Sustainable Ag Practices On The Rise

According to the new Rabobank U.S. Farm & Ranch Survey, more than 70 percent of U.S. agricultural producers now report that they have taken a range of measures on sustainable ag practices – the highest level since the survey began in 2008.

According to the survey, after a small decline in steps taken toward sustainable ag in the Rabobank Fall 2009 U.S. Farm & Ranch Survey, 72 percent of all U.S. ag producers now report that they have taken steps toward sustainable ag – the highest since the inception of the measurement.

“U.S producers understand that to be in the ag business for the long term means taking care of the land,” said Rabobank Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory Vice President Sterling Liddell.

The most significant steps are using direct seeding (64 percent), minimizing use of chemicals (42 percent), crop rotation or diversification (39 percent) and reduced energy inputs (39 percent).

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