Farmers combine land, water, commercial inputs, labor, and their management skills into practices and systems to produce food and fiber. To sustain production over time, farmers must make a profit and preserve their resource and financial assets. Society wants food and fiber
products that are low-cost, safe to consume, and aesthetically pleasing, and wants production systems that preserve or enhance the environment. These often competing goals and pressures are reflected not only in the inputs made available for production, but also in how the inputs are selected, combined, and managed at the farm level.
Increasingly, farmers are facing pressures to change from conventional production practices to more environmentally friendly practices that encompass critical aspects of crop production, including pest management, nutrient management, soil management, and sustainable production systems. ERS research examines the critical role of economic and environmental factors in the adoption of management practices and technologies, including the use of conservation tillage, integrated pest management, precision farming, nutrient testing, organic farming, and biotechnology.
Features:
"Economic and Policy Implications of Wind-Borne Entry of Asian Soybean Rust into the United States"
American soybean producers and the research, regulatory, and extension institutions supporting them are preparing for the potential wind-borne entry of Asian soybean rust into the United States. This report examines how the economic impacts of soybean rust establishment will depend on the timing, location, spread, and severity of rust infestation and on how soybean and other crop producers, livestock producers, and consumers of agricultural commodities respond to this new pathogen. (April 2004)
"U.S. Agriculture Depends Increasingly on Imported Fertilizer"
U.S. farmers use about 21 million tons of the nutrients nitrogen, phosphate, and potash each year in the form of chemical fertilizers, helping to sustain high U.S. crop yields. But the sources of these nutrients have changed markedly in recent years from domestic to foreign suppliers, making the U.S. increasingly dependent on fertilizer imports. Increasingly depending on the import would result in changing of the current fertilizer distribution and storage system, which was constructed around the U.S. supply base, to supply fertilizers to meet farmer demand.
"Managing Manure: New Clean Water Act Regulations Create Imperative for Livestock Producers"
New Clean Water Act Regulations Create Imperative for Livestock Producers-Nutrients from livestock and poultry manure are key sources of water pollution. Ever-growing numbers of livestock and poultry per farm and per acre have increased the risk of water pollution, with manure being disposed of in ways not adequately addressed in the original 1972 regulations. The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA signed new regulations on December 15, 2002 that would compel operations with the largest number of animals to manage their manure according to a nutrient management plan.
"Crop Production Practices"
Phase II of the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) is USDA's primary source of information about the current status and trends in crop production practices for major crops (corn, soybeans, wheat, and cotton). This survey also obtains data on U.S. farmers' agricultural resource use, as well as data to assess potential environmental impacts associated with crop production practices. The ARMS survey yields annual data summaries for field-level data by crop, including: irrigation technology and water use, nutrient use and nutrient management practices, crop residue management practices, pest management practices and pesticide use, and crop seed variety. Data summaries are available for production years 1996-2000 (1996-98 and 2000 for wheat).
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