Some Farmers Able to Cut Chemical Use

Somewhere between smaller chemical-free organic farms and giant corporate cultivators that use tons of pesticides a year is an idea that’s getting a lot of attention.

The professionals call it low-input sustainable agriculture.

What it means is using only the chemicals you really need.

In general, organic farming requires total abstinence from chemical fertilizers or pest control. Sustainable agriculture provides a way to cut back on chemicals through better soil-monitoring technology, mechanical weed control, crop rotation and what’s known as integrated pest management.

Sound reasonable?

Some parts of the agriculture industry are being dragged along kicking and screaming. They say that thanks to fertilizers and pesticides, a single acre can produce several times the crops of the same acre 40 years ago.

Furthermore, say farmers interviewed by investigators for Congress’ General Accounting Office, the government’s subsidy programs discourage the sustainable approach by linking payments to certain crop yields that require chemicals to be maintained.

This means that unless the law is changed, farmers will continue to push for high production of cotton, soybeans, corn and wheat year after year, even though these crops are associated with soil erosion and the chemicals used on them are damaging ground water in some states.

“We must encourage farmers to combine responsible stewardship of natural resources with farm profitability,” Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) said during debate on the 1990 farm bill, “but we cannot ignore the bottom line in agriculture any more than you can ignore the bottom line in any business.”

The Senate bill approved July 27 authorizes $40 million a year to pursue sustainable agriculture programs, provide material to farmers who want to learn more about the methods and requires extension agents to take courses so they can teach farmers about it.

The House bill, approved Aug. 1, has similar language.