Question

To feed the world and then some, farms and pastures take up a lot of space — 40 percent of all land globally is used for agriculture — and inevitably take a significant toll on the environment.

Agricultural practices generated 10 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions in the United States in 2019. Excess nitrogen and phosphorus — standard soil nutrients found in manure or chemical fertilizers — can leak from croplands into nearby waterways and eat up the oxygen in aquatic ecosystems, sometimes killing the creatures that call them home, and even making humans sick.

Meanwhile, as the costs of fertilizer, equipment and land itself rise, “farmers have to farm more and more acres” to make ends meet, said landscape ecologist Lisa Schulte Moore. As it becomes increasingly difficult for farm operations to be profitable enough to sustain people’s livelihoods, there are fewer and fewer active farms, according to the USDA’s Census of Agriculture, conducted every five years.Use the passage to answer the question.

What problem-solution relationship does the passage establish regarding modern agricultural challenges?

(1 point)
Responses

Government regulations have eliminated pollution from agricultural runoff.
Government regulations have eliminated pollution from agricultural runoff.

Technological advances have made farming more profitable for small-scale farmers.
Technological advances have made farming more profitable for small-scale farmers.

Increased fertilizer use has led to higher crop yields.
Increased fertilizer use has led to higher crop yields.

Rising farm costs threaten agricultural sustainability.

Answer 1

Rising farm costs threaten agricultural sustainability.

The passage says rising costs for fertilizer, equipment, and land force farmers to farm more acres to remain profitable, reducing the number of active farms and threatening sustainability.