Agriculture – Stressors and Environmental Issues

We have a long history of working with agriculture on a variety of environmental issues. We have also been active in this market, writing and presenting on a number of agricultural-environmental issues.

While every market has its unique characteristics, agriculture has the distinction of affecting everyone on a personal level.  It is truly a “kitchen-table issue” with which everyone can relate.

Both on a personal and professional level, a recent article in the UK’s Guardian was striking.  The article is entitled, “Apocalypse Now?  The Alarming Effects of the Global Food Crises.”  This along with several other agriculture-related articles were if not alarming, concerning.

Current Strains on Agriculture

With the Ukraine-related shortages as a backdrop, The Guardian provided the following, “Sounding the alarm again last week, António Guterres, the UN secretary general, said Ukraine-related shortages could help ‘tip tens of millions of people over the edge into food insecurity.’  The result could be “malnutrition, mass hunger and famine in a crisis that could last for years” – and increase the chances of a global recession…”

The following are a few additional recent agriculture-related news.

A March 5, 2022 report in Reuters set the tone for global agricultural strain.  “Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Tang Renjian said that rare heavy rainfall last year delayed the planting of about one-third of the normal wheat acreage…Not long ago we went to the grassroots to do a survey and many farming experts and technicians told us that crop conditions this year could be the worst in history…”

On May 6, 2022, National Public Radio reported, “Ukraine is one of the biggest producers of wheat, corn and sunflower oil, and the war has wreaked havoc on the so-called ‘breadbasket of Europe.’  Ukraine and Russia together account for over a quarter of the world’s wheat exports.  Ukraine’s Ministry of Agriculture now says that 30% of the country’s farmland is occupied or unsafe.”

On May 12, 2022, the United States Department of Agriculture reported, “U.S. farmers are expected to produce 1.17 billion bushels of winter wheat this year, according to the Crop Production report released today by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).  In NASS’s first winter wheat production forecast for 2022, production is expected to decrease 8% from 2021.  As of May 1, the U.S. yield is expected to average 47.9 bushels per acre, down 2.3 bushels from last year’s average of 50.2 bushels per acre.”

In a June 15, 2022, podcast from The World and Everything In It, their international reporter, Onize Ohikere, said of the current drought in the Horn of Africa and now the war in Ukraine, “The lack of rainfall has destroyed crops, killed livestock, and forced people to migrate in search of food and water. All three countries (Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia) are reporting a significantly higher number of severely malnourished children at treatment centers.”

Energy prices and other inputs, most notably fertilizer, have skyrocketed (see American Farm Bureau, Analyzing Farm Inputs: The Cost to Farm Keeps Rising.)

Agriculture Land Use Peaked

Recent information from Our World in Data provides a different agricultural metric to consider.  In their data, which is far more extensive than we have provided below, they point out that we have reached the limits of expansion with respect to agricultural land.  Equally important, they point out that despite the limitation on land; farmers are producing more with less.

From Our World in Data, “Humans have been reshaping the planet’s land for millennia by clearing wildlands to grow crops and raise livestock….This expansion of agricultural land has now come to an end.  After millennia, we have passed the peak, and in recent years global agricultural land use has declined.”  They also point out that agricultural land use has not peaked everywhere.

The same report also provides insight that few in the public appreciate about the incredible advancements in agriculture.  “Despite this reduction in agricultural land, the world has continued to produce more food.  This is true of both crops and livestock” (emphasis added).

“The world produces three times as much meat as it did 50 years ago.  But how this meat is produced and what types of meat we eat have shifted.  First, we produce a lot of pork and chicken which are not fed on pasture.”

“Second, a lot of our beef production has moved from open pasture grazing towards more intensive farming methods; this has spared land.  This presents an important dilemma: grain-fed livestock is often more land-efficient than pasture-fed livestock, so you need less land overall; but the biodiversity on grazing lands is often better than intensive croplands” (emphasis added).

Environmental Stressors on Agriculture

Then there are the environmental pressures.  Putting aside the concerns of droughts and other natural disasters, the current concerns about per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) impact on farms continues to evolve.  Recently, Maine became the first state to ban all land application of biosolids due to concerns over potential PFAS contamination.  See our article in Progressive Dairy, “Should farmers be concerned about PFAS?”

Nitrate and nutrient contamination, in general, has been an issue for decades.  In some cases, the nutrients can be associated with farming practices.  However, based on our experience, the “gut” reaction of regulators and some environmental groups to point to large livestock farms as the culprit is often misplaced.  Rather, it is legacy nitrates that are causing the issue.  While excessive nutrients are an environmental/health issue that must be addressed, like all other issues, it requires an unbiased scientific assessment.  See Groundwater Nitrate Variability at the Field Level; How to Unravel the Puzzle.

Agricultural Advancements Help Feed the World

While there are many immediate and longer-term stressors on agricultural production, we have always been of the mindset that, given freedoms to pursue innovation, the agricultural community will find solutions.  This means embracing scientific and technological advancements, which can face headwinds generated by some activist groups.

Over the years we have pointed out that despite dire predictions, agriculture and associated technological advancements have quietly responded to the challenges to feed the world.

Past Dire Predictions Fail to Materialize

In a 2016 article, we pointed to failed past dire scenarios.  “Predictions of man’s impending demise are not new.  According to past predictions, by now we should be in a global famine, out of energy, and living in an apocalyptic world…several times over.

These predictions, many by well-intentioned and intelligent individuals, included wide-spread famine beginning in 1975, with 35 million Americans dead of starvation by 1989, and all of the fossil fuels being consumed by the year 2000.  Obviously, they were very wrong.”

Importantly, in that 2016 article, we also point out the role that energy abundance has played in our advancements.  Policies that place roadblocks in exploration and delivery of energy can cause serious harm to our progress.

In a 2014 article, we wrote (reflecting on the 2012 drought), “In a recent book, The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water, Charles Fishman looks at the global water issue.  Interestingly, Fishman explains that Americans use less water today than we did in 1980, not just in per-capita terms, but also in absolute terms.  Fishman notes water use in the United States peaked in 1980 at 440 billion gallons per day.  Twenty-five years later, we are using less than 410 billion gallons a day, even though our population increased by 70 million people.”

In a 2011 article, we shared that despite dire predictions of widespread famine, advancements in agriculture more than met the demands of the growing population. “…food production has more than kept pace with demand.  According to the American Farm Bureau, one farmer in 1940 fed approximately 19 people.  Today, one farmer feeds 155 people.”

In that same article, and elsewhere, we point to a 1994 study by Zinn and Blogett.  “…environmentalists, who focus on problems that they believe need to be solved, and agriculturalists, who worry how solutions to the problems will affect the business of agriculture.”

There are many challenges to agriculture today and how farmers and their partners respond to these challenges affects everyone’s lives.  So long as we allow for innovation and don’t get into an overly burdensome regulatory climate – we remain optimistic.

Finally, should you need help in finding solutions to environmental issues – we can help you as we have helped others in agriculture for decades.  Contact Jeffrey Bolin, M.S. or Alan Hahn if you have any questions.  You can reach them at 248-932-0228.

This blog was drafted by Alan Hahn. Alan has an undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies and completed a graduate program in Environmental Management. He has worked in environmental management for 45 years and has written hundreds of blogs and articles. His published work includes Michigan Lawyers Weekly, Detroiter, Michigan Forward, GreenStone Partners, Manure Manager Magazine, Progressive Dairy, and HazMat Magazine.

The blog was reviewed by Jeffrey Bolin, M.S.  Jeff is a partner and senior scientist at Dragun Corporation.  He is a published author, frequent speaker, and expert witness.  His expertise in environmental due diligence, PFAS, vapor intrusion, and site assessments has led to projects in the US, Canada, and overseas. See Jeff’s Bio.  

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