The Sustainability Of Sustainable Agriculture

1. Introduction

Agriculture is one of the most ancient forms of art and science that ties human development and well-being to natural resources and ecosystems. (Fritz J. Häni, 2007) Sustainable Agriculture is the production of food, fibre, plant and animal products using farming techniques that protect the environment, public health, human communities and animal welfare. (Sustainable Agriculture - The Basics, 2015) Sustainable agriculture is an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site – specific application that over the long term will:

 Satisfy human food and fibre needs.

 Enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agricultural economy depends.

 Make the most efficient use

(The Sustainability of Irish Agriculture, n.d.) Sustainability is very important on my home farm. Practices have been put in place that won’t cause harm to the environment. My home farm is a small, family enterprise and I feel that new approaches are needed in order to maintain the farms sustainability status. Non-renewable inputs that are harmful to the environment or to the health of farmers should be minimised. As well as this, farmers have knowledge and skills that could be put into use, therefore substituting human capital for costly external outputs. Sustainable agriculture outcomes can be positive for food productivity, reduced pesticide use and carbon balances. (Agricultural Sustainability: concepts, principles and evidence, 2007) In this essay, I will discuss the principles and practices of sustainable agriculture, identifying how they may relate to my home farm. I will then discuss whether or not present activities can change to more sustainable methods in the

Blackface Mountain and Cheviot ewes. We produce lamb for meat factories and also supply lamb to local butchers. This can sometimes prove to be a costly enterprise for us as we only have a small farm and most of the agricultural schemes tend to favour the large farmer. We have a cattle shed on the farm and this is rented to a local cattle farmer. We also make silage in the form of bales. We sell the majority of these as we wouldn’t have any need for it all.

Practices:

There are a number of sustainable farming practices and some of these are in place on my home farm. Reducing soil erosion is one of the most important practices on my home farm.

Soil is the most important non-renewable resource on any farm. Healthy soil is key to a good crop. We spread slurry from the sheep shed and cattle shed and fertilisers such as 10-10-20,

0-7-30 and Selinigrass + Se on the land to try and improve the quality of the soil. A river runs by some our land and this is an issue when spreading herbicides and slurry in particular. A sustainable agriculture practice is to reduce the risk of water contamination by agricultural chemicals. In order to avoid polluting the water we spread the manure and slurry when