Sustainable Agriculture [W]

Integrates three main goals: environmental stewardship, farm profitability, and prosperous farming communities. In [production] terms, sustainable agriculture refers to the ability of a farm to continue producing indefinitely, with a minimum of outside inputs. In order to grow, the crops and livestock draw energy from the soil, air, water, and sunlight. As crops are harvested, the energy they used must be replaced in order to continue the production cycle. Some of that energy comes from the larger environment, from sun, air, and rain. Some can be recycled: crop residues and manure from livestock retain nutrients that can be returned to the soil. Using animals that are fed by the farm to perform farm labour is another form of energy recycling. Anything that has to be imported, reduces sustainability. The less the farm needs outside inputs to maintain production levels, the greater its level of sustainability. In [environmental] terms, given the finite supply of natural resources, agriculture that is very inefficient - low on the sustainability scale - will eventually run out of resources, or the ability afford scarce resources, and cease to be viable. And agriculture that relies mainly on outside inputs contributes to the depletion and degradation of natural resources. In an [economic] context, the farm must generate revenue in order to acquire things that cannot be produced directly. The way that crops are sold then becomes part of the sustainability equation.