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Farmland Degradation in the USA

Definition

Farmland Degradation is a relatively new concept in the science of agriculture. It stems from the concept of land degradation, a concept that defines the destruction of any natural environment by human interference. The concept of land degregation states that there must be two specific events occurring for land degradation to take place. First, "there must be a substantial decrease in the biological productivity of a land system; and, second, this decrease is the result of processes resulting from human activities rather than natural events."(Johnson 2)science. Farmland degradation, then, is the destruction of any beneficial or useful farmland by human interference. Some possible examples of the ways humans have causedfarmlanddegradation are poor farming practices such as: overcultivation of monoculture, the introduction of harmful pesticides and insecticides, and soil erosion all lead the degradation of valuable farmland at the hands of humans.

Early Farming in the USA

The United States of America and the agrarian lifestyle go hand in hand. From the foundation of the nation, farming has proven to be a pivotal and fundamental economic and socio-economic establishment. According to the USA EPA, in 1900, almost forty percent of the workforce was located within the farming industry. Today, less than one percent of the American population is engaged in farming. Farms and farming practices in the early and middle part of the twentieth century were a substansial part of American culture, but today, farming in the USA isn't as important. In the south, after World War One, crops such as tobacco and cotton were flourishing; in the north, and the prices of livestock and corn were at an all time high. Before the era of industrial farming, the farmers of America were prosperous. After industrial farming grabbed a foothold of the agricultural sector, farmers were flourishing at a level never seen before. Advancements infarming technology and farming practices looked to reduce the work of the farmer, at the same time increase yield, but had a negative affect on the soil. While these new technologies may have seemed to be successful, their use and subsequent overuse caused irreparable damage to the farming environment for years to come, especially in the case of pesticides.

Problems causing Farmland degradation in the USA

Since the introduction of big business industrial farming, the United States of america has seen a steady decline in the number of small farms and farmers; the farming industry on a whole has declined, thus leading to the destruction of much farmland. One of the main threats to healthy farmland in the United States is single-crop farming or monoculture. Monocultures are difficult to maintain, and require a lot of pesticides. According to the FAO, "seventy-five percent of genetic diversity in agriculture was lost this past century."(Mander 87). Much of the biodiversity within the crop spectrum has been wiped away to make room for the easy-to-grow and more manageable crops. Another large problem that is causing farmland degradation is the use of harmful and toxic pesticides and insecticides. In an attempt to manage the constant battle between humans and insects, farmers started using harmful chemicals and "within a few short years following World War Two, fertilizers were in consistent, heavy use on over 95 percent of soils producing corn, potatoes, and various vegetable crops.". The use of pesticides continued though. The EPA reports that in 1991, farmers spent about 4.1 billion dollars a year on pesticides.

A Few Legislative Responses

After government officials started to uncover the lasting affects pesticides had on soil, water, and crops, as well as the health of human beings, steps were taken to start paying farmers for good farming practices. Due to previous failures in soil monitoring, in 1994 the National Resource Conservation Service improved the "monitoring and enforcing the compliance of farmers."(Hurt 396). Many farmers opposed the strict regulations of governing bodies, but needed to follow the guidelines in order to receive government funding. Many farmers relied on government funding combined with crop growing to support their families. In 1996, the Freedom to Farm Act came under scrutiny from the public for excessive support from the government. In 2002, in order to provide relief to struggling farmers, Bill Clinton signed the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, provinding 82 billion dollars relief to struggling farmers.

Sources

Hurt, Douglas R. American Agriculture: A Brief History. Indiana. Purdue UP, 2002 ISBN 1-55753-281-8

Johnson, Douglas L and Laurence A. Lewis. Land Degradation: Creation and Destruction. 2nd ed. Lanham. Rowan and Littlefield Publishers, 2007. Print. ISBN-13: 978-0-7425-1947-3

Mander, Jerry. "Machine Logic: Industrializing Nature and Agriculture." The Fatal Harvest Reader: The Tragedy of Industrial Agriculture. Ed. Andrew Kimbrell. Washington. Island Press, 2002. 87-92. Print. ISBN 1-55963-944-X

McKenney, Jason. "Artificial Fertility: The Environmental Costs of Industrial Fertilizers." The Fatal Harvest Reader: The Tragedy of Industrial Agriculture. Ed. Andrew Kimbrell. Washington. Island Press, 2002. 121-130. Print. ISBN 1-55963-944-X