Agriculture is a vital industry. Growing and harvesting food keeps people fed. Most citizens depend upon the products that are produced by farmers to feed their families. Because agriculture is such a big industry it needs to be carefully monitored and strict attention paid to practices that may have a big impact on the environment.

Recent technological developments and other valid methods that have been put into place allow for the production of food to take place with less harm done to the environment. These advances even increase production and help to maximize profits for the farmers themselves.

Smart Agriculture

A major improvement that has been made in recent years is IoT in agriculture. This stands for the Internet of Things, and is the ability to use smart technology in the farming industry.  Technology can help farmers to monitor the condition of the crops being grown, the weather, even livestock and machinery. This reduces the amount of time spent with hands-on chores. Just a quick look at the data available on your mobile device or computer gives you an overview and lets you make decisions on the priorities and necessary actions of the day.

Crop Rotation

Another eco-friendly practice in agriculture involves the greater knowledge of soil itself, and of what the plants need to grow correctly. Planting the same crops over and over in the same field can deplete the soil of nutrients, causing future crop qualities to decline. Rotating the types of crops grown in a section of land, and how often they are changed, can be a huge advantage to keeping the soil healthy.

Fewer Pesticides

Many people are depending on agriculture to provide one of the main sources of food they consume. Because of this, it's important for farmers to grow enough to support the demand. The steep rise in how much food is needed has caused many farmers to use harmful pesticides to keep their crops healthy. These chemicals reduce the nutritional value of the foods that they're used on, and in many cases are downright harmful to those who consume them.

They also leach into the groundwater, disperse into the air and pollute the surrounding land. Thankfully, new developments in agriculture have come up with better ways to control pests with biological and mechanical means.

Agroforestry

Most fields are planted with a single crop, but it has been discovered that agroforestry can be a huge benefit. Agroforestry involves planting trees on the crop land, and this is helpful in several ways. The trees provide shade from the elements, they increase crop yield and value of the land since the trees are another resource that can be harvested.

Growing several things together is a more natural and sustainable way to use the land, which translates to a much richer quality soil.

Renewable Fuels

Finally, one of the most important developments that has been made to allow agriculture to become more environmentally friendly, is the use of renewable sources of energy. Traditional fossil fuels can be a convenience fuel, but they create a great amount of pollution that goes right into the atmosphere and can contaminate the soil and food that is growing in it. The good news is, that it is easier than ever to install solar panels or use hydro energy or wind power to cut back, if not completely eliminate, the use of fossil fuels.

These examples show what great strides have been made in the agricultural industry in recent years. They are a great step forward to reducing the carbon footprint and impact on the earth. As more farms implement these resources and the methods become more widely available, an even greater difference can be made for the ailing planet.