The Healthy Farm

The Union of Concerned Scientists proposes a transition from industrial agriculture to 'healthy farms' based on agro-ecological principles. The brief identifies four key strategies: adopting a landscape approach to biodiversity, increasing crop rotation diversity, reintegrating livestock and crops, and expanding the use of cover crops. It argues that these methods can maintain high yields and profits while reducing reliance on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, mitigating pollution, and enhancing soil fertility. The document concludes that this transition requires systemic policy changes, including increased financial incentives, expanded technical assistance, and more publicly funded research into sustainable practices.

• Industrial agriculture, developed after World War II, prioritizes maximum product generation but causes significant environmental and social damage, including the degradation of air, water, and soil, and harm to rural communities and farmworkers.
• A landscape approach that preserves uncultivated areas—such as trees, shrubs, and grasses—can increase farm productivity and lower costs by providing habitats for pollinators and beneficial wildlife. In the U.S. Midwest, the loss of such habitats has increased the amount of insecticide required for pest control by an area equivalent to 5,400 square miles of crops.
• Diversifying crop rotations beyond the dominant corn-soybean model in the Midwest can reduce the need for fertilizers and herbicides by 90 percent or more while maintaining high yields and profits. Legume-based rotations provide nitrogen that remains in the soil longer than synthetic alternatives, reducing groundwater pollution.
• Reintegrating livestock and crops, particularly by moving away from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) toward pasture-based systems, can reduce soil erosion, store carbon, and decrease the need for antibiotics in livestock.
• Planting cover crops—such as rye, clover, or hairy vetch—can reduce groundwater pollution from nitrogen by 40 to 70 percent, improve soil water-holding capacity, and protect crops against drought.
• Current barriers to the adoption of healthy farming include high crop prices incentivizing intense cultivation, a lack of research into complex rotations, corporate domination of meat processing, and the up-front costs of cover crop seeds and labor.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2013). The Healthy Farm. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/documents/food_and_agriculture/The-Healthy-Farm-A-Vision-for-US-Agriculture.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. The Healthy Farm. 2013. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/documents/food_and_agriculture/The-Healthy-Farm-A-Vision-for-US-Agriculture.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=The Healthy Farm |date=April 2013 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/documents/food_and_agriculture/The-Healthy-Farm-A-Vision-for-US-Agriculture.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2013healthy, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{The Healthy Farm}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2013}, month = apr, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/documents/food_and_agriculture/The-Healthy-Farm-A-Vision-for-US-Agriculture.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }