Screen Shot 2017-02-23 at 6.48.14 AM
Grass and cotton fields grow side by side in Texas as part of the Texas High Plains study in sustainable agriculture. Sustainability in agriculture means improving water and energy efficiency and better use of other natural and human resources on farms and ranches and in the food system. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Office of the Chief Scientist is helping farmers to reduce their water and energy use by providing the scientific knowledge to successfully integrate pastures into cotton production systems in the High Plains of Texas, leading to an integrated crop/livestock system that needs 23 percent less irrigation water and 40 percent less purchased nitrogen fertilizer than traditional systems. Photo by Texas Tech University Vivien Allen.