Excerpt
SUSTAINABLE agriculture encompasses any farming system that minimizes inputs of nonrenewable resources. Its goal is long-tenn agricultural sustainability and profitability for the farmer. The Michigan Energy Conservation Program (MECP) is based on this definition as well.
MECP is designed to help farmers and forest producers conserve energy and protect the soil, groundwater and surface water, and other natural resources from unnecessary exposure and/or destruction due to agrichemicals. In MECP's second year, most participants realize the program's intense compatibility with sustainable agriculture: less reliance on energy-intensive practices, reduced use of pesticides and herbicides, increased education and knowledge of conservation methods for farmers, and most importantly, economic and environmental benefits for farmers.
Some background
MECP began nearly two years ago when Michigan's Legislature appropriated $16.5 million from two federal court settlements involving oil overcharges during the petroleum price controls of the 1970s. It began as a 30-month cooperative effort of five major agriculturally related agencies: the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA), local soil and water conservation districts, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Soil Conservation Service (SCS), and the Michigan State University (MSU) Cooperative Extension Service and Agriculture …
Footnotes
Carey L. Draeger is the communications representative for the Michigan Energy Conservation Program, Michigan Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 30017, Lansing, 48909.
- Copyright 1990 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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