Misconceptions Surrounding Agriculture

Agriculture is absolutely necessary to keep our society running. Without agriculture resources such as clothes, food, lumber and more we would rely more heavily on imports to meet the growing needs of our population. Providing in agriculture is not easy, regulations, costs, tariffs, etcetera make it more and more difficult to farm. In order to obey these regulations, agriculture is extremely innovative and sustainable. Although farmers and ranchers often do not receive enough praise for the work they do for the environment. Instead, the idea of their art of being a caretaker of the land and livestock can become misconstrued. It is our job as advocates of agriculture to use our platform, knowledge, and information to keep the general public enlightened.

"Agriculture is the Leading Cause of Climate Change"

The statement above is a myth that not handled properly can add an even greater negative connotation surrounding agriculture. "Agriculture’s contribution to climate change is minimal. Agricultural greenhouse gases come in at less than 10%, very modest compared to electricity, which is responsible for 25%, transportation at 28% and industrial sectors at 23%" (Lang, 2024).

Agriculture is of course a necessity whether it contributes to climate change or not, but it also is working towards continuing lower its levels of greenhouse gases. In the dairy sector producing a gallon of milk in just 10 years ago to now is much more eco-friendly. For example, to produce that gallon of milk it takes "30% less water, 21% less land, 19% less greenhouse emissions", and in all aspects of the dairy supply chain the dairy industry plans to be greenhouse gas neutral or better by 2050 (United Dairymen of Arizona). This is only one part of agriculture, and every part of the industry is doing their best to continue to innovate and lower emissions. Therefore, agriculture is not the leading cause of climate change and plans to reduce emissions completely.

"Farmers Waste Water"

Does farming need water? Absolutely. Livestock and plants alike need water to survive plain and simple, but this does not mean that farmers waste water. Farmers have continued to innovate and become increasingly more effective at using water. The left-over water that is not used by the plants is put into the soil, evaporates, is lost through Evo transpiration, or in transit. In all the ways the water is "wasted" it is returned to the ecosystem where it will be recycled and ready to use again. Farmers are also very conscious about the amount of water to use for crops; they take their jobs of cultivating and sustaining food systems seriously for multiple reasons.

Ag Foundation has 3 main reasons:

1) Farmers know water wasted could mean a lack of the resource for future crops. 

2) Water is expensive. Water wasted is money lost. 

3) Farmers are cultivators. They use precise technology to know exactly how much water a plant needs to grow. Too much could mean poor production

Growing food for the people of the United States does take a lot of water, but it is a necessity, and farmers/ranchers continue to increase the effectiveness of every drop of water. No water goes to "waste".

"Most Farms Are Corporate Owned"

Many people are under the assumption that farms are mainly owned by corporations. Multiple producers may come together to sell the same product, but most farms are owned by families. For example, the United Dairymen of Arizona is a marketing cooperative that allows many small family farms to come together to sell milk on a larger scale than each singular operation. Thus, making it seem like corporations are the mass majority of farmers, but this ultimately not the case at all. "However, 97 percent of America’s farms are still family-owned, and 90 percent of all farm production by value is attributed to family farms" (Crosson, 2024.) It is important to note hardworking men and women dedicate their entire lives to putting food on the table and feeding the people of the world. These are not evil corporations but rather hardworking Americans trying to preserve the legacy of their family and provide for me and you.

"Organic is Better for the Environment"

Organic has benefits such as using fewer synthetic pesticides, but it does not mean it is "better" for the environment. Organic farming has a much bigger climate impact. With land becoming more and more limited it is not sustainable to farm only organic. Organic farming produces yields forty percent lower than conventional farming yields (Varanasi, 2019). Thus, reinforcing the idea, it takes more to produce the same amount conventional farming does. More land, more labor, more water, more everything. This does not take away from the fact that organic farming has its advantages, or that with technology it will become increasingly more effective and less heavy on the climate. As you continue to increase your knowledge in the agricultural industry it is good to note there in no "good" or "bad" ways to farm food, rather different strategies with different strengths and weaknesses.

"Brown Cows Produce Chocolate Milk"

Most people would find this as a silly misconception. Yet, a study done by "the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy found that 7% of American adults think chocolate milk comes from brown cows"(Coleman, 2017). That means 17.3 million Americans believe this statement is true. As agriculturalists we need to do a better job in exposing the general public to information about agriculture. This way misconceptions, big, small, silly, or serious do not do any harm to the producers. Rather, new information will continue to reinforce and drive the necessity of agriculture. Agriculture is a friend to all, and we need all to be a friend to agriculture.

References

Ccrosson. (2024, June 27). Debunking common farm myths: 4 of our most commonly heard farming misconceptions, debunked!. Lancaster Farmland Trust. https://lancasterfarmlandtrust.org/blog/debunking-common-farm-myths-4-of-our-most-commonly-heard-farming-misconceptions-debunked/

Coleman, N. (2017, June 16). Chocolate milk definitely doesn’t come from Brown cows – but some adults think otherwise. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2017/06/16/us/chocolate-milk-help-trnd

Lang, H. (2024, June 6). Sustainability: Myths vs. facts. American Farm Bureau Federation. https://www.fb.org/focus-on-agriculture/sustainability-myths-vs-facts

Misconceptions.pdf. (n.d.). https://www.agfoundation.org/files/misconceptions.pdf

Varanasi, A. (2019, October 22). Is organic food really better for the environment?. State of the Planet. https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2019/10/22/organic-food-better-environment/