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This is not the current EPA website. To navigate to the current EPA website, please go to www.epa.gov. This website is historical material reflecting the EPA website as it existed on January 19, 2021. This website is no longer updated and links to external websites and some internal pages may not work. More information »

Agricultural Crops

There are several environmental concerns associated with the production of agricultural crops.

On this page:

Crop Information

To learn more about crop production online, please visit Ag 101. This introduction to American agriculture covers the primary commodities produced today and the methods of doing so. An entire chapter is dedicated to crop production, and includes such topics as: soil preparation, planting, nutrient management, pest management, and harvesting.

More information from EPA

Crop Grouping Final Rule: Easing Regulatory Burdens and Expanding Opportunities for Minor Crop Producers (Technical Amendment Update) - EPA's final revision to its pesticide tolerance crop grouping regulations, allowing the establishment of tolerances (maximum residue levels) for multiple, related crops based upon data from a representative set of crops.

More information from USDA

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Crop Production Portal - USDA strives to sustain and enhance economical crop production by developing and transferring sound, research-derived, knowledge to agricultural producers that results in food and fiber crops that are safe for consumption.
  • MultiCalculator - A set of three Excel spreadsheets that calculate irrigation needs, ethanol yields, and crop yields from USDA's ARS.

More information from the states

  • EZregs Exit - University of Illinois Extension Web site that identifies environmental regulations that pertain to specific agricultural and horticultural operations and practices in Illinois.

More information from universities or other organizations

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  • Conservation Technology Innovation Center - CTIC promotes and provides information on technologies and sustainable agricultural systems that conserve and enhance soil, water, air and wildlife resources and are productive and profitable.

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Methyl Bromide

Methyl bromide is a fumigant used to control pests in agriculture and shipping. Along with other countries, EPA has agreed to restrict the use of methyl bromide and reduce the amount used each year because it depletes the ozone layer. Learn more about protecting the ozone layer.

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Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Agriculture

Potential impacts of climate change on agriculture will be reflected most directly through the response of crops, livestock, soils, weeds, and insects, and diseases to the elements of climate to which they are most sensitive. Soil moisture and temperature are the climate factors likely to be most sensitive to change across large agricultural areas of North America.

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Agriculture and Climate Change

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Air Quality Conservation Practices

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Erosion Control

Erosion control practices are necessary for agricultural operations to control runoff and reduce the amount of soil erosion caused by that runoff. In areas with good drainage, crops are better able to use nutrients and chemicals and will benefit from these optimum growing conditions. When building erosion control structures, newly-graded soil surfaces may be stabilized with mulch prior to the establishment of a vegetative cover.

To establish good drainage, one or a combination of drainage and erosion control structures can be built and used depending on the site characteristics (e.g., slope, crop type, or climate). These structures include:

  • Diversions
  • Grassed waterways
  • Water and sediment control basins
  • Filter strips
  • Riparian buffers
  • Terracing and contouring
  • Drainage tiles

More information from EPA

More information from USDA

  • NRCS- Erosion Control Practices or SystemsExit - Conservation practices are commonly used on crop fields or other lands to reduce erosion, improve soil and water quality, improve plant health, and minimize off-site impacts from excess nutrients, pesticides and sediment.   They are often used in tandem with vegetative or other management practices to increase effectiveness.

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Fertilizers and Soils

Keeping the soil healthy is important for food production. Fertilizer overuse can contaminate the soil, surface water and groundwater. Alternatives to commercial fertilizers are available and tend to be much healthier for our environment and safer to use.

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Urban Agriculture

Urban Agriculture is part of a local food system where food is produced within an urban area and marketed to consumers within that area. Urban farming can also include animal husbandry (e.g., breeding and raising livestock), beekeeping, aquaculture (e.g., fish farming), aquaponics (e.g., integrating fish farming and agriculture), and non-food products such as producing seeds, cultivating seedlings, and growing flowers. Urban farms can also contribute to the revitalization of abandoned or underutilized urban land, social and economic benefits to urban communities, and beneficial impacts on the urban landscape.

More information from EPA

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Pollinators

Pollinators are animals that pollinate plants, including vegetable and fruit crops. Examples of pollinators include bees, ants, birds, and lizards. Pollinator health is in decline so work is being done to protect these creatures. 

More information from USDA

More details on the current understanding of the health of honey bees in the United States are available in the Report on the National Stakeholders Conference on Honeybee Health (PDF)(72 pp, 1.2 MB, About PDF).

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Pesticides

Pesticides are widely used in the agriculture field to protect crops from pests. For more information about pesticides please visit the links below:

Worker Protection Standard (WPS)

EPA's Agricultural Worker Protection Standard (WPS) is aimed at reducing the risk of pesticide poisoning and injury among agricultural workers and pesticide handlers.

EPA has initiated a process to revise certain requirements in the WPS. By the end of FY2018, EPA expects to publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to solicit public input on proposed revisions to the WPS requirements for minimum ages, designated representatives, and application exclusion zones. The compliance dates in the revised WPS published on November 2, 2015, remain in effect; the Agency does not intend to extend them. EPA has published a Federal Register Notice that it has initiated this rulemaking process to revise certain requirements in the Agricultural Worker Protection Standard.

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