Resource Conserving Agricultural Production Methods, Third Year Report, August 1976 - July 1977

摘要

Activities of a project to study methods of reducing the dependence of farmers on energy-intensive resources are discussed. The initial thrust deals with organic farming in the Corn Belt. This phase has several components: analysis of the economic performance of organic farms compared to conventional farms; investigation of certain resource implications of organic and conventional management; field experiments on crop yields and soil characteristics; and a survey of attitudes and practices of Midwestern farmers. Another area of study was the use of sewage sludge as a fertilizer and soil amendment. Field experiments were undertaken to determine the extent to which sludge can reduce a farmer's fertilizer requirement. The final phase of this study concerned resource problems in irrigated farming, specifically ground water supply limitations, energy shortages, and price increases.