FUTURE FRIENDLY FARMING

Seven Agricultural Practices to Sustain People and the Environment

Farmers provide food, fuel, and fiber for a growing nation. They
also provide other valuable services like water management,
water filtration, soil protection, recreation, and wildlife habitat.
Today, people are placing increasing demands upon lands for
more goods and services. As a result, farmers have to obtain the
most from lands while protecting these precious resources to
meet the needs of future generations. In order to sustain ourselves and future generations, farmers
have to take a fresh look at how they manage the land.
Increased variability in commodity prices, input costs, and weather patterns is leading to increased
uncertainty for farmers. In an ever-changing world and industry, those best able to consistently
produce while reducing costs will hold a competitive advantage. The innovative future friendly farming
practices can help growers gain an economic advantage by reducing their costs and at the same time
increase their crop yields, productivity, and revenue.
In addition to providing tools to address increasing uncertainty and production challenges for farmers,
future friendly farming practices offer solutions to pressing environmental issues. The techniques
mentioned here cover crops, conservation tillage, organic management, rangeland and grassland
management, forest management, anaerobic digesters, and increasing native ecosystemsbenefit
nature in the following ways:
Cover crops increase water management capacity,
reduce erosion and nutrient loss, and improve wildlife
habitat.
Conservation tillage reduces erosion while increasing
nesting cover for birds and wildlife.
Organic farming eliminates chemical use, increases soil fertility and increases wildlife habitat.
Grassland management boosts soil fertility, biodiversity, and grassland ecosystem health.

 Forest management increases soil fertility and

biodiversity.
Anaerobic digesters reduce threats to water
quality and provide local renewable electric and
thermal energy.
Retaining

and

returning

land

to

native

ecosystems increases biodiversity, wildlife habitat, and improves water quality.

The seven techniques offer valuable ecosystem services that will save taxpayers, farmers, and
consumers money. Implementing these practices will reduce costs associated with water filtration,
flood prevention, wildlife habitat preservation, and other critical land management issues.
Climate change poses a threat to current and future generations, with serious implications for our
food supply, water, and wildlife resources. Consequently, it is important to recognize key tools for
reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adapting to the realities of a changing climate with
more extreme weather events. Future friendly farming and forestry practices offer shovel-ready and
highly cost-effective emissions reductions and sequestration methods to begin decreasing
atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. The practices discussed here can be useful to farmers
seeking to reduce the uncertainty tied to climate
change. These cost-effective strategies will be
vital in helping agriculture address and adapt to
climate change, all the while improving profit
margins for farmers and sustaining opportunities
for the next generation to farm.