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How to use water and energy efficiently for Sustainable Agriculture?
Farmers have the unique opportunity to help mitigate climate change and water shortages in a number of ways: improving water-use efficiency, enhancing on-farm water retention, reducing on-farm demand, restoring habitat, protecting open space, increasing soil organic matter and soil moisture, sequestering carbon, and generating on-farm renewable energy from sources such as livestock waste.
On farm water conservation methods include irrigation scheduling, tail water return systems increasing water pump efficiency and powering irrigation pumps with renewable energy.
Enhancing On-Farm Water RetentionThe U.S. produces many organic materials that can be used as soil amendments: livestock waste, foods scraps collected through municipalities, food processing wastes, industrial organic wastes, logging residues, wood processing wastes, and yard clippings. Judiciously applied to cropland, these "wastes" help retain soil moisture and fertilize the soil, increasing soil organic carbon content, and thereby helping mitigate global climate change. Using cover crops, managing crop residues and other biomass, and implementing conservation tillage methods also allow water and energy to be used more efficiently and improve the physical, chemical and biological health of the soil by improving its structure, infiltration rate, and organic matter content.
Restoring HabitatConservation buffers and restored wetlands and riparian areas are just a few ways farmers can restore and protect habitat. These actions not only enhance wildlife habitat and protect biodiversity, but also mitigate the impacts of climate change.
Financial assistance is available through the USDA Farm Bill’s conservation programs--the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP), Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), and Conservation Stewardship Incentives Program (CSIP).
Renewable energy options—like solar, geothermal, and wind—use negligible amounts of water. Investing in renewables invests in water conservation. Farmers have a unique opportunity to take advantage of waste and space in order to generate energy on their farm.
Dairies can utilize methane from cow manure and produce energy through the use of anaerobic digesters. The AgSTAR Program encourages the use of methane recovery (biogas) technologies at confined animal feeding operations that manage manure as liquids or slurries. These technologies reduce methane emissions while achieving other environmental benefits.