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Crop Farming and Sustainability

Crop Farming and Sustainability. The good and the bad. The 3 main crops grown in Southern Canada and the U.S are. Crops-Corn , Soybeans, Wheat. Once harvested and properly dried, crops store and transport easily High demand as they are found within most foods we eat

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Crop Farming and Sustainability

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  1. Crop Farming and Sustainability The good and the bad

  2. The 3 main crops grown in Southern Canada and the U.S are Crops-Corn, Soybeans, Wheat

  3. Once harvested and properly dried, crops store and transport easily • High demand as they are found within most foods we eat • High yields due to seed engineering meaning farmers make more money Why only 3 crops?

  4. Plowing was traditional way of preparing land (called seed beds) for crops • Kills weeds by exposing roots to the sun and dries the soil by aerating • 1 horse can plow 1 acre per day • Modern plowing Traditional Crop Tillage Method

  5. Plowing creates soil erosion and “dead pan” –hard infertile soil • Exposed soils are easily moved by wind and rain • Worldwide 25 billion metric tons of annual soil loss • Results in the sediment loading of rivers and lakes • Increase in fertilizers to maintain profitability Negatives

  6. Water Erosion – Create Rills and Gullies = lose soil

  7. Possible Solutions

  8. Planting perpendicular to water runoff Managing Topography – Contour Plowing

  9. Strip Farming

  10. The planting of different kinds of crops in alternating strips along land contours • When one crops is harvested the other is still present to protect the soil • Used in hilly terrain and polyculture farming – multiple crop in the same Strip Farming

  11. Planted within harvested crop to provide ground cover • This prevents erosion by roots binding soil together and dissipating energy during rainfall • Keeps moisture in the ground Cover Crops -

  12. No till drilling

  13. This type of planting pushes the seed into soil through previous crop residue • Minimal soil disturbance and lower rates of erosion • The introduction of Roundup Ready seeds has increased no-till drilling No – Till Drilling

  14. No Till Air Drill

  15. A few months later • Before Round Up • After Round Up Round Up Ready Corn

  16. Leaves up to 75 percent of plant debris on the surface between the rows, preventing erosion • The seed is placed in the same row as the previous years plant/root system Ridge Tillage

  17. Reduces the number of times a farmer will disturbs the soil • Reducing costs for fuel because tillage equipment is only disturbing a specific area, not cultivating the whole field

  18. Low input - Sustainable Agriculture

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