly refers to the organizations and individuals involved worldwide in the promotion of sustainable agriculture and organic farming, and a general opposition to agribusiness. ... Permaculture Mandala summarising the ethics and principles of permaculture design. ... Polyculture is agriculture using multiple crops in the same space, in imitation of the diversity of natural ecosystems, and avoiding large stands of single crops, or monoculture. ... Reconciliation Ecology is the concept of accomodating biodiversity within human landscapes. ... Assarting in Finland in 1892 Slash and burn (a specific practice that may be part of shifting cultivation or swidden-fallow agriculture) is an agricultural procedure widely used in forested areas. ... Shifting cultivation is an agricultural system in which plots of land are cultivated temporarily, then abandoned. ... Sustainable development is defined as balancing the fulfillment of human needs with the protection of the natural environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but in the indefinite future. ... Terra preta (which means dark soil in Portuguese), refers to expanses of very dark soils found in the Amazon Basin. ... The Natural Step is a nonprofit organization founded in Sweden in 1989 by Swedish scientist, Karl-Henrik Robèrt. ... Urban (or peri-urban) agriculture is the practice of agriculture (including crops, livestock, fisheries, and forestry activities) within or surrounding the boundaries of cities. ...

External links

• A special issue of the Journal of Environmental Management focuses on farm management and sustainable agriculture.
• Center for Environmental Farming Systems
• Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Promoting the practice and understanding of the Biodynamic system of sustainable agriculture.
• Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education
• National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
• National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture
• http://www.saiplatform.org/ is an industry-based initiative promoting sustainable agriculture for the production of mainstream agricultural materials.
• Rainforest Alliance's Sustainable Agriculture program
• The Vertical Farm Project Envisioning the future of human food production as a mechanism for environmental restoration, protection from infectious disease, and a source of sustainable energy
• SANREM CRSP Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Collaborative Research Support Program at Virginia Tech
• The Land Institute Research on sustainable perennial crop systems
• Self Help Development InternationalSHDI is an Irish agency engaged in promoting long term sustainable development projects in Africa.
• Spade & Spoon: Localizing the Way Westerners Eat
• SAFECROP Centre for research and development of crop protection with low environment and consumer health impact

References

• Altieri, Miguel A. (1995) Agroecology: The science of sustainable agriculture. Westview Press, Boulder, CO.
• Dore, J. 1997. Sustainability Indicators for Agriculture: Introductory Guide to Regional/National and On-farm Indicators, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Australia.
• Gold, Mary. 1999. Sustainable Agriculture: Definitions and Terms. Special Reference Briefs Series no. SRB 99-02 Updates SRB 94-05 September 1999. National Agricultural Library, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
• Jahn, GC, B. Khiev, C. Pol, N. Chhorn, S. Pheng, and V. Preap. 2001. Developing sustainable pest management for rice in Cambodia. pp. 243-258, In S. Suthipradit, C. Kuntha, S. Lorlowhakarn, and J. Rakngan [eds.] “Sustainable Agriculture: Possibility and Direction” Proceedings of the 2nd Asia-Pacific Conference on Sustainable Agriculture 18-20 October 1999, Phitsanulok, Thailand. Bangkok (Thailand): National Science and Technology Development Agency. 386 p.
• Lindsay Falvey (2004) Sustainability - Elusive or Illusion: Wise Environmental Management. Institute for International Development, Adelaide pp259.

Hecht, Susanna and Alexander Cockburn (1989) The Fate of the Forest: developers, destroyers and defenders of the Amazon. New York: Verso. Lindsay Falvey John Lindsay Falvey (born May 23, 1950) known as Lindsay Falvey, is a writer and author on topics concerning agricultural philosophy, religion and international development. ... The Institute for International Development is an Australian company limited by guarantee, which operates as a not-for-profit to provide professional services in support of equitable international development. ...

• Netting, Robert McC. (1993) Smallholders, Householders: Farm Families and the Ecology of Intensive, Sustainable Agriculture. Stanford Univ. Press, Palo Alto.
• Sponsel, Leslie E. (1986) Amazon ecology and adaptation. Annual Review of Anthropology 15: 67-97.