Sustainable Agriculture
What practices or methods are considered to be sustainable?
A system of Best Management Practices (BMP's) help enhance sustainability. These can be either management or conservation BMP's.
Management BMP's include:
- Crop or pasture rotation
- Realistic yield goals
- Soil testing
- Nitrogen timing and rates
- Sprayer maintenance
- Proper Herbicide and Nutrient Application
- Timely Pesticide Application
- Pesticide selection
- Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
- Use of biotechnology advances
- Crop residue management
- Buffer or riparian zones
- Marketing
- Crop/Landscape diversity
Conservation BPM's include:
- No-tillage
- Minimum tillage
- Conservation tillage
- Ridge tillage
- Cover crops
- Critical area plantings
- Contour farming
- Stripcropping
- Terraces
- Grassed waterways
- Vegetative filter strips
- Sediment control basins
These BMP's can also include many other practices with no single BMP to fit all farms. However, using these and other BMP's that fit your farm will help it be sustainable, which is a must for the future.
