1. Agriculture For the last 10,000 years humans have been practicing agriculture, or simply put, farming. Farming has allowed us to feed many people and have food year round Today’s farming is very different than it was in the past September 151

2. Traditional Agriculture Traditional, or conventional, agriculture is how most of our food is made. It is large scale, industrial and designed to make the most amount of food with the smallest amount of space September 15Toward a Sustainable Agriculture2

3. What you think it looks like.. September 15Toward a Sustainable Agriculture3

4. What it really looks like… September 15Toward a Sustainable Agriculture4

5. What you think it looks like… September 15Toward a Sustainable Agriculture5

6. What it really looks like… September 15Toward a Sustainable Agriculture6

7. Monocultures A monoculture is an area of land that only grows a large amount of one crop. This makes it very easy for pests to destroy the crops. As a result, pesticides are used. September 15Toward a Sustainable Agriculture7

8. Pesticides Pesticides damage soil and can run off into the surrounding area September 15Toward a Sustainable Agriculture8

9. Fertilizers Since the soil gets degraded quickly, fertilizers must be added to the soil. Fertilizer runoff causes “eutrophication” which means “too much of a good thing” because the added nutrients cause algae to flourish and choke out aquatic ecosystems September 15Toward a Sustainable Agriculture9

10. Pesticides If a small amount of the pests survives and are resistant to the pesticide, then they will repopulate and a stronger, more toxic pesticide must be used. September 15Toward a Sustainable Agriculture10

11. September 15Toward a Sustainable Agriculture11 Where are we? What are the Strengths and Weaknesses of our current agricultural system?

12. September 15Toward a Sustainable Agriculture12 Successes abundant food supply in the developed world fresh fruits and vegetables available year-round cheap food luxury foods such as coffee, tea, chocolate, and spices easily available around the world effective food preservation technologies (refrigeration, freezing, canning, packaging) convenience foods mechanization produces high labor efficiency improvements in soil conservation availability of agricultural inputs for quick solutions to production problems

13. September 15Toward a Sustainable Agriculture13 Problems continuing soil loss food safety concerns (mad cow disease, food poisoning outbreaks, antibiotic resistance, toxins and pesticides) water pollution, air pollution (& odors), habitat loss, water depletion continuing hunger – and rise of obesity failing farms, economic uncertainty and stress declining communities farm accidents, chronic diseases linked to agricultural chemicals reliance on fossil fuels, global warming farmland loss to development, ugly countryside difficulty of starting in farming

14. September 15Toward a Sustainable Agriculture14 What is Sustainable Agriculture? “…a journey, not a destination” Iowa Farmer

15. September 15Toward a Sustainable Agriculture15 Sustainable Agriculture “…an integrated system of plant and animal production practices…that will satisfy human food and fiber needs enhance environmental quality make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources sustain economic viability enhance quality of life.” 1990 Farm Bill

16. September 15Toward a Sustainable Agriculture16 The three-legged stool of sustainability

17. September 15Toward a Sustainable Agriculture17 Economically sustainable Provides a secure living for farm families Provides a secure living to other workers in the food system Provides access to good food for all

18. September 15Toward a Sustainable Agriculture18 Environmentally Sound Preserves the quality of soil, water, and air

19. September 15Toward a Sustainable Agriculture19 Cooperates with and is modeled on natural systems Environmentally Sound

20. September 15Toward a Sustainable Agriculture20 Socially sustainable Good for families Supports communities Fair to all involved

21. How to farm sustainably Farmers plant many different crops near each other so that a pest can’t destroy an entire crop Waste products are composted and used to replace nutrients in the soil. Crops are rotated to preserve the nutrients in the soil. September 15Toward a Sustainable Agriculture21

22. How to farm sustainably Animals are treated fairly and given the freedom to move. Animals are not given unnecessary antibiotics. Animals are fed properly September 15Toward a Sustainable Agriculture22

23. September 15Toward a Sustainable Agriculture23 Conclusion Agriculture has accomplished much There are still many problems to solve, both old and new Sustainable agriculture is about trying to solve these problems – without creating new ones.

24. How much is 2 billion bushels? Iowa’s annual corn harvest is usually around 2 billion bushels. If you loaded semi trucks with 2 billion bushels and lined them up bumper to bumper, how far would they stretch? According to the Iowa Department of Transportation, a large semi holds around 910 bushels, and 879 large semis lined up bumper to bumper would stretch around 11.5 miles September 15Toward a Sustainable Agriculture24

25. Answer: The line of trucks would stretch 29,206 miles, or more than the circumference of the earth (which is a little under 25,000 miles). Luckily, most grain is transported much more efficiently in railroad cars and on barges. September 15Toward a Sustainable Agriculture25