1. Economics
is a primary determinant as to whether an agricultural production
system is sustainable-to the producer, the agricultural infrastructure
and the surrounding community. Global competition, primarily from
Argentina, Brazil, and China, will put extreme pressure on the U.S.
corn and soybean market.
Visitors
to Brazil say there are over 200 million acres of relatively flat
land outside of the Amazon River Basin available to be cleared for
crop production. This is more than the total acreage of corn and soybeans
in the U.S. (about 140 million acres).
Due to
low prices, federal assistance with loan deficiency payments (LDPs)
has been the primary source of profit for most corn and soybean producers
the last two years. Some have said that without them we would have
witnessed the largest bankruptcy ever in American agriculture.
Unfortunately,
LDPs have stimulated all-out field edge to field edge production,
since the farmer is rewarded based on number of bushels produced.
Although economically good for the producer, this government policy
has come at the expense of soil and water stewardship and has created
severe long-term consequences.
Coupled
with global competition and taxpayers questioning government payments
to produce crops they see as not essential to food in grocery stores
and restaurants, the economic picture for current corn-soybean production
becomes bleak.
2. Environmental
factors have become more prominent in recent years when determining
the sustainability of crop production systems. In my travels throughout
south central and southeastern Minnesota, I've never seen as much
erosion as in the last few years. We've had some intense rains, but
we've also converted the landscape to a crop production system (corn
and soybeans) that is extremely susceptible to soil erosion.
We must
question the sustainability of the corn-soybean rotation from an environmental
perspective. This is due to more soil erosion, greater and more "flash
flood" runoff water compared to cropping systems containing alfalfa
and grass perennials, and more loss of nitrate-nitrogen to ground
and surface waters.
3. Ecological
factors must be considered when evaluating sustainability. More and
diverse plant and wildlife is considered highly favorable in a rural
ecosystem and presents an aesthetically pleasing quality, which is
gaining value in American society. But the current corn-soybean cropping
system provides little opportunity for animal and plant diversity
on the landscape.
Transportation
of corn and soybeans to New Orleans for overseas shipment is another
ecological challenge. The judicial branch recently denied attempts
by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reconstruct the lock and dam
system to better accommodate barge traffic for grain shipment. My
guess is that corn and soybean agriculture will not win this ecological
debate.
4. Sociological
impacts are also seen as side effects of present-day corn and soybean
agriculture. As farms get larger to support profitable corn and soybean
production, we have fewer farms and farm families. Rural populations
decline, student numbers in schools dwindle and church membership
shrinks. Producers often bypass the local community to purchase inputs
at larger regional outlets where prices are cheaper due to volume
purchases.
And as
more production contracts are developed between agribusiness and the
farmer, the farmer will gradually assume the role of "custom
operator" or "indentured servant" and lose the freedom
to manage. These trends will likely continue regardless of the cropping
system, but the corn-soybean rotation has speeded the process.
What
does this all mean? Present-day corn and soybean production systems
with little livestock in the enterprise do not appear sustainable.
We will need substantial changes in federal farm policy, cropping
systems and usage of crops produced on the farm to sustain a healthy
environment and rural community.
Gyles
Randall is a soil scientist and professor at the University of
Minnesota Southern Research and Outreach Center, Waseca. He can be
reached at 507-835-3620, or grandall@soils.umn.edu.
This commentary was distributed by the University of Minnesota Extension
Service.
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These photos graphically illustrate the effects of intensive
corn-soybean farming on water quality. They were taken at a spot where
the Root River drains into the Mississippi River in southeast Minnesota.
The Root is recognized nationally as a premier trout stream. But in
these photos, which were taken Aug. 20, 1999, by Jeff Janvrin of the
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Root is so laden with
eroded soil that it appears chocolate brown against the relatively blue
waters of the Mississippi (which is no pristine stream itself). Parts of
the Root flow through intensively-farmed corn and soybean country in
southern Minnesota. |
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