Agriculture
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Bioenergy > Issues > Agriculture
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Increases in production of crops and biomass for bioenergy uses may have impacts on other agricultural activities.
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Crops
- United States - Increased production of corn for ethanol may lead to changes in the amount of land used for other crops, such as for soybeans, which may experience reduced production.
- Brazil - increased production of sugar cane for ethanol may lead indirectly to the conversion of tropical forests or other lands to accomodate the agricultural activities displaced by growing land areas used for sugar cane production.
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Meat: livestock and poultry
Increased demand for bioenergy crops, such as corn for use in producing ethanol, evidently may lead to increases in the cost of inputs for livestock agriculture, in turn affecting the cost of meat and dairy products.
- In the United States, the Coalition for Balanced Food and Fuel, "an alliance of agricultural groups" (including the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Chicken Council and National Milk Producers Federation) "concerned about the impact that ethanol policy may have on the competitiveness of animal agriculture, exports, the food industry and ultimately the consumer," advocates a number of policies, including that federal mandates "should be limited to energy from emerging bio-based sources (i.e. cellulosic, methane) that do not adversely impact animal feed availability;" the expiration in 2008 of the US ethanol import tariff, and for expanded options for farmers to elect out of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).[1]
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Other issues
- Monoculture vs. Polyculture
- Agricultural residues (agricultural wastes / crop wastes)
- Related News:
- Crop Residue May Be Too Valuable to Harvest for Biofuels, 15 July 2008 press release by Washington State University: "In the rush to develop renewable fuels from plants, converting crop residues into cellulosic ethanol would seem to be a slam dunk. However, that might not be such a good idea for farmers growing crops without irrigation in regions receiving less than 25 inches of precipitation annually, says Ann Kennedy, a USDA-Agricultural Research Service soil scientist".
- "If residue were harvested, she said, soil fertility would drop and farmers would have to find other ways to increase the amount of organic matter in their soils."
- "'We need to constantly replenish organic matter — so removing valuable residue, especially in areas with low rainfall, may not be the best practice.'"[2]
- Crop Residue May Be Too Valuable to Harvest for Biofuels, 15 July 2008 press release by Washington State University: "In the rush to develop renewable fuels from plants, converting crop residues into cellulosic ethanol would seem to be a slam dunk. However, that might not be such a good idea for farmers growing crops without irrigation in regions receiving less than 25 inches of precipitation annually, says Ann Kennedy, a USDA-Agricultural Research Service soil scientist".
- Related News:
- Land conversion
- Related News:
- Rising energy, food prices major threats to wetlands as farmers eye new areas for crops, 25 July 2008 press release by United Nations University and the Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso (Brazil): "Critical food shortages and growing demand for bio-fuels and hydro-electricity due to high fossil fuel prices rank among the greatest threats today to the preservation of precious wetlands worldwide as farmers and developers look for new areas for agriculture, energy crop plantations and hydro dams."
- Exceprt from the Cuiabá Declaration on Wetlands, issued 25 July:
- Related News:
- "Rising energy prices are leading to the large-scale cultivation of plants for bio-fuels. In addition to the problems of rising food prices, the increasing demand for bio-fuels will stimulate an expansion of energy-crop plantations at the cost of areas covered by natural vegetation. We call attention to the danger of direct negative impacts on wetlands by land reclamation and drainage, and to the indirect impacts caused increased inputs of sediments, fertilizers, and pesticides from surrounding croplands."[3]
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Events
- 4-7 February 2009, New Delhi, India: The 4th World Congress on Conservation Agriculture. (Themes: conservation, agriculture).
