Editing Agriculture (section)

=== Sustainability ===
[[File:TerracesBuffers.JPG|thumb|upright|Terraces, [[conservation tillage]] and conservation buffers reduce [[soil erosion]] and [[water pollution]] on this farm in Iowa.]]
{{main|Sustainable agriculture}}

Current farming methods have resulted in over-stretched water resources, high levels of erosion and reduced soil fertility. There is not enough water to continue farming using current practices; therefore how water, land, and [[ecosystem]] resources are used to boost crop yields must be reconsidered. A solution would be to give value to ecosystems, recognizing environmental and livelihood tradeoffs, and balancing the rights of a variety of users and interests.<ref>{{cite web |editor-last=Boelee |editor-first=E. |url=http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/topics/ecosystems/ |title=Ecosystems for water and food security |year=2011 |publisher=IWMI/UNEP |access-date=24 May 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523025920/http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/Topics/Ecosystems/ |archive-date=23 May 2013}}</ref> Inequities that result when such measures are adopted would need to be addressed, such as the reallocation of water from poor to rich, the clearing of land to make way for more productive farmland, or the preservation of a wetland system that limits fishing rights.<ref>{{cite web |last=Molden |first=D. |url=http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/news_room/pdf/The-scientist_com-Opinion_The%20Water_Deficit.pdf |title=Opinion: The Water Deficit |publisher=[[The Scientist (magazine)|The Scientist]] |access-date=23 August 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113125654/http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/news_room/pdf/The-scientist_com-Opinion_The%20Water_Deficit.pdf |archive-date=13 January 2012}}</ref>

Technological advancements help provide farmers with tools and resources to make farming more sustainable.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://croplife.intraspin.com/pesticides/paper.asp?id=461 |author=Safefood Consulting, Inc. |title=Benefits of Crop Protection Technologies on Canadian Food Production, Nutrition, Economy and the Environment |year=2005 |publisher=CropLife International |access-date=24 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130706005846/http://croplife.intraspin.com/pesticides/paper.asp?id=461 |archive-date=6 July 2013}}</ref> Technology permits innovations like [[conservation tillage]], a farming process which helps prevent land loss to erosion, reduces water pollution, and enhances [[carbon sequestration]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Trewavas, Anthony |title=A critical assessment of organic farming-and-food assertions with particular respect to the UK and the potential environmental benefits of no-till agriculture |journal=Crop Protection |year=2004 |pages=757–781 |doi=10.1016/j.cropro.2004.01.009 |volume=23 |issue=9 |bibcode=2004CrPro..23..757T}}</ref>

Agricultural automation can help address some of the challenges associated with climate change and thus facilitate adaptation efforts.<ref name=":5" /> For example, the application of digital automation technologies (e.g. in precision agriculture) can improve resource-use efficiency in conditions which are increasingly constrained for agricultural producers.<ref name=":5" /> Moreover, when applied to sensing and early warning, they can help address the uncertainty and unpredictability of weather conditions associated with accelerating climate change.<ref name=":5" />

Other potential sustainable practices include [[conservation agriculture]], [[agroforestry]], improved [[Convertible husbandry|grazing]], avoided grassland conversion, and [[biochar]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Griscom |first1=Bronson W. |last2=Adams |first2=Justin |last3=Ellis |first3=Peter W. |last4=Houghton |first4=Richard A. |last5=Lomax |first5=Guy |last6=Miteva |first6=Daniela A. |last7=Schlesinger |first7=William H. |last8=Shoch |first8=David |last9=Siikamäki |first9=Juha V.|last10=Smith |first10=Pete |last11=Woodbury |first11=Peter |date=2017 |title=Natural climate solutions |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]] |volume=114 |issue=44 |pages=11645–11650 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1710465114 |pmid=29078344 |pmc=5676916 |bibcode=2017PNAS..11411645G |issn=0027-8424 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Negative Emissions Technologies and Reliable Sequestration: A Research Agenda |publisher=National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine |year=2019 |isbn=978-0-309-48452-7 |pages=117, 125, 135 |doi=10.17226/25259 |pmid=31120708 |last1=National Academies Of Sciences |first1=Engineering |s2cid=134196575}}</ref> Current mono-crop farming practices in the United States preclude widespread adoption of sustainable practices, such as 2–3 crop rotations that incorporate grass or hay with annual crops, unless negative emission goals such as soil carbon sequestration become policy.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.nap.edu/catalog/25259/negative-emissions-technologies-and-reliable-sequestration-a-research-agenda |title=Negative Emissions Technologies and Reliable Sequestration: A Research Agenda |publisher=[[National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine]] |year=2019 |isbn=978-0-309-48452-7 |page=97 |doi=10.17226/25259 |pmid=31120708 |author1=[[National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine]] |s2cid=134196575 |access-date=21 February 2020 |archive-date=22 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122220642/https://www.nap.edu/read/25259/chapter/1 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The food demand of Earth's projected population, with current climate change predictions, could be satisfied by improvement of agricultural methods, expansion of agricultural areas, and a sustainability-oriented consumer mindset.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.journals.elsevier.com/ecological-modelling |title=Ecological Modelling |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180123072613/https://www.journals.elsevier.com/ecological-modelling |archive-date=23 January 2018}}</ref>