In the 2012 President's Budget Request, the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) is terminated. As a result, all resources, databases, tools, and applications within this web site will be removed on January 15, 2012. For more information, please refer to the NBII Program Termination page.
There are a multitude of definitions for sustainable agriculture, but essentially the goal is to meet local food production needs via a system that recycles resources (nutrients, water, etc.), requires little external inputs (fertilizers, pesticides), and has minimal environmental impacts.
Sustainable agriculture is not new; in fact, it has been a standard practice on small farms throughout the world where the raising of livestock is integrated with crop production. The animals provide fertilizer for the crops, and the crop remnants provide fodder for the animals. In addition, the practice creates buffer and transition zones between cultivated areas and forests. There are a variety of ways to practice sustainable agriculture, but they all focus on minimizing the ecological impacts of farming and on the importance of maintaining biological and genetic diversity. Since biological and genetic diversity is maintained, the system theoretically retains its ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions.
Sustainable Agriculture
Impact
Benefits
Costs
Genetic Diversity
Diversification of crops and animals helps maintain genetic diversity.
Diversity maintained is highly adapted to narrow regions and can be vulnerable to large-scale shifts in environmental conditions.
Agricultural Production
Local food production increases as local varieties are cultivated.
Not practical for production of large amounts of food.
Environment
Recycling of nutrients and resources from solar energy to plant growth to animal feed to soil fertilizer.
Requires a large amount of arable land compared to other systems.
Economy/Population
Labor requirements foster a strong and integrated farming community.
Crops and livestock are not specifically bred for marketable characteristics and thus can be less commercially desirable; farming communities with low marketability and low productivity are not likely to grow economically beyond a subsistence level.
US Farm Bill Definition of Sustainable Agriculture:
"Integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will, over the long term:
satisfy human food and fiber needs;
enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agricultural economy depends;
make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls;
sustain the economic viability of farm operations; and
enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole."
The NBII Program is administered by the Biological Informatics Program of the U.S. Geological Survey
