 |
|
New tools for sustainable farming
August 26, 2009Agricultural scientists quantify sustainability
Environmentalists are just as fond of talking about it as are politicians, economists or marketing experts - "sustainability" has become a buzzword. The problem is that the term sustainability can refer to many things and have manifold interpretations. Agricultural scientists at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen have shed light on the subject. Together with colleagues in theoretical and applied science they have managed to give the term "sustainability" a more definite meaning. They have helped to make this multi-faceted concept quantifiable - a benefit to farmers, food manufacturers and consumers alike.
Not to live at the expense of the environment and of coming generations, but rather to strike a balance between exploitation and renewal when using resources - this is a central idea of sustainability. It originated in forestry and can be reduced to one basic principle: Never fell more trees in a forest than can grow back. Today the idea of sustainability has taken on significance in all sectors of the economy, but the crux lies in the implementation. "Regenerative systems tend to be very complex. Farmers aiming at running their enterprises in a sustainable way need a solid basis for their decision-making," says Prof. Kurt-Juergen Huelsbergen from the Chair of Organic Farming and Crop Production Systems at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen.
The research question was: How can the sustainability status of farms with available operating data be determined and systematically improved? The goal was very ambitious - to improve the environmental balance of agricultural enterprises without compromising their operating efficiency and social performance. In years of meticulous work to this end, the team of researchers developed indicators and models to analyze, assess and optimize the sustainability of agricultural enterprises. After all, sustainable farming really does benefit everybody: It conserves natural resources, saves energy, reduces the need for pesticides and fertilizers, and fosters a healthier environment, more competitive farms and safe foodstuffs.
Thanks to their new indicator model, the TUM researchers are now able to describe agricultural enterprises as systems based on their material and energy flows. "We now have absolutely accurate methods for determining the emissions in air and water, as well as special tools for assessing the threat to soils from erosion and compaction. In recent years, groundbreaking methods for calculating the climate balance as well as indicators for bio-diversity have emerged. These allow us to collect data on all significant environmental effects of agriculture," said Hülsbergen. Working together with agricultural researchers from the Universitaet Halle-Wittenberg, TUM scientists integrated these model components into a single software application. In field tests at 80 farms across Germany, the computer generated "virtual enterprises" and visualized their environmental data using charts and graphs.
Of course, operating in an environmentally sound way is not enough. For it is only when an enterprise strikes a balance between ecological factors and economic and social aspects that it becomes truly sustainable. To include these factors the TUM Chair for Agricultural Economics, in collaboration with the Institute for Agricultural Engineering Potsdam-Bornim, developed a second set of indicators. This set includes relevant economic indicators such as profit or investment rate, as well as social factors such as co-determination, workload and remuneration level. With this extension the sustainability status of an agricultural enterprise is now fully quantifiable.
The German Agricultural Society has already set up a certification system according to European DIN norms based on these scientific results. If a tested enterprise can meet its target values, it receives the certificate "Sustainable Farming - Fit for the Future." The food industry is also employing the new indicator model. Two large-scale bakery enterprises have already used it to test how sustainably their grain suppliers operate.
Technische Universitaet Muenchen
The research question was: How can the sustainability status of farms with available operating data be determined and systematically improved? The goal was very ambitious - to improve the environmental balance of agricultural enterprises without compromising their operating efficiency and social performance. In years of meticulous work to this end, the team of researchers developed indicators and models to analyze, assess and optimize the sustainability of agricultural enterprises. After all, sustainable farming really does benefit everybody: It conserves natural resources, saves energy, reduces the need for pesticides and fertilizers, and fosters a healthier environment, more competitive farms and safe foodstuffs.
Thanks to their new indicator model, the TUM researchers are now able to describe agricultural enterprises as systems based on their material and energy flows. "We now have absolutely accurate methods for determining the emissions in air and water, as well as special tools for assessing the threat to soils from erosion and compaction. In recent years, groundbreaking methods for calculating the climate balance as well as indicators for bio-diversity have emerged. These allow us to collect data on all significant environmental effects of agriculture," said Hülsbergen. Working together with agricultural researchers from the Universitaet Halle-Wittenberg, TUM scientists integrated these model components into a single software application. In field tests at 80 farms across Germany, the computer generated "virtual enterprises" and visualized their environmental data using charts and graphs.
Of course, operating in an environmentally sound way is not enough. For it is only when an enterprise strikes a balance between ecological factors and economic and social aspects that it becomes truly sustainable. To include these factors the TUM Chair for Agricultural Economics, in collaboration with the Institute for Agricultural Engineering Potsdam-Bornim, developed a second set of indicators. This set includes relevant economic indicators such as profit or investment rate, as well as social factors such as co-determination, workload and remuneration level. With this extension the sustainability status of an agricultural enterprise is now fully quantifiable.
The German Agricultural Society has already set up a certification system according to European DIN norms based on these scientific results. If a tested enterprise can meet its target values, it receives the certificate "Sustainable Farming - Fit for the Future." The food industry is also employing the new indicator model. Two large-scale bakery enterprises have already used it to test how sustainably their grain suppliers operate.
Technische Universitaet Muenchen
Sustainable Farming Current Events and Sustainable Farming News RSSORNL, Los Alamos pioneer new approach to assist scientists, farmers
Sustainable farming, initially adopted to preserve soil quality for future generations, may also play a role in maintaining a healthy climate, according to researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge and Los Alamos national laboratories.
Biodiversity passes the taste test and is healthier too
Cattle and sheep grazed on natural grasslands help maintain biodiversity and produce tastier, healthier meat, according to a study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
Shade trees can protect coffee crops
Sustainable farming that employs shade trees may improve crops' resistance to temperature and precipitation extremes that climate changes are expected to trigger.
Experiment Demonstrates 110 Years of Sustainable Agriculture
A plot of land on the campus of Auburn University shows that 110 years of sustainable farming practices can produce similar cotton crops to those using other methods.
Alternatives to the use of nitrate as a fertiliser
In order to develop sustainable agricultural production, what is required is a study of nitrogenated sources as alternatives to the nitrates that predominate in agricultural soils and that have a greater contaminant capacity.
UK joins world treaty to share vital plant resources
Vital food crops will be protected worldwide under a new international agreement which comes into force today. The UK is one of more than 50 countries committed to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, which aims to improve food security and promote sustainable farming. The treaty aims to ensure that plant genetic resources, which are the property of the country in which they are found, are conserved, used sustainably, and that their benefits are shared fairly. The UK will now grant access to seeds and genetic materials from essential human and animal food crops such as maize, peas, bananas, wheat and barley. Benefits from the use of these plant mate
Research Code Of Practice Will Help Deliver Highest Quality Of Science
A code of practice for contractors undertaking scientific research was today launched by Defra, in partnership with the Food Standards Agency, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the Natural Environment Research Council, and the devolved administrations. The Code will provide a formal framework for auditing research processes to help ensure publicly-funded science is of a consistently high standard, so that government, research organisations and taxpayers can have confidence in the results. The Code will apply to all research funded by Defra and FSA and to research funded by BBSRC and NERC in their own Institutes. Contractors will be asked to focus on the quality of
More Sustainable Farming Current Events and Sustainable Farming News Articles
 |
Micro Eco-Farming: Prospering from Backyard to Small Acreage in Partnership with the Earth by Barbara Berst Adams (Author) Microfarms—or small acreage farms—are gaining popularity across the country for their astoundingly high yields and great tasting produce, as well as their profitability. This handbook reveals the secrets of successful micro eco-farming and explains what eco-farmers need to know to start their own small agribusiness. Questions such as What can be grown? How do farmers reach their markets? and What sustainable production methods can be used? are answered in detail and supported be hundreds of real-life examples. A variety of unusual uses for crops are also provided, including producing organic spa products, building an urban greenhouse, creating a heritage rose farm, or cultivating a connoisseur apple orchard. Ecologists, amateur gardeners, farmers, and those interested in sustainable... |
 |
Crisis and Opportunity: Sustainability in American Agriculture (Our Sustainable Future) by John E. Ikerd (Author) With the decline of family farms and rural communities and the rise of corporate farming and the resulting environmental degradation, American agriculture is in crisis. But this crisis offers the opportunity to rethink agriculture in sustainable terms. Here one of the most eloquent and influential proponents of sustainable agriculture explains what this means. These engaging essays describe what sustainable agriculture is, why it began, and how it can succeed. Together they constitute a clear and compelling vision for rebalancing the ecological, economic, and social dimensions of agriculture to meet the needs of the present without compromising the future. In Crisis and Opportunity, John E. Ikerd outlines the consequences of agricultural industrialization, then details the methods that... |
 |
Fed Up! Genetic Engineering, Industrial Agriculture and Sustainable Alternatives Directed By: Angelo Sacerdote Film presents an entertaining and compelling overview of the current food production system in the U.S. 70% of the food we eat contains genetically engineered ingredients, and this film features interviews with farmers, scientists, government officials and activists, and also uses hilarious and disturbing archival footage. |
|
Dig It! Biointensive Sustainable Mini-Farming Also With: John Jeavons (Primary Contributor) | |
 |
Acres U.S.A. by Acres U.S.A. Acres U.S.A. is the national magazine of organic and sustainable farming. In continuous publication for over 35 years, Acres U.S.A. reaches more commercial-scale organic and sustainable farmers than any other publication in North America. Begun in 1970, when there were merely a few lone souls practicing eco-agriculture, farming that is both economical and ecological, Acres U.S.A. founder and executive editor Charles Walters recognized how the methodical cheating of small farmers and the enforced swing toward new, chemical agriculture were gears in the same machine, working in tandem to transform the countryside -- and not for the better. Corporate power and public policy were colluding in the destruction of the family farm, and the process of annihilation was gathering speed.... |
 |
Mega Green Organic Lawn & Garden Fertilizer by Hydrolysate Company of America 2.5 gallons of easy to use, all-purpose, quality organic fish fertilizer concentrate for up to 1 acre of coverage, giving you a beautiful green lawn, luscious blooms, and larger tastier fruits and vegetables. Mega Green and Multi Bloom are a superior organic fish fertilizer, uniquely processed to capture ALL the great benefits of fish fertilizers as we know them (without the strong fishy smell), while preserving valuable nutrients. Mega Green and Multi Bloom are quickly absorbed, feeding the whole plant while creating a healthy soil environment. We promise you outstanding results and long lasting benefits. Mega Green and Multi Bloom provide the 3 primary plant nutrients: Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potash along with quickly absorbable micro-nutrients plus all important amino acids (17 short... |
 |
The Biological Farmer: A Complete Guide to the Sustainable & Profitable Biological System of Farming by Gary F. Zimmer (Author) Biological farmers work with nature, feeding soil life, balancing soil minerals and tilling soils with a purpose. The methods they apply involve a unique system of beliefs, observations and guidelines that result in increased production and profit. This practical how-to guide elucidates their methods and will help you make farming fun and profitable. A safe and sustainable system designed to keep production up. Biological farming does not mean less production; it means eliminating obstacles to healthy, efficient production. Once the chemical, physical and biological properties of the soil are in balance, you can expect optimal outputs, even in bad years. Biological farming improves the environment, reduces erosion, reduces disease and insect problems, and alters weed pressure and it... |
 |
Lotus Foods Carnaroli Rice, 15-Ounce Bags (Pack of 12) by Lotus Foods Chef's choice for world class risotto. Imported from the Andes. Originating from Italy's famous Poe River Valley, our premium Carnaroli is now estate grown at the foot of the Andes Mountains in the fertile valleys of Central Argentina. Prized by chefs throughout the world for its bold white kernel. uniform starch release and resulting creamy texture, Carnaroli is the preferred rice for world class risotto. Perfect risotto in 20 minutes; Can also be prepared like traditional rice; Great for paella, sushi, pudding or salad. Product of Argentina. |
 |
Ancient Agriculture: Roots and Application of Sustainable Farming by Gabriel Alonso De Herrera (Author), Bryan Romero (Illustrator), Juan Estevan Arellano (Illustrator) The Art of Agriculture is the first English edition of Obra de Agricultura by Gabriel Alonso de Herrera, an agriculture instruction manual originally written in Granada, Spain, in 1513 and published there in 1539. Herrera, widely considered the Father of Modern Spanish Agriculture, wrote this treatise nearly five centuries ago, thoughtfully recounting traditional farming techniques of the Moors before their expulsion from Spain, the Spanish colonizers in the early 1600s, and the rural Indo-Hispano bioregion spanning northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. |
 |
Farming with Nature: The Science and Practice of Ecoagriculture by Sara J. Scherr (Editor), Jeffrey A. McNeely (Editor) A growing body of evidence shows that agricultural landscapes can be managed not only to produce crops but also to support biodiversity and promote ecosystem health. Innovative farmers and scientists, as well as indigenous land managers, are developing diverse types of “ecoagriculture” landscapes to generate cobenefits for production, biodiversity, and local people. Farming with Nature offers a synthesis of the state of knowledge of key topics in ecoagriculture. The book is a unique collaboration among renowned agricultural and ecological scientists, leading field conservationists, and farm and community leaders to synthesize knowledge and experience across sectors. The book examines: the knowledge base for ecoagriculture as well as barriers, gaps, and opportunities for... |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |