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However, critics highlight their outsized environmental impact, including excessive water use and pollution caused by concentrated waste, as well as greenhouse gas emissions. Local dairy also supports the North Coast economy, which has been impacted by price collapses in cannabis, one of the region’s primary cashcrops.
Salts from added compost, manure, or fertilizers can build up in the rain-free environment of a tunnel and accumulate near the soil surface, affecting crop growth. And because tunnel crops are entirely dependent on irrigation water, elevated alkalinity, iron, sodium, or chloride in the water can cause problems in the soil, as well.
One common method is the traditional or sequential crop rotation, where different crops are grown in a planned sequence over a period of years. This can include a rotation of cashcrops , cover crops , and even fallow periods to allow the soil to rest and rejuvenate.
Prairie strips or other noncrop strips along fields also offer refugia for beneficial species or, depending on species used, can act as trap crops that lure pests away from a cashcrop. Rotating crops also significantly reduces pests and diseases. All of these policies help to shift U.S.
And the perks go far beyond the pastures, Brillinger says: “We get cleaner air and water, healthier communities, and a huge reduction in greenhouse gas emissions” through carbon sequestration.
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