tices of Sustainable farming in detail:
1. Make use of Renewable Energy Sources: The first and the most
important practice is the use of alternate sources of energy. Use of
solar, hydro-power or wind-farms is
ecology friendly. Farmers can use
solar panels to store solar energy
and use it for electrical fencing and
running of pumps and heaters.
Running river water can be source
of hydroelectric power and can be
used to run various machines on
farms. Similarly, farmers can use
geothermal heat pumps to dig beneath the earth and can take advantage of earth’s heat.
2. Integrated pest management:
Integrated pest management a
combination pest control techniques for identifying and observing
pests in the initial stages. One
needs to also realize that not all
pests are harmful and therefore it
makes more sense to let them coexist with the crop than spend
money eliminating them. Targeted
spraying works best when one need
to remove specific pests only. This
not only helps you to spray pests on
the selected areas but will also protect wildlife from getting affected.
3. Crop Rotation: Crop rotation is a
tried and tested method used since
ancient farming practices proved to
keep the soil healthy and nutritious.
Crop rotation has a logical explanation to it – the crops are picked in a
pattern so that the crops planted
this season replenish the nutrients
and salts from the soil that were
absorbed by the previous crop cycle. For example, row crops are
planted after grains in order to balance the used nutrients.
4. Avoid Soil Erosion: Healthy soil is
key to a good crop. Age old techniques like tilling the land, plowing
etc. still work wonders. Manure,
fertilizers, cover crops etc. also help
improve soil quality. Crop rotations
prevent the occurrence of diseases
in crops, as per studies conducted.
Diseases such as crown rot and tan
spot can be controlled. Also pests
like septoria, phoma, etc. can be
eliminated by crop rotation techniques. Since diseases are crop specific, crop rotation can work wonders.
5. Crop Diversity: Farmers can
grow varieties of the same crop
yielding small but substantial differences among the plants. This eases
financial burdening. This process is
called crop diversity and its practical
use is on a down slide.
6. Natural Pest Eliminators: Bats,
birds, insects etc. work as natural
pest eliminators. Farmers build shelter to keep these eliminators close.
Ladybugs, beetles, green lacewing
larvae and fly parasites all feed on
pests, including aphids, mites and
pest flies. These pest eliminators are
available in bulk from pest co ntrol
stores or farming supply shops.
Farmers can buy and release them
on or around the crops and let
them make the farm as their home.
7. Managed Grazing: A periodic
shift of the grazing lands for cattle
should be maintained. Moving livestock offers them a variety of grazing pastures. This means they will
receive various nutrients which is
good for them. The excreta of these
animals serve as a natural fertilizer
for the land. Change of location
also prevents soil erosion as the
same patch of land is not trampled
upon constantly. Also by grazing in
time and mowing the weeds can be
gotten rid-off before they produce
more seeds and multiply.
8. Save Transportation Costs: Targeting the sales of the production
in the local market saves transportation and packaging hassles. It also
eliminates the need of storage
space. Therefore when stuff is
grown and sold in local markets, it
makes a community self-sufficient,
economically sound, saves energy
and doesn’t harm the environment
in any way.
9. Better Water Management: The
first step in water management is
selection of the right crops. One
must choose the local crops as they
are more adaptable to the weather
conditions of the region. Crops that
do not command too much water
must be chosen for dry areas. Irrigation systems need to be well
planned otherwise they lead to other issues like river depletion, dry
land and soil degradation. One can
also build rainwater harvesting systems to store rainwater and use
them in drought prevailing conditions. Apart from that, municipal
waste water can be used for irrigation after recycling.
10. Removal of Weeds Manually:
Farmers having small farms can use
their hands to remove weeds from
crops where machines can’t reach
or where crops are too fragile. This
is quite a labor intensive task and is
not suitable for large farms. Apart
from this, a farmer also has the option to burn the old crops so that
weeds do not produce seeds and
destroy rest of the crops. However,
that will cause pollution in air and
can also affect the soil quality.
Sustainable energy is not only economical but it also helps in the conservation of our natural resources.
Sustainable farming also helps reduce the need for chemicals fertilizers and pesticides. This makes the
process more organic and clean.
Image credit: bandofbrothersfoundation
Acknowledgement:
Sustainable Farming: small steps to
a big tomorrow http://
www.conserve-energy-future.com/
sustainable-farming-practices.php