Getting to a Healthy Agriculture

Glenda Humiston

How we conserve and protect our natural resources, while maintaining vital productive capacity is one of the most important issues facing our Nation right now. Tackling the thorny issues and moving toward true sustainability will require creative thinking and a level of partnerships not previously seen. Although many challenges face us in balancing public and private lands use, particularly here in the western states, recent efforts leading to a watershed management focus will help us move toward many of our environmental goals. However, that is not enough: sustainability requires an appropriate balance of environmental health, economic viability and social justice.

USDA recently held a series of forums to specifically look at issues related to private lands and our natural resource management. Secretary Glickman, in convening these forums, said, "The health of the land is critical to the wealth of our Nation. The farmers, foresters, and ranchers who manage 70 percent of our landscape can contribute greatly to our Nation 's environmental health, natural resource sustainability, and a sound economy. We look forward to frank, public discussions on conservation issues that are important to us all." This effort has highlighted the key issues to be dealt with and brought forth ideas, as well as commitments, to find solutions. Among those issues are:

Feeding the world: With world population expected to grow from six billion people today to nine billion during the next fifty years, the demand for affordable food will increase well beyond current international production levels. Working to feed the world will minimize factors that contribute to global instability. However, complicating efforts to meet growing food demand is a dynamic that must be better understood. Developing countries often use scarce arable land to expand cities to house growing populations. As farm land disappears, desperate people destroy timber resources and even rain forests as they search futilely for more plantable acreage to feed themselves. The long-term environmental consequences of this pattern would have disastrous consequences for the entire globe.

If we are to meet the expected demand for food over the next 50 years, we will have to triple food production on the acreage that is most suitable for cultivation, much of that here in the United States. At the same time, assistance should be offered to other nations, promoting use of their arable acres in more environmentally sustainable, productive, ways.

Sustainable fuels and chemicals: Agriculture represents not only a valuable resource for food, but has great potential to provide fuels essential to modern society. Scientists have recently developed technologies capable of breaking down plants, trees, grasses, and agricultural residues (known as biomass). From this, a wide variety of biobased products can be produced. Biobased fuels, such as ethanol, have clear potential to be sustainable, low-cost and high performance and are compatible with current and future transportation systems. They provide near zero net greenhouse gas emissions.

Land use: Recently released Natural Resources Inventory Data shows changes in land use that are startling. More prime farm and forest lands have been lost to development during the past 5 year reporting cycle (1992-97) than the previous ten year cycle (1982-92). However, at the same time, many areas have actually seen an increase in the number of small ranches in the 10- to 50-acre range. For example, there are nearly 1,100 more small ranches in Colorado than there were 5 years ago. With that growth come questions that need to be answered about how rural and urban areas can comfortably coexist while maintaining parcel sizes that are economically viable.

Water resources: We have to do all that we can to make sure that urban, environmental and agricultural needs for water are met fairly and with minimal negative effects. Irrigation water management is a key conservation issue that USDA has been working on with private landowners for some time. Improvements to water quality and care of groundwater resources will require expanded efforts in the future.

Air quality: In many of our metropolitan areas, we have experienced declines in air quality. This not only deteriorates views of our mountains and other viewsheds, it is the cause of major health risks and is increasingly being recognized as a major source of nutrient deposition. For example, up to 70% of the nutrient enrichment which is causing problems at Lake Tahoe has been attributed to air deposition of nitrogen.

Wildlife habitat, wetlands protection, the health of our oceans, and many other issues also will need increased attention and creative solutions. It is up to all of us to take action about these issues. Private landowners, members of conservation groups, and folks from all levels of government need to listen to each others' ideas and work together for the good of our natural resources. It is imperative that those efforts strike that necessary balance between caring for every natural resource on the land and making sure that agriculturists can earn a profit.

Glenda Humiston
USDA
217E Jamie Whitten Bldg.
Independence Ave. SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-0108
Tel: (202) 720-7173
Glenda.Humiston@usda.gov

[Table of Contents]