Use your words: sustainability

Recently, my sister told me that I use too many big words in my blog. Being the big brother I am, I simply wrote her off as a bimbo.Then I got to thinking that this could be a good platform for a new form of discussion of terms we hear all the time, but what do they really mean?

So, this week's term is "sustainability". This will basically run as a fast-paced interview to appeal to people that don't have a long attention span.

What is sustainability?

Sustainability is a hot topic in a bunch of industries. Sustainability is defined as the ability for us to live in a world where resources are not exhausted (sustained) for future use. This is an especially important issue in energy and agriculture.

What is sustainable agriculture?


Sustainable agriculture is a goal that growers work towards. Typically, there are 3 points that growers strive for: economic profitability, stewardship of land, air, and water, and maintaining a high standard of living for the community. (According to SARE). This idea of managing the resources we have as smart as possible is an old idea which has evolved over the years as technology developed.

How do growers do it?


Growers make changes to the way they use resources. The biggest resource managed is water. Irrigation has made it possible to feed more people on less land, but, the amount of water that actually makes it to the plant varies. Creating a more efficient watering system (such as drip irrigation) is a sustainable practice.

Using drip irrigation only waters the immediate root zone, which is much more efficient compared to soaking the entire ground. The amount of water used is measured in gallons per hour instead of gallons per minute. (courtesy of indianairrigation.com.

Conservation is also a good way to create a sustainable system. For example, growing the same crop year after year can create a deplete soil of nutrients. To combat this depletion, growers use crop rotation, cover crops, and soil amendments (manures and composts) to sustain the productivity of the soil.

These practices are collectively known as Best Management Practices. And there are literally hundreds of tools available, depending on what the grower grows, how much land they have, and how much they are willing to spend. In many cases, the upfront costs are offset by higher profits later on.

If it wasn't for sustainable practices within our nation's farms, our landscape would look very different, and we would not be as technologically advanced as we are. Once the land was depleted, we would at best, revert to our hunter-gatherer way of life. In a worst case scenario, without proper resource management, we could potentially cause our own extinction.

And for the record, I don't think my sister is a bimbo...all the time.