Maybe there's some hope for improvement within the modern AG landscape. Here is a link to an interesting article that references a 2012 University of Iowa study that combined using cover crops right in with a main crop so there's much much less reliance on herbicide & chemical use with limited tilling and the harvested fields are not left as dirt deserts over the winter and into the spring.
Big, Smart and Green: A Revolutionary Vision for Modern Farming
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Big, Smart and Green: A Revolutionary Vision for Modern Farming
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