Agricultural production systems and environmental health

By the turn of the century, American farmers and ranchers will be producing food and fiber through the application of highly sophisticated systems that involve a broad spectrum of relevant factors--from soil type, to options for fertilizer and pesticide use, to markets and other economic information. These systems will help farmers and ranchers better match land use to land capability, apply needed conservation practices, make environmentally sound production choices, and lower production costs. Most importantly, they will aid in selecting the best combinations of chemical and the biological means for producing and protecting plants and animals. The systems will also help complement currently available and new classes of chemicals with biological control mechanisms such as natural predators and naturally occurring protective phenomena such as allelopathy and other forms of resistance to insects, weeds, and disease. Additionally, they will incorporate the use of biodegradable, slow-release, or timed-release natural and synthetic pest control materials. Also, scientists will increasingly emphasize nutrition and food safety in the development of plant and animal germplasm and production and processing methods.