Low-input farming systems under conservation compliance

Excerpt

THE Food Security Act of 1985 (FSA) broke new legislative ground by establishing unique programs to address environmental concerns. It attacks soil conservation with the conservation compliance, conservation reserve, and sodbuster programs; agri-chemical pollution is addressed with research and extension programs to promote low-input farming systems. It may be difficult, however, to achieve soil conservation and reduce inputs simultaneously because conservation systems are not always consistent with low-input agriculture.

Low-input agriculture is to a large degree linked to conservation plans developed for conservation compliance because these plans affect input decisions. Policymakers, agricultural advisors, and farmers should consider input use in conservation plans if low-input agriculture is deemed important for society. Although soil conservation compliance will be the dominating concern, unnecessary tradeoffs might be reduced with a comparative assessment of the impact on resources and the environment for every soil conservation system.

In this analysis, the effect of conservation compliance on the adoption of low-input, sustainable agriculture is examined for Stanly County, North Carolina. For illustration, low-input, sustainable agriculture is defined as a system that uses no commercial fertilizer or pesticides. These results illustrate general relationships that may vary in individual situations or interpretations …