Toward a Sustainable Heartland
Toward a Sustainable Heartland

Author: Savannah N. Neufer

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Agriculture is vital to the character of Kansas. It is threaded through the social, economic, and environmental systems that operate in Kansas and bring each system into interaction with one another. Loss of agriculture would mean drastic changes to traditional Kansas way of life due to the three pronged nature of agriculture in Kansas. Continuation of agricultural activity then is of great importance. Globalization, climate change, and environmental change pose threats to agricultural futures. This study is a meta-analysis of current literature in an attempt to assess the current state of sustainable agriculture in the state of Kansas. An emphasis was placed on climate as a driver of change and ways in which agricultural producers in Kansas may begin implementing sustainable adaptations. Barriers to implementing sustainable agricultural adaptations were also identified in the literature. Broadly speaking analysis focused on barriers created through policy and barriers created through gaps in knowledge and weak or missing connections, or cognitive barriers. Information gathered in the course of the literature analysis was used to generate two potential future agricultural scenarios for Kansas. Scenarios can be used to aid policy makers in assessing potential impacts of environmental change and interactions between different systems and scales. Two separate scenarios, Business-As-Usual and Sustainable-Adaptive, were developed with distinct characteristics. The Business-As-Usual scenario represents a future that is framed similar to the current situation. Changes built into the scenario stem from the projected changes to climate. The remainder of the narrative describes a future that has pursued developmental pathways driven by current policy and market forces. In contrast, the Sustainable-Adaptive scenario represents a Policy Reform scenario in which there is strong guidance through policy towards a developmental pathway that focuses on sustainable agricultural methods. This scenario describes a future in which environmental degradation is slowed or even reversed. Continued future work may focus on the role of water availability, community level impacts of sustainable adaptations, and the integration of stakeholder values as another layer of complexity in future scenarios.

Groundwater, Corn and Cattle
Groundwater, Corn and Cattle

Author: Paul J. Bruss

Publisher:

Published: 2011

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Kansas relies on groundwater for nearly 85 percent of the total water used each year, most of which is used for irrigation. Over the last 30 years, declining groundwater levels in some areas have put pressure on agricultural industries. Ongoing research on the usage of groundwater resources will be necessary to sustain agriculture. In this study, two groundwater models were developed to investigate groundwater availability and use in western Kansas. The first model, called the Saturated Thickness Model (STM), investigated how groundwater resources will change over the next century. The second model, called the Change in Water Level Model (CWLM), was used to forecast water use trends for three agricultural districts in western Kansas by relating the change in groundwater levels over time to the volume of water pumped for irrigation. To understand how these changes would affect the agricultural industry, the research investigated historical trends in reported groundwater use, corn production and cattle in feedyards. The results showed significant decreases in the modeled saturated thickness over the next 100 years in western Kansas. Modeled groundwater use matched reported groundwater use data relatively well. The model showed significant decreases in groundwater use over the next 100 years, with the largest decrease being in the southwest district. Overall, forecast water use trends were in agreement with current outlooks for each area. The results from the correlation analysis showed a negative relationship between groundwater use and irrigated corn production, indicating improved irrigation efficiency and crop species over the past 30 years. Further correlations showed the number of cattle on feed in a particular area increased with the amount of irrigated corn production in the same area. This implies the cattle feedyards tendency toward local source of grain. As groundwater resources decline, corn production will decrease, and changes in the agricultural landscape will require adaptation. Feedyards will need to find new sources of corn grain or change to a less water dependent feed. Further research is needed to determine where corn grain will be produced in the next 100 years, and how corn grain will be transported to feedyards in southwest Kansas.