Alternative Agriculture (1989) / Chapter Skim
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2 Problems in U.S. Agriculture
2 Problems in U.S. Agriculture
Pages 89-134
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From page 89... ...
Nonpoint pollutants account for an estimated 50 percent of all surface water pollution (Cheaters and Schierow, 1985; Myers et al., 1985~. Salinization of soils and irrigation water from irrigated agriculture is a growing problem in the arid West.
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From page 90... ...
Almost ah of these problems can be overcome. Nonetheless, problems such as groundwater contamination wiD likely grow if current practices are continued.
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From page 91... ...
Rising land and commodity prices led farmers to increase purchases of inputs such as fertilizers, seeds, chemicals, and equipment. Production expenses and gross farm income soared as farmers responded to a growing market (Figure 2-1~.
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From page 92... ...
In Nebraska and lowa alone, hundreds of farm implement dealers have gone out of business since 1935. The industry has recovered somewhat since 1986 as farm income has risen.
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From page 93... ...
Although some farmers experienced financial hardship in the 1980s, many prospered. Total net farm income was $37.5 billion in 1986 and a record $46.3 billion in 1987 (see Figure 1-29~.
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From page 94... ...
Solvency Income Solvency) Farm size 2 $250,000 59 14 20 7 $40,000-249,999 64 12 17 6 < $40,000 71 19 6 4 Region Northeast 68 22 7 3 Great Lakes 59 1 15 7 Com Belt 71 12 13 5 Northern Plains 64 17 15 5 Appalachia 76 16 5 3 Southeast 73 18 6 4 Delta 72 16 8 4 Southern Plains 69 20 8 4 Mountain 64 20 10 6 Pacific 67 18 9 7 Farm type Cash grain 65 14 14 7 Tobacco 78 9 8 5 Cotton 65 11 15 9 Vegetable, fruit, nut 71 16 9 3 Nursery-greenhouse 80 12 6 2 Other field crops 65 17 10 7 Beef, hog, sheep 70 20 7 3 Dairy 63 12 20 5 Poultry 73 6 16 6 Other livestock 58 30 5 7 NOTE: The income measure used in these statistics is net cash farm income; marginal solvency indicates a debt-asset ratio of 40 percent or more.
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From page 95... ...
Farm debt-to-asset ratio 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ,1 1 1975 1980 1985 86 87 YEAR FIGURE 2-3 Farm debt-to-asset and net-cash-income-to-total-farm-debt ratio. Data exclude households.
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From page 96... ...
96 180 160 140 An LL i, 1 20 100 80 ALTERNATIVE AGRICULTURE J 1 , 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 YEAR FIGURE 2-5 Value of U.S. agricultural exports.
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From page 97... ...
Increasing competition is also contributing to the rising cost of federal agricultural subsidies. The government spent $25.S billion in 1986 and $22.0 billion in 1987 for price supports and related activities.
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From page 98... ...
Water Quality Surface Water Water pollution is probably the most damaging and widespread environmental effect of agricultural production. Agriculture is the largest nonpoint source of water pollution, which accounts for about half of all water poDution (Cheaters and Schierow, 1985; Myers et al., 1985~.
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From page 99... ...
as a Nonpoint Source of Water Pollution by State or Territory Agriculture Identified as a Primary or Major Nonevent Source of Water Pollution 99 Agriculture Identified as a Nonpoint Source Pollution Problem Delaware Montana Alabama Nevada Idaho North Dakota Arizona New~ersey Illinois Ohio Arkansas New Mexico Indiana Oregon California New York Iowa Puerto Rico Colorado North Carolina Kansas South Dakota Florida Oklahoma Kentucky Utah Georgia Pennsylvania Minnesota Vermont Hawaii South Carolina Mississippi Washington Louisiana Tennessee Maine Virgin Islands Maryland Virginia Michigan West Virginia Missouri Wisconsin Nebraska Wyoming SOURCE: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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From page 100... ...
ment into surface waters more fully reflects the effects of agricultural activity than phosphorus movement does. Phosphorus moves as a passenger bouncl with sediment, much of which erodes from fields but is not deposited in surface waters (Smith et al., 1987~.
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From page 101... ...
Maximum and mean levels of 10 herbicides detected in treated drinking water in Ohio and Iowa are shown in Table 2-4. In Iowa, 27 of the 33 public water supplies from surface water sources tested, or 82 percent, tract 2 or more pesticides detected in treated drinking water samples; 73 percent had 3 or more; 58 percent had 4 or more; and 21 percent had 5 or more (Table 2-5~.
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From page 102... ...
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From page 103... ...
1987. Pesticides in Water Supplies Using Surface Water Sources.
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From page 104... ...
The act does not require implementation of measures to reduce nonpoint source pollution of surface waters, however. In 198S, the USDA's National Program for Soil and Water Conservation and the Rural Clean Water Program conducted 22 water quality improvement projects arounc!
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From page 105... ...
Private water wells supply water to an additional 30 million individuals. Nearly 50 percent of all drinking water, 97 percent of all rural drinking water, 55 percent of livestock water, and more than 40 percent of all irrigation water is from underground sources.
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From page 106... ...
1987. The Magnitude and Costs of Groundwater Contamination From Agricultural Chemicals—A National Perspective.
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From page 107... ...
counties, contain groundwater susceptible to contamination from agricultural pesticides or fertilizers (Figure 2-10~. An estimated 54 miBion people living in these counties rely on uncLerground sources of drinking water.
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From page 108... ...
. The committee notes that opportunities exist today to reduce surface water and groundwater contamination from agricultural chemicals through modified agricultural practices.
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From page 109... ...
1987. Agricultural chemicals in ground water: Extent and implications.
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From page 110... ...
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From page 111... ...
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From page 112... ...
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From page 113... ...
Of the 30.9 million acres irrigated with groundwater, over 14 million acres, or 45 percent, are in areas where Groundwater is declining at least 1 foot per year (see Table 2-9~. California, Kansas, and Nebraska account for more than 2 million acres each of decTining groundwater; Texas is responsible for more than 4 million acres.
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From page 114... ...
The Colorado River is so intensively used for municipal water and agricultural irrigation that in very dry years there has been virtually no water left in the river as it crosses the Mexican border. The New River in the Imperial Valley is an example of surface water pollution from irrigated cropland.
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From page 115... ...
Each year, the 350 to 400 minion acres of land used for agriculture are estimated to account for more than 50 percent of suspended sediments deposited in surface waters (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1987a)
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From page 116... ...
There are many other aspects of the controversy on the impact of soil erosion on productivity. They include water runoff, waterholding capacity, organic matter, and soil depth (Pimentel, 1987~.
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From page 118... ...
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From page 119... ...
Management systems that reduce or eliminate synthetic fertilizer applications depend on increased microbial activity to make sufficient nutrients available to sustain crop yields (Doran et al., 1987~. Conventionally tilled fields without cover crops win likely have diminished organic content and be more susceptible to erosion and leaching of applied chemicals (Hoyt and Hargrove, 1986; Reganold et al., 1987~.
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From page 120... ...
The number of pests to which the variety or breed is susceptible can increase rapidly, resulting in vulnerability to devastating epidemics (National Research Council, 1972~. Genetic diversity within a crop variety provides some buffering against environmental extremes, including pressures of diseases and insects.
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From page 121... ...
By 1976, however, resistance to the greenbug was found in a sorghum variety and incorporated into hybrids, which were grown on about 4 million acres. This example shows how common plant-breeding techniques, drawing on the genetic resource base for sorghum, could reduce chemical dependence, pest control costs, and pest damage.
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From page 122... ...
This recovery, however, is an anomaly. Although the ecological effects of pesticides are thought to be substantial, human health risks have traditionally been given priority.
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From page 123... ...
When implemented, these restrictions could benefit plant and wildlife species remaining on or around these lands. Other unintended effects of pesticides include the resurgence of pests after treatment, occurrence of secondary pest outbreaks, and clevelopment of pesticide resistance in target pests.
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From page 124... ...
In particular, the cotton bollworm and tobacco budworm populations have grown because pesticides destroyed their natural enemies. In 197S, it was estimated that in; California 24 of the 25 top agricultural pests were secondary pests.
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From page 125... ...
This starts a cycle of shifting resistance and increased use of pesticides. For these reasons, increasing levels of pesticide resistance in pest populations have significant environmental and economic costs.
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From page 126... ...
Although cancer-causing chemicals have attracted the most concern, agricultural chemicals can also have behavioral effects, alter immune system function, cause allergic reactions, and affect the body in other ways. Concern about the adverse effects of synthetic chemical pesticides on human and animal health began in the 1950s when it was discovered that organochIorine pesticides such as DDT are very persistent in the environment and can damage animal systems.
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From page 127... ...
According to the Centers for Disease Control, bacteria from animal products account for approximately 53 percent of all outbreaks of food-borne illness for which a source was determined (Tauxe, 1986~. Antibiotics There has been scientific debate and concern about the subtherapeutic use of antibiotics in animal feed for nearly 20 years (Ahmed et al., 1984;
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From page 128... ...
Although the IOM committee recognized that there is little direct evidence implicating subtherapeutic use of antimicrobials as a potential human health hazard, the committee found substantial indirect or circumstantial evidence indicating a potential human health risk from subtherapeutic use of antibiotics in animal feeds. This evidence includes the following: The use of antimicrobials in a variety of closes generates a strong selective pressure for the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria.
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From page 129... ...
that estimated the number of deaths from salmonellosis attributable to use of antimicrobials in animal feeds for prophylaxis and growth promotion and concluded that the likeliest estimate was in the range of 40 deaths per year (Institute of Medicine, 1989~. Further, it found that increased difficulty of treatment probably led to 20 additional deaths per year.
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From page 130... ...
Despite the fact that net farm income has reached record levels, federal programs support an unprecedented percentage of total net farm income. Nonpoint surface water pollution and contamination of groundwater by agricultural chemicals are recognized as environmental problems.
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From page 131... ...
1981. Antibiotics in Animal Feeds.
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From page 132... ...
1985. Nonpoint sources of water pollution.
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From page 133... ...
1984. Report to Congress: Nonpoint Source Pollution in the U.S.
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From page 134... ...
1987. Pesticides in Water Supplies Using Surface Water Sources.
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