Sustainable Agriculture:

Farming for the Future

Agricultural practices have shifted significantly over the past “Definitions may vary, but sustainable agriculture generally
century. In the late 1940s, the use of mechanized equipment, refers to practices that are viable over long periods of time, both
Virginia Natural Resources Leadership Institute — Session 4

synthetic fertilizers and chemical pesticides became standard environmentally and economically. Sustainable agriculture, for
agriculture practices. The changes in farming practices have example, strives to nurture soil that can produce crops reliably
reduced the total labor hours required for farming, allowed larger without nutrient depletion and with minimal amendments. In
scale farming operations that increase production and lower costs, sustainable agriculture, the farmer makes a philosophical shift
and reduced farming labor risks. According to the Sustainable away from control to cooperation and evolves from master to
Agriculture Research and Education Program (UC SARE) at steward.”1
the University of California at Davis, there are significant costs
with newer, industrial forms of agriculture, including ground
water contamination, topsoil depletion, a significant reduction
in the number of family farms, substandard living and working
conditions for farm laborers, and declining economic and social
health of many rural communities. To combat these trends,
agricultural methods known as sustainable agriculture have
gained significant momentum over the past two decades as a means
to restore health to farms, food, and communities.

Sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals: environmental

health, economic profitability, and social equity. Sustainable
agriculture refers to stewardship of both natural and human
resources, according to UC SARE. Sustainable agriculture is a
method of agriculture that seeks to:
• utilize biological pest control and natural biological cycles;
• protect and enhance soil fertility;
• raise healthy livestock without hormones and antibiotics;
• produce safe crops without use of synthetic chemicals;
• optimize the management and use of on-farm resources; and
• reduce the use of nonrenewable resources.
Sustainable agriculture uses many different tools, including
organic farming and more specific methodologies such as
biointensive gardening (double-digging beds and proximity
planting); permaculture (ecological design that enhances
ecosystems, produces energy on site, catches rainwater, and saves
seeds); biodynamic methods (a holistic approach to farming
based on models in nature, with a focus on enhancing soils); and
integrated pest management (reducing chemical use for pest
control by enhancing natural biological systems through timed
releases of beneficial insects, timed tillage and pruning).
In broader social terms, sustainable agriculture aims to provide
an adequate and dependable farm income, promote opportunity
in family farming and farm communities, and minimize adverse
impacts on health, safety, wildlife, water quality and the
environment.
Sustainable agriculture has been growing rapidly in popularity
for a number of reasons. Many consumers are becoming
concerned about the potential risks of pesticides, hormones,
and antibiotics in food today. In 2004, the US Market for
Organic Foods and Beverages stated that organic food sales
increased at an average of 20% per year for the past few years.
About 12% of U.S. households buy organic foods on a regular
basis. “Not only do 13 million households say they’re buying
it regularly, another 62 million households say they anticipate
buying it in the next five years,” says Ronnie Cummins, the
national director of the Organic Consumers Association.

The US Department of Agriculture adopted national standards

for the labeling and processing of organic foods in 2000.
The new standards ban the use of irradiation, biotechnology,
and biosolids (sewage sludge) for foods labeled “organic.”
Proposed amendments to the Organic Standards in 2005
has sparked a debate on the use of synthetic ingredients and
processing substances as well as the appropriateness of factory
dairy farming in organic certification.

A Partnership Program of the University of Virginia Institute for Environmental Negotiation,

the Virginia Tech Center for Economic Education, and the Virginia Department of Forestry
Tel: 434.924.1970 Fax: 434.924.0231 Address: P.O. Box 400179 Charlottesville, VA 22904-4179
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 Sustainable Agriculture:
Farming for the Future
Sustainable vs. Self-Sustaining

What is the difference between a self-sustaining and a sustainable

Virginia Natural Resources Leadership Institute — Session 4

farm? A self-sustaining farm provides for all of its needs through

resources on the farm. For example, it might produce energy
through solar panels, provide for all of its food needs from the
farm, and use water from on-site resources. A sustainable farm
utilizes ecological farming techniques to farm, and often enhances
the land, but is not necessarily completely self-sufficient.

Above: A farmers’ market in North Carolina

Tools of the Sustainable Farmer

Farmers and ranchers can choose many ways to improve
their sustainability, and their tools vary from place to place.
However, some common sets of practices have emerged as a
means to contribute to long-term farm profitability, environ-
mental stewardship, and improved quality of life. Some of
these tools include:
According to the Organic Consumers Association, food in the • Water conservation and protection techniques such as
U.S. travels an average of 1,300 miles from the farm to the planting riparian buffers along streams and managing
market shelf. Almost every state in the U.S. buys 85-90% of its irrigation to reduce runoff.
food from another place. In contrast, sustainable farmers attempt • Controlling pests through organic means, including
to sell their produce and products locally at a wide variety of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices.
locations including farmer’s markets, community supported • Conserving and amending the soil through compost,
agriculture farms, pick-your-own farms and roadside stands, reduced tillage, and no-till means. Compost can be cre-
restaurants, health food stores and other grocers, and through ated on a large or small-scale basis, and it involves the
on-line options. decomposition of organic material (largely plant matter)
into a rich material that resembles soil and is a beneficial
Community supported agriculture (CSA) farms allow people to soil amendment.
buy shares in the farm. “Shareholders” receive fresh produce • Rotational grazing, rotational crop production, com-
weekly throughout the season, including fruits, vegetables, and panion planting, and cover crops such as rye, clover, or
sometimes cheese, flowers, eggs and meat. CSA members accept vetch after harvest to increase soil health, control ero-
part of the financial risks associated with farming and enjoy access sion, and suppress weeds.
to “their” farms for educational events and volunteer opportunities.
• Agroforestry practices, including planting trees on
CSAs also allow members to know where their food comes from,
farms, better management of woodlots and windbreaks,
to eat locally and in season, and to get to know the people who
growing specialty trees, and growing trees and shrubs
grow the food they eat. To find a CSA farm, see http://www.
along streams as buffer strips.
sare.org/csa/.
• Nutrient management planning to reduce runoff of nitro-
gen and phosphorous into ground and surface water by
ensuring that soil amendment quantities and qualities are
designed for the intended crops.
• Diversification of crops, landscape, livestock, and cul-
tural practices to enhance the biological and economic
stability of the farm; avoiding monocrops.
• Promoting livestock and herd health through grass
pasture feeding (rather than confined non-grass feeding),
thereby using no hormones or antibiotics.

A Partnership Program of the University of Virginia Institute for Environmental Negotiation,

the Virginia Tech Center for Economic Education, and the Virginia Department of Forestry
Tel: 434.924.1970 Fax: 434.924.0231 Address: P.O. Box 400179 Charlottesville, VA 22904-4179
2
 Sustainable Agriculture:
Farming for the Future
Genetic Engineering, Seed Saving and Patenting
Virginia Natural Resources Leadership Institute — Session 4
Conflicts between advocates of conventional and sustainable
agriculture include the debate about genetically engineered
(GE) food. GE foods have had the gene of a different organism
inserted into the gene sequence of the target food for a desired
outcome, such as a flounder gene inserted into a tomato’s gene
sequence to allow tomatoes to withstand colder temperatures
during transportation. The risks and promises of GE foods are
currently unknown. Some contend that GE foods may contain
promise for reducing hunger and disease in developing nations,
such as creating a rice variety with high vitamin content. Others
see GE food as a threat to long-term human health (concerns
about allergies and transfers of the genes to human cells and
gut flora), human food security through contamination of
existing seed stock via cross-pollination with non-GE crops,
and the environment through unintended impacts on wildlife
species. Some genetically engineered crops are designed
to be resistant to herbicides, such as Monsanto’s Round-Up
Ready canola plants. Related unknown effects include the
possibility of herbicide run-off, nutrient loading of waterways,
and the creation of “super-weeds” resistant to herbicides due to
overuse of herbicide made possible by such canola or soy plants.
Impacts of increased herbicide exposure on food safety are also
unknown. Foods using genetically engineered crops currently
are not required to be labeled as such in the United States.
Seed patenting and the newly emerging legal
“ownership” of seeds is another source of cross-fire in the
debate about sustainable agriculture, and is creating a new
set of ethical conflicts. For example, because a GE-plant’s
genes are patented, corporations such as Monsanto have
the ability to sue if anyone uses their seeds without a license.
Percy Schmeiser, a farmer in Saskatchewan, has been growing
canola for over 50 years from his own saved seeds. Schmeiser
was sued in 1998 by Monsanto for canola plants in his fields
that were unintentionally cross-pollinated by Monsanto’s GE
canola plants grown by a nearby farmer. In 2004, the Canadian
Supreme Court determined that Schmeiser did violate the patent,
but did not require him to pay Monsanto. This case opened an
important debate about the ethics of patenting seeds and served
as a precedent for future debates3 .
Challenges to Sustainable Agriculture
There are a number of potential impediments to sustainable
agriculture. Federal, state and local government policies often
impede the goals and implementation of sustainable agriculture.
These policies reflect a national consumer “Cheap Food” culture.
Crop subsidies, for example, became a federal tool for supporting
farmers in the depression era, and have since become entrenched
federal policy. Some argue that these subsidies keep the cost of
A Partnership Program of the University of Virginia Institute for Environmental Negotiation,
the Virginia Tech Center for Economic Education, and the Virginia Department of Forestry
Tel: 434.924.1970 Fax: 434.924.0231 Address: P.O. Box 400179 Charlottesville, VA 22904-4179
conventionally-grown food artificially low, thereby making it very
difficult, if not impossible, for sustainably-grown crops to compete
in the market. These policies have been attributed with contributing
to the growth of agri-business (mega-farms) and loss of small farms
due to the increased need for “economies of scale,” meaning that
a farmer must grow increasing quantities of crops to make ends
meet. Economies of scale are driven in part by shrinking profit
margins, again related to subsidies, and in part by increasing costs
of operation (machinery, chemicals, fuel, etc.). Faced with these
policy-driven consequences for decades, sustainable agriculture
is now becoming more accepted and standard practice, receiving
support from public health, food safety, and rural development
advocates. Reflecing this shift in attitude, conventional farmers
can now receive training in sustainable methodologies from the
university ag extension community.
Another significant pressure impacting sustainable agriculture
is the loss of agricultural lands, averaging one million acres lost
annually to urban growth. Increasing local and state taxes together
with rising values for farmland can make it more attractive for the
farmer to sell than continue farming. To help preserve farmland,
and in recognition that a farm requires far fewer local services than
a family, some localities are adopting tax rates that enable farmers
to be taxed at lower “use value” rates. These and other challenges
are influencing the evolving role of sustainable agriculture in our
physical and cultural landscape.
Travis and Amy Forgues are farmers often cited in sustainable
agriculture literature. They are working to utilize sustainable
agriculture tools on their farm, as well as overcome some
of the challenges that many farmers face. Travis and Amy
(pictured above) have 80 milking cows on a 220-acre pasture-
based organic dairy farm in Vermont. As it is a certified
organic farm, no chemical pesticides, fertilizers, hormones
or antibiotics are used. Milking twice daily takes about
four hours. Harvesting hay in the summer remains time-
consuming, but Travis feels he is better off than when he was
a confinement dairy worker, saying, “What we’ve found is
that, if you treat your animals with a little respect, feed them
ten pounds of grain and hay, and ask them to do what they
can do, they stay healthy.” And about working on the farm,
he says, “You need to be sure you are enjoying what you’re
working for.” 1
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 Sustainable Agriculture:
Farming for the Future
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program
Virginia Natural Resources Leadership Institute — Session 4

University of California at Davis

http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/concept.htm

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education
http://www.sare.org/htdocs/sare/
(provides research and education grants for farmers and provides
education and outreach strategies for
Extension educators).

Virginia Association for Biological Farming

http://www.vabf.org/

Resources:
Farmers with the
Appalachian Sustainable Development Appalachian Sustainable
Email: asd@eva.org Agriculture Project
http://www.appsusdev.org/susag.html

Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project

http://www.asapconnections.org/

The Compost Resource Page

http://www.howtocompost.org/

Center for Sustainable Agriculture

email: sustainable.agriculture@uvm.edu
http://www.uvm.edu/~susagctr/

Denckla, Tanya. The Grower’s A-Z Guide to Growing Organic

Food. North Adams, MA: Storey Communications, February
Food
2004.
Faeth, Paul, Robert Repetto, Kim Kroll, Qi Dai, and Glenn
Helmers. Paying the Farm Bill: U.S. Agricultural Policy and
the Transition to Sustainable Agriculture. Washington D.C.:
World Resources Institute, March 1991.
Jeavons, John and Carol Cox. The Sustainable Vegetable Gar-
den. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press 1999.
Organic Consumers’ Association
http://www.organicconsumers.org/
Endnotes:
1
The Grower’s A-Z Guide to Growing Organic Food, see above.
2
“Exploring Sustainability in Agriculture” from the Sustain-
able Agriculture Research and Education program, part of the
USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension
Service. Online version available as a PDF at the website:
http://www.sare.org/bulletin/explore/index.htm
3
For more information on Percy Schmeiser, go to the website:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/ge/seed_patent_schmeiser.cfm

SARE National Office

Office of Sustainable Agriculture Programs
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Room 3868 South Bldg., Ag Box 2223
Washington, DC 20250-2223
(202) 720-5203

A Partnership Program of the University of Virginia Institute for Environmental Negotiation,

the Virginia Tech Center for Economic Education, and the Virginia Department of Forestry
Tel: 434.924.1970 Fax: 434.924.0231 Address: P.O. Box 400179 Charlottesville, VA 22904-4179