Conservation Trends in Agriculture Reflect Policy, Technology, and Other Factors

摘要

Every season farmers face a suite of production and conservation decisions, including crop and variety selection, fertilizer use, conservation strategies, and timing and intensity of tillage and irrigation. These decisions are informed by factors suchas agricultural policy and technology availability. Production choices can impact the health of the environment by affecting soil erosion, nutrient pollution, and water availability and quality. In turn, agricultural productivity is dependent upon the health of the resource base, which is broadly defined to include soil, water, and air quality, as well as related factors such as pollinator health and climate. The recent ERS publication Agricultural Resources and Environmental Indicators, 2019 explorestrends in factors that influence farmer decisions, such as agricultural policy and technology availability, as well as the resulting impacts on resource and environmental quality measures.