In the world of agriculture there is a constant struggle for
land use. With any use of land come ethical issues. Is it right to turn
wilderness into fields? Or is it right to turn farmland into developed land? These
are two ethical issues that come from land management that have a direct effect
on the food market as well as the ecosystem. There are many benefits to farmland
as well as disadvantages. Therefore advancements in land production must be
made to use farmland to its full potential.
There is a constant struggle in developed countries to keep
farm land and ranch land. A study by American Farmland Trust estimates that
fifty acres of farm and ranch land are lost to development each hour in the
United States. They also state that twenty-four million acres of agricultural
land has been developed since 1982. These are alarming rates for farming and
ranching in the United States and the future of agriculture. The numbers potentially
have a direct impact on the countries food production. Farm and ranch land also
serve as habitats for many forms of wildlife. This habitat loss can force animals
to move into developed areas where they might not thrive.
Developing is necessary for expansion of the population and
industry. The population of the country and world are only growing which is
where expanding into new land is necessary. Industry also requires new
facilities and buildings in order to grow. The rapid expansion outward poses a
threat to valuable land, but the growth must go somewhere, so why not up or in
older developed areas that no longer serve a purpose? Fargo for an example
keeps growing outward instead of upward. There are new developments everyday it
seems, but all these new buildings never seem to be more than two or three stories
tall. Maybe the costs are too high to build up, but the problem with expanding
out is once the land is converted it is highly unlikely for the land to be used
for agriculture ever again. The abundance of land in the area currently makes
it easy for expansion out, but someday the limit may be reached and practices
similar to the expanding in Fargo will have to change drastically.
There are also developing countries that have converted valuable
natural habitats such as forests into farm land. Places like the Amazon
rainforest, the Brazilian savanna, and rainforests in the lowland of Indonesia
all are under fire as farming and ranching becomes more popular. The loss of forests
to rapidly expanding agriculture poses a huge problem, but one of the biggest
problems come from the mono culture practices of these developing countries. Once
land has been used in monoculture, or used for one specific crop, the land
loses important nutrients needed to grow the crop. This leads to more land
clearing instead of proper land management and crop rotation. And with more
land clearing, animals that live in these forests such as tigers, elephants,
rhinoceros, and many other species are forced out of their habitats, leading to
decreased numbers and endangerment.
The farmers in these developing countries are only doing
what it takes to provide the crops that are in demand. They plant soybeans or
corn in a mono culture because it is the most profitable for them to grow. The
land is cheap for them to clear and plant more crops, so they don’t worry about
whether the land they clear is taken care of properly. These practices will
lead to poor land, and more land clearing to keep up with the demand.
Oliver Dixon [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
I believe that it is a shame to convert agricultural land
into developed land, but to a certain extent it must be done. Expansion of
developed land is necessary, but proper expansion needs to be taken into
consideration as land is limited in the world. The growth of farming in
developing countries is very important to their economies, but proper use of
the land they clear should be considered. Forests are an important part of the
world’s ecosystem. Farmers in such areas have to consider the long term effects
of clearing these forests. The only real solution to these problems comes from
agricultural advancements in land management that help farmers and ranchers to
use the land to its full potential making it possible to achieve the same yield
goals using less land.
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