By MICHELE F. MIHALJEVICH
Indiana Correspondent

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — U.S. farmers are more efficient and are making strides in improving agriculture’s impact on the environment, according to a report released last week.

“Predictions are that global food production must double by 2050,” said Sarah Stokes Alexander, director of sustainability and leadership programs for the Keystone Center. “Agriculture must find a way to meet increased production without compromising the environment or society.”

The report, a product of Field to Market: The Keystone Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture, was released Jan. 12 at the American Farm Bureau Federation Convention in San Antonio. Alexander spoke during a teleconference prior to the convention presentation.
The Field to Market effort began more than two years ago, Alexander said.

The alliance is part of the Keystone Center, a nonprofit organization started in 1975 in Keystone, Colo. Funding for the project was provided by Field to Market members, which include the American Soybean Assoc., ConAgra Foods, DuPont, General Mills Inc., John Deere, Mars, Inc., the National Corn Growers Assoc., the National Cotton Council of America and The Nature Conservancy.
The report found that crop producers are making progress in reducing the environmental footprint, or field print, said Marty Matlock, director of the center for agricultural and rural sustainability at the University of Arkansas.

“Soil loss efficiency trends have also improved substantially,” he said during the teleconference. “Also, energy use per unit is down in corn, soybeans and cotton.”

The report focused on corn, cotton, soybeans and wheat, and looked at efficiency in the use of land, water, energy and soil. Data from 1987-2007 was used.

For corn, land use per bushel was down 37 percent from 2000, Matlock said. Soil loss per acre has decreased 43 percent, he said. The amount of water used for irrigation has also decreased, and energy needed to produce one bushel of corn decreased by 37 percent, he said.

“These are positive trends,” Matlock said. “This shows very good progress.”

Over the study period, land use per bushel of soybeans decreased 26 percent. There was a 31 percent reduction in soil loss per acre of soybeans, the report stated. The water use efficiency per bushel of soybeans saw a 20 percent improvement, and energy use per bushel of soybeans decreased 65 percent.

For wheat, the land use per bushel decreased 17 percent, and tons of soil lost per acre was down 39 percent. There was a 17 percent increase in the amount of water needed for irrigation per acre, but a 9 percent decrease in the amount of energy needed per bushel.
The amount of land needed to produce a pound of cotton decreased 25 percent, and the amount of soil lost per pound of cotton dropped 34 percent. Cotton growers used 32 percent less water per acre to irrigate their crop, and there was a 47 percent reduction in energy use per acre.

Studies such as these help farmers compete in the world marketplace, said Kevin Rogers, a fourth-generation cotton farmer from the Phoenix, Ariz., area.

“Farmers have always been receptive to new technology, and farmers quietly adopt those things,” he said. “Yields have continued to increase and that’s the only way we’ve been able to compete. It’s to my advantage to reduce the input costs.”
Farmers want to develop best management practices and getting scientific information is important, he added.

“We want science-based information so we know what we’re doing,” Rogers said during the teleconference. “We’re used to looking to the experts to take us to the next level.”

The reduction in soil loss per acre is a good accomplishment, said Michael A. Reuter, director of conservation programs in the central U.S. region for The Nature Conservancy.

“Agriculture is the dominant land use on earth,” he said during the teleconference. “Agriculture is the largest driver of land use, and we need to support its continued development. This report offers great hope for the industry and the future of the environment.”

A second report will be released in mid-2009, and will add more information on water quality and biodiversity, Alexander said. The group hopes to update the report annually.
The complete report is available at www.keystone.org