Sustainable Agriculture - Is it in Your Future?

Image by kevinthoule via FlickrBy Sandra Matheson

With the current buzz about sustainability, here's the big question: Sustainable agriculture - is it in your future?

These are tumultuous times. Global warming and environmental degradation are serious threats to the future of our world. The current economic situation is somewhat bleak and recovery is slow. Fear of the future is ever present in many minds. The problem is that even if we acknowledge the environmental seriousness, the financial considerations and the reservation we feel hold us back from making significant movement toward positive change. On the other hand, to do nothing spells certain disaster in our future.

Sustainability has many definitions depending upon who is defining it! I define it as agricultural practices which consider, address, and improve the environmental, social, and economic aspects of the operation. It's like a three legged stool. There must be three legs of the same length and in some reasonable configuration in order to have balance and stability. To neglect one leg or to put it in the wrong place means the business is likely to collapse.

Keeping that balance has many benefits. If anyone should be an environmentalist, it should be the farmer. If farmers use the land and water without regard to the consequences of management, it means that those resources will likely become degraded and/or depleted. It's like using a car to get to work, but never checking the tires, changing the oil nor putting gas in it. It won't be long before you're looking at alternative transportation. On the other hand, being proactive, considering the consequences, monitoring, and planning ahead will get you there more quickly and with reliability!

Here are ten basic steps to incorporate sustainability into your farm operation:

1. Assess your current situation

2. Define specifically what it is that you are managing

3. Determine what resources you have available

4. Write down what you wish to achieve - getting to your core principles

5. Plan your strategy to address the environment, finances, and social aspects

6. Test your decisions and actions

7. Monitor your progress -- consider that you could have been wrong

8. Get back on track if you are off course

9. Completely re-plan when necessary

10. Revisit your goal and your plan

The clock is ticking, but there is still time to make a difference. Every epic journey starts with one small step,and then another. Agriculture is the foundation of civilizations. If agriculture fails, so does everything else. What are some steps you can take to move toward more sustainable agriculture? Is it in your future?

Looking for some innovative resources? See how some farmers, ranchers, and others can help you to create sustainable agriculture in your future with a holistic approach to management.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sandra_Matheson
http://EzineArticles.com/?Sustainable-Agriculture---Is-it-in-Your-Future?&id=4862784

Bamboo and Soil Erosion - Holding the Earth Together One Plant at a Time

Image by cyberdees via FlickrBy Douglas Michaels Jr.

Even though we talk a great deal about water and tree conservation, we sometimes forget that land itself is often a precious resource. Unfortunately it is one that is disappearing under the stress of overpopulation and irresponsible farming practices. Although we aren't necessarily losing square footage, we are losing the rich, fertile topsoil, and in a world with ever-increasing mouths to feed, the loss of that soil is one to worry about.

The bamboo plant is being looked at far more closely than ever as a means to control soil erosion in countries around the world.

Soil erosion is due to the following:

* Removal of vegetation - Whether it's deforestation or farming without proper crop rotation, the removal of vegetation will expose the topsoil to the elements causing it to disappear. This is just one reason why bamboo is a more responsible crop to grow. It can be harvested by cutting at the base of the plant rather than a full removal from the ground.

* Sheet Erosion - The removal of the entire topsoil as a result of heavy rain

* Rill Erosion - The removal of topsoil brought on by runoff water that has formed little streams

* Gully Erosion - The removal of topsoil brought on by deep depressions formed by swiftly moving waters

* Riparian erosion - The removal of both topsoil & underlying soil by fast moving river waters

* Soil Leaching - Not actually a loss of topsoil itself but the disintegration via rainfall of the minerals which make topsoil so fertile.

* Wind erosion - This is more common in areas where there is less vegetation, the heavy winds move the fine particles of topsoil to other areas. This is often a major concern in areas where desert winds are starting to carry sand into fertile lands and is adding to the desertification of some countries.

Bamboo is ideal to help control soil erosion for the very same reason that some homeowners hate it. Running bamboo has a net like root system that creates an effective mechanism for watershed protection. It works to stitch the soil together along fragile riverbanks, deforested areas and in places prone to earthquakes and mudslides.

Studies have shown that because of this wide-spreading root system along with the unique shape of the bamboo leaf create a stem flow rate of 25% which means that bamboo greatly reduces rain run-off, prevents massive soil erosion and keeps up to twice as much water in a watershed. What makes bamboo even far more ideal for use in soil erosion is that it's hearty enough to flourish in areas where poor farming practices and overgrazing have damaged the soil.

Douglas Michaels Jr. writes educational articles for Green Earth News, the authority on everything Bamboo. For more information on Soil Erosion. Check out Green Earth Bamboo for bamboo sheets, bamboo clothes, duvet covers, towels and baby products, all made from the world's most sustainable and renewable resource on the planet.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Douglas_Michaels_Jr.
http://EzineArticles.com/?Bamboo-and-Soil-Erosion---Holding-the-Earth-Together-One-Plant-at-a-Time&id=4861045