TY - JOUR T1 - Real-world solutions JF - Journal of Soil and Water Conservation SP - 206 LP - 206 VL - 47 IS - 3 AU - R. D. Plowman Y1 - 1992/05/01 UR - http://www.jswconline.org/content/47/3/206.abstract N2 - Agriculture does affect the environment. However, agricultural practices need not degrade the environment, and some can enhance it It's no secret that serious public concern about the environment, the national economy, and agriculture's connections to both began to emerge in the 1980s. And with it came pressures to revise agricultural research priorities and implementation strategies for the 1990s and beyond. Some people are inclined to treat these concerns as passing fancies that will ultimately disappear when other public issues rise to the surface to take their place. But talk to any aficionado of legislative processes and it is clear that times have changed for agriculture. Environmental concerns will not disappear. Today's issues focus on air and water pollution, sustaining ecosystems, the cost of disposing of urban and agricultural wastes, and potential effects of global climate change. By the time the 21st century is upon us, these will have been replaced by others. I feel safe in predicting we will experience increased demand for greater governmental involvement in their solutions. Agricultural exports are one of the few areas of our economy that have had a positive impact on our balance of foreign … ER -