Agricultural Development and Environmental Research American and Czechoslovak Perspectives: Proceedings of a Bilateral Workshop (1987) / Chapter Skim
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'AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH: NEAR-TERM AND LONG-TERM RESEARCH PRIORITIES'
'AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH: NEAR-TERM AND LONG-TERM RESEARCH PRIORITIES'
Pages 117-130
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From page 117... ...
Finally, in 1914, Congress passed the Smith-Lever Act which appropriated federal funds to supplement state and county funds in order to establish a Cooperative Extension Service for providing rapid diffusion of scientific and technical knowledge and for serving as a feedback mechanism by which problems at the farm level could be brought back to the university, thereby facilitating a relevance of research to farmers' needs. The history of U.S.
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From page 118... ...
all three legislative acts previously mentioned were operational -- dramatic gains in productivity were achieved. In their article "Economic Benefits from Research: An Example from Agriculture," Evenson, Waggoner, and Ruttan provided several indices to measure productivity from the 1950s to 1978 (1)
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From page 119... ...
In addition to increased efficiency of production from the application of the new tools provided by science, tax laws encouraged expanded production capacity through the substitution of capital for 60 Labor Productivity-Farm and Nonfarm 120 110 100 to 80 70 Total Productivity-Farm 1950 1967 1978 FIGURE 2 Productivity measures (1967 = 100)
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From page 120... ...
labor and land. Examples of the tax provisions include tax advantages for expanding many capital investments, capital gains treatment of certain livestock returns, investment tax credits, and accelerated depreciation rates.
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From page 121... ...
As shown in Figure 4, the greatest decrease in farm workers was in the category of farm family labor, often the unpaid or underpaid sons, daughters, and spouses of the average farmer. Today approximately three percent of our population is directly involved in on-farm production of food and fiber.
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From page 122... ...
While it is true that science and technology have made larger farming operations possible, it is incorrect to place all of the responsibility for the decline of farm numbers and the growth of farm size on science. Economic factors such as economies of scale associated with large purchases, policy issues discussed earlier -- such as investment tax credits, accelerated depreciation rates and government price supports, and other farm programs -- all contributed to the decrease in the number of farms.
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From page 123... ...
While farmers in the 1930s were largely self-contained, they now purchase about 75 percent of their production staples -- such as pesticides, machinery, fuel, improved varieties, and fertilizers -- from outside sources. Extensive purchase of production supplies from nonfarm sources requires that farmers maintain adequate cash flow and be able to obtain operating credit.
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From page 124... ...
Integrated pest management programs have been developed to integrate all available pest control strategies -- biological control, genetic resistance, crop rotation, and other management techniques, as well as selection of more targeted, biodegradable chemicals. Hopefully, the new tools provided by recombinant DNA technology or genetic engineering will help speed understanding of pest/host interactions in order to develop new control strategies and also speed the development of genetic resistance.
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From page 125... ...
Under the first category of enhancing profitability in agriculture are the following specific criteria for research, extension, and teaching: • Develop total farm production, management, and marketing systems that will sustain the long-term productivity, profitability, and competitiveness of agricultural operations; • Expand holistic educational programs using multidisciplinary teams, results demonstrations, computer programs, and individual assistance to accelerate the adoption of appropriate technologies, and organize and tailor them into individualized systems that are viable, realistic, and economically feasible; • Encourage producers to adopt technology and practices that improve efficiency, cut the cost of inputs, and reduce animal and plant losses while increasing product quality and improving net income. The second priority, expansion of biotechnology to enhance the benefits from plant and animals, is an area rich in potential applications to reduce the environmental impact of agricultural production.
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From page 126... ...
An area of growing concern in irrigated agriculture is the safe and economic disposal of drainage waters which can contain salt, selenium, heavy metals, and pesticides. Specific recommendations for science and education in this area include: • Assess the impact of water pollutants including acid rain on livestock, crops, and forest and aquatic systems; • Formulate improved management systems that better utilize chemicals, minimize erosion, and reduce the movement of pollutants to surface and groundwater; • Develop economic practices to increase water yields from forests and ran gel an ds; • Increase efficiency of irrigation water use; • Increase understanding of relationships between crop production systems and the quality of groundwater and surface waters; • Improve soil and water management systems to reduce the impact of salinity and improve irrigation efficiency; • Design systems for the safe and economic disposal of contaminated irrigation waters;
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From page 127... ...
Specific science and education programs in this area include: • Improve understanding of the relationship between erosion and soil productivity; • Improve crop, range, and forest land management through new, lower cost, resource-conserving plant production systems. For example, conservation tillage has been widely adopted because of strong economic incentives such as lower labor, machinery, and energy requirements.
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From page 128... ...
Three other areas of research which are important priorities for agriculture and the environment are integrated pest management, sustainable agricultural production systems, and global tropospheric chemistry. Improved pest management technologies and educational programs are needed to employ economically feasible and environmentally safe systems for control of disease, insects, nematodes, and weeds.
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From page 129... ...
. Areas of research will include the effects of different cover crops on soil management and fertility; intercropping studies comparing planting times, spacing variety combination, pest relationship, and ease of field operations; organic management systems for specialty crops appropriate for small-scale operations; and the integration of livestock and crop production.
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From page 130... ...
3. Global tropospheric chemistry.
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