Agricultural Land Conservation
Agricultural Land Conservation
The issues of land distribution and land conservation in agriculture attract more and more attention, especially when the expansion of cropland is hitting a limit since much more land is conserved for environmental purposes. Soil erosion is devastating the topsoil of land as chemical fertilizers are used to increase output within a limited amount of land. At the same time, livestock production expands at an ever-growing speed, worsening the land use situation. Livestock production, nowadays, consumes a large portion of crop that could be distributed to serve for poor population. A taxation system in favor of production capacity and against environmental damages will encourage farmers to improve their production techniques. Proper regulations could not be emphasized more to make sure that a genuinely sustainable agriculture system will be built with animals to cycle nutrients.
Cropland is the land that is suited to or used for crop production. Grazing land refers to a field covered with grass or herbage, and suitable for grazing by livestock. FAO is the abbreviation for The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, a specialized organization that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. NCGA is the abbreviation for National Corn Growers Association, which represents America’s corn growers.
The expansion of cropland has limited potential due to environmental conservation. At present, more than one point five billion hectares is used for crop production, accounting for twelve percent of the globe’s land surface. According to FAO, there is little scope for further expansion of cropland. Despite the presence of considerable amounts of land potentially suitable for agriculture, much of it is covered by forests, protected for environmental reasons, or employed for unban settlements. Compared with livestock production, crop production requires soil that contains more fertile materials, which makes it harder
The issues of land distribution and land conservation in agriculture attract more and more attention, especially when the expansion of cropland is hitting a limit since much more land is conserved for environmental purposes. Soil erosion is devastating the topsoil of land as chemical fertilizers are used to increase output within a limited amount of land. At the same time, livestock production expands at an ever-growing speed, worsening the land use situation. Livestock production, nowadays, consumes a large portion of crop that could be distributed to serve for poor population. A taxation system in favor of production capacity and against environmental damages will encourage farmers to improve their production techniques. Proper regulations could not be emphasized more to make sure that a genuinely sustainable agriculture system will be built with animals to cycle nutrients.
Cropland is the land that is suited to or used for crop production. Grazing land refers to a field covered with grass or herbage, and suitable for grazing by livestock. FAO is the abbreviation for The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, a specialized organization that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. NCGA is the abbreviation for National Corn Growers Association, which represents America’s corn growers.
The expansion of cropland has limited potential due to environmental conservation. At present, more than one point five billion hectares is used for crop production, accounting for twelve percent of the globe’s land surface. According to FAO, there is little scope for further expansion of cropland. Despite the presence of considerable amounts of land potentially suitable for agriculture, much of it is covered by forests, protected for environmental reasons, or employed for unban settlements. Compared with livestock production, crop production requires soil that contains more fertile materials, which makes it harder
Cited: Brown, Lester R. “Eroding Futures.” Futurist. July-August, 2011: 23-30. McWilliams, James E. “The Myth of Sustainable Meat.” New York Times. 13 April, 2012: 31. Whitty, Julia. “Livestock Revolution Examined.” Mother Jones. 16 March, 2010: http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/03/livestock-revolution-examined.