by Jack Fortino
As the world gradually shifts toward implementing sustainable practices wherever possible, it’s clear that we need to rethink how we farm. If we are able to reduce our pollution, energy intake, and carbon footprint in farming, we can build a much more eco-friendly society.
The great thing about eco-friendly farming is that it can be relatively easy to do. There are numerous implementable steps, from the corporate level to the home gardener, to help make farming more sustainable. It’s imperative that farms of all sizes implement these strategies. If they do, our whole world will benefit because of it. Here’s a look into some of the most effective eco-friendly farming practices.
Organic Farming
Put simply, pesticides are horrible for the environment. Not only are they dangerous to people who consume produce treated with pesticides, but they are incredibly destructive to the surrounding area. Pesticides are meant to keep pests at bay, and to kill pests that come into contact with plants. Usually though, only around 5 percent of the pesticide ends up on the plant. If 5 percent is enough to kill bugs, you can only imagine what the other 95 percent can do. The poison released into the environment by pesticides is bad enough to harm surrounding plants and animals, and can also pollute any nearby water sources.
Organic farming costs more than farming with pesticides, but if done right, the difference is negligible; besides, there are plenty of environmentally friendly ways to keep pests at bay.
Solar Power
Solar power is one of the best sources of sustainable energy, and it should come as no surprise that implementing solar power into your farm is eco-friendly. By adding solar panels, you reduce your dependency on traditional forms of energy and electricity, thus decreasing your carbon emissions.
Farms are usually in areas open to sun, so any field, or patch of land not being used for crops is the perfect place to install solar panels that can help your farm become more sustainable and eco-friendly. If large farms did this as well, the decrease in our carbon footprint would be substantial.
No-Till Device
One of the greatest inventions for eco-friendly farmers is that of the roller-crimper, which eschews traditional soil tilling. The roller-crimper rolls over a cover crop, preparing the soil for planting, just as a till would. The roller-crimper dramatically promotes carbon sequestration. The Rodale Institute, which created this brilliant tool, claims that if it was used on all 3.5 billion acres of tillable land in the world, our carbon emissions would be cut in half via absorption and sequestration. That’s some seriously eco-friendly farming.
Eco-friendly farming isn’t always a cheap alternative, but as we continue to destroy our environment and send seemingly endless amounts of carbon emissions into the atmosphere, it’s imperative that we soon find healthy and safe alternatives for ourselves and for the environment. Thankfully, these are just a few of the dozens of different things farmers can do to practice eco-friendly farming.
About the Author
Jack Fortino is eco-friendly micro-farmer. If you’re looking for great equipment and materials for great farming techniques, Jack recommends visiting http://www.dragonproductsltd.com/.
