Improve The Air We Breathe In

California’s Central Valley

• A large, flat valley that dominates the geographical center of California

• The Central Valley boasts in soil and climate, is highly suited for farming

• It is known as one of the top agricultural producing counties in the country

The Problems of the Agricultural Industry

• Water Pollution– May possibly contaminate the underground water and

may also kill fish if the runoff enters a near by river.• Land Pollution– Excessive chemical substances may degrade its fertility

• Air Pollution– Emits greenhouse gas emissions and particulate

matters in the air, which may cause serious respiratory problems

Statistics

• U.S. farmers including those in San Joaquin Valley use about 750 million pound of agricultural chemicals per year, which may cause potential threats to crop yields as well as the ecosystem.

• U.S. Food and Agriculture Organization research showed that, agricultural methane output may potentially increase as high at 60 percent by 2030.

• 2011, more than 5.3 billion tons of CO2 equivalents are contributed to greenhouse gas

Farmers should reduce the amount of pollution that is caused by chemical fertilizer, manure, diesel trucks emission, and particulate matter that are propel into the air, in order to provide the resident of the California’s Central Valley an improved living environment.

Agriculture Pollution• According to the United States Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA), the severe agriculture air pollution in the Central Valley of California has been putting the residents at risk of serious health problems and farmers at risk of losing their livelihoods

The Three Main Source of Ag Air Pollution

The United States Department of Agriculture states the three main sources are• Livestock– Animal waste– Cows belching

• Particulate Matter– Land preparation, wind erosion, crop harvest, and

chemical fertilizers• Diesel truck emission– Diesel particulate matter

Health Effects of Air Pollution

• EPA linked a variety of problems due to particle pollution exposure, including:– Premature death in people with heart or lung

disease,– Irregular heartbeat,– Aggravated asthma,– Decreased lung function, and– Increased respiratory symptoms, such as irritation

of the airways

What can be done

• The impacts of air pollution can be introduced on Pro Farmer– The Pro Farmer Newsletter• The nation’s #1 marketing newsletter• Newsletters are sent out every weekend • The editors brings in news, analysis and advice

Objectives

1. Contact Brian Grete, an expert on risk management and commodity analysis.

2. Inform him about the health problem that residents in the Central Valley might be facing.

3. Provide him the statistics of people that are facing respiratory problems due to the agricultural air pollution.

4. Offer him alternatives, such as precision farming, in order to prevent this issue to continue

Precision agriculture Management

• Uses satellite to observe, measure, and respond to inter and intra-field variability in crop.

• Advantage of precision agriculture management– Reduce crop inputs without yield loss– Agricultural operations are lowered.– Set air pollution to the minimal

To Conclude

Many farmers might oversight this issue because the operation it needs to prevent air pollution from agriculture to increase, but by doing so, they are not only protecting their own health, but also the health of 6.5 million people who live in the Central Valley today.