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Revision as of 04:15, 1 April 2004 by Tsavage (talk | contribs) (copyedit)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals: environmental stewardship, farm profitability, and prosperous farming communities. These goals have been defined by a variety of philosophies, policies and practices, from the vision of farmers and consumers.
In production terms, sustainable agriculture refers to the ability of a farm to continue producing indefinitely, with a minimum of outside inputs, like fertilizer for plants, or petroleum products to run machinery. In order to grow, the crops and livestock draw energy from the soil, air, water, and sunlight. As the crops are harvested and consumed, the energy they used must be replaced in order to continue production. Some of that energy comes from the larger environment, from sun, air, and rain. Some can be recycled: crop residues and manure from livestock retain nutrients that can be returned to the soil. Farm labor performed by animals (including the farmers!) that are fed by the farm is another form of energy recycling. Any further inputs have to be imported. The less the farm needs outside inputs to maintain production levels, the greater its level of sustainability.
In an economic context, the farm must generate revenue in order to acquire things that cannot be produced on-farm. The way that crops are sold then becomes part of the sustainability equation. Fresh food sold from a farm stand requires little additional energy, beyond growing and harvest. Food that is packaged and shipped incurs a greater energy cost, for materials, labor, transportation, storage, and so forth. The more complex the food system in which the farm participates, the greater the farm's annual energy "bill".
In environmental terms, given the finite supply of natural resources, agriculture that is very inefficient - low on the sustainability scale - will eventually run out of resources and cease to be viable. And agriculture that relies mainly on outside inputs contributes to the depletion and degradation of natural resources.
In practice, there is no single approach to sustainable agriculture, as the precise goals and methods must be adapted to each individual case.