Sustainable Agriculture Literature Review - Boulder County

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Non-manufactured nitrogen fertilizers can be used to minimize use of commercial
fertilizers and reduce vulnerability to the price changes in fossil fuels. These alternatives
include livestock manure and green manure. Integrating livestock into crop production
can have environmental and economic benefits. Great economic gains have been found
when integrating these production systems. The livestock can eat the crop residue
reducing the need for hay and their manure can be used as a nitrogen fertilizer. Manure
in integrated systems is less expensive, because it is not distributed from livestock
facilities, which requires energy for transportation. 482
6.3 Pesticides
The majority of U.S. farmers rely on synthetic pesticides for their pest management. 483
Three categories of pesticides - herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides - comprise the
majority of chemical expenditure in the U.S., 484 and have led to the increase in yields
that has been witnessed in the U.S. 485 As discussed in section 6.1 Agricultural Use of
Inputs, pesticides are relatively inexpensive because the indirect costs are not factored
into the price. Depending on how cost is evaluated, pesticide use can be considered
greatly beneficial to the consumer because of the cost savings on food. 486 For additional
information on pesticides, see section 7. Pest Management.
6.4 Seeds
The seed industry in the U.S. has changed over the past century; farmers typically buy
seeds instead of saving them from year to year. This switch to a seed industry has
evolved from plant breeding and transgenic crops. The research and development of
seeds now plays a large role in U.S. agriculture. The patentability of seeds started with
hybrid varieties of corn and eventually led to GE seeds. 487
The seed industry in the U.S. has both grown and consolidated over time, and has
raised some concerns about the market power it has in the agriculture industry. One
beneficial aspect of consolidation is that it has caused seed companies to be more
efficient or reduce seeds costs. Additionally there has been an increase in the
percentage of research and development performed by private companies, and a
decrease in public funding. 488 Seed expenditure has risen as a percent of total farm
expenditures since the 1960s (Graph 14: Seed Expenditures’ Share of Total Farm
Expenditures). 489
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Graph 14: Seed Expenditures’ Share of Total Farm Expenditures 490
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