Monoculture Soil Health Costs

Input Type Annual Cost (per acre) Total U.S. Annual Expenditure

Synthetic Fertilizers $100 - $300 $15 - $20 billion

Pesticides & Herbicides $20 - $120 $9 billion

Soil Amendments $25 - $50 Millions

Irrigation $50 - $200 $11 billion

Tillage & Machinery $15 - $50 Billions

Subsidies & Insurance Varies $25 billion + (subsidies)

Conclusion

While monoculture farming yields substantial profits, it comes with high costs and significant reliance on subsidies and external inputs. Profit margins remain relatively low due to the expenses associated with maintaining soil fertility, pest control, and crop yields, which could make it less economically sustainable over the long term without subsidies. By contrast, alternative practices like permaculture aim to lower input costs through natural nutrient cycling and biodiversity, potentially increasing profitability over time without such high dependency on external funding and synthetic inputs.

Our next blog post

“Permaculture & Monoculture Soil Life Cycle”