Dirt

I can always conjure up the smell of dirt.  I remember when I first learned that some people have never felt or smelled dirt and how difficult I found that to imagine!  Some of my earliest memories with dirt were when I was making mud pies on summer days on our farm as a child.  I made all kinds of magnificent designs and patterns on the tops of the pies, some with flowers or clover on top.

I even have fond memories of riding on the back of a rather old fashioned wheat drill to plant the wheat on our farm.  The wheat drill had a platform on the back for someone to check on the flow of the seeds through the machine and make sure it was not clogging.  I would put a bandana around my face so that I would not always breathe in the dirt as the dust would be kicked up along the field.  When we were finished for the day, the rest of my skin was 10 shades darker from dirt.  I always felt a sense of satisfaction and a bit of adventure on these days.

When I visited the farmland in Europe in the region of my ancestors, I brought back a little bag of dirt as a keepsake.  Some 30 years later I still have this with me.  We are fifth generation farmers and this little bag of dirt is somehow a symbolic link through time with all of these farmers who came before us.

When we bought our current farm, one of the first things we did was have a soil analysis done with GPS soil sampling and land mapping.  We received a very high tech book with the  various locations on our farm and the different types of soil nutrients present or absent in each location.  The quality of the dirt is one of the key variables and the literal foundation for farming.

We are also composting to enrich the terrible clay soil surrounding our home.  Both of these ways, the high tech and low tech methods, are wonderful ways we are connecting with our dirt and helping to enrich and sustain it.

Take a minute to consider what your most recent connections with dirt are and what you consider your earliest memories with dirt.  All of your food is connected in some way to dirt, whether you see it still on the produce at the farmer's market or you purchase a washed version in your grocery store.  All of the grains you consume are deeply connected to this soil.  Let's keep investing in our soil - dig in!

 

Connecting with the Earth and our Food

   As I continue to listen to people's thoughts and feelings about where they get their food and caring for the earth, I am amazed at the similarities that emerge from across seemingly polar opposites in the culture wars on food and agriculture.  People in all camps care about the food they eat.  People care about being a good steward of the earth so that it will be healthy for generations to come.  People like to feel connected to their communities.   People like to feel that they are doing something productive about which they feel passionate.  Modern farmers feel this way.  Sustainable farmers feel this way.  So why do we have culture wars on food and agriculture?
  I think the differences emerge in the trade offs each farmer makes.  Specifically, I think that one of the key issues is cost.  As I understand it, sustainable farmers feel that it is worth the extra input and labor costs to use the methods they feel are best.  They and their current customers feel it is worth paying more for food that meets their standards for being grown according to their principles.  The process or methods used are paramount and they are willing to deal with the consequences of higher costs.  Often this is possible because the sustainable farmers are sharing the financial risk with others rather than carrying it all themselves, perhaps through a co-op structure made possible by the smaller size of their operations and their location usually closer to mid sized communities.  The higher costs of these methods are one of the biggest challenges these methods face.  Many people cannot afford substantially higher food costs, nor do they have the means to reach the more limited distribution channels.  Sustainable farming will need to continue to address these issues if they hope to have their methods more widespread.
  Modern or traditional farmers, in contrast, are always feeling the trade off or tension in their choices of balancing yield, efficiency, productivity, cost and caring for the health of their family, neighbors, community and the earth.  It is a complex web of variables.  Modern farmers try and maximize yield, but not at any cost.  They consider the trade offs and make their choices, adjusting with new information.  It is in this information and adjustment cycle where the opportunity lies for dialogue and bridging the gap in these culture wars (more on this in a moment.)  Usually these modern farmers are carrying the financial risks of their operations by themselves.  Modern farmers are generally in the more rural areas of the US without the ability to connect as easily to mid sized communities as consumer co-ops do.  Many modern farmers produce grain row crops that are not yet a main area for sustainable farmers (eg wheat, corn, soybeans).  There are important reasons for this, one being the volatility of these markets making them more financially vulnerable and in turn putting pressure on cost containment.  The biggest challenge for modern farmers is to keep operation costs in check, while achieving a good yield, yet also considering the impact on the earth.
  So the opportunity for bridging the gap between these methods is in the sharing of information and dialogue and understanding that what all farmers care about is essentially the same - caring about our food, our communities and our earth.  Genuine openness to discussion and information is more likely to be successful than dismissing other positions and condemning other methods.  Look for opportunities to support this dialogue in your own community or online.  Ag related tweets, blogs and agriculture networks are popping up for this purpose.  Let's talk....and listen!

Precision Technology Intro Videos

This is a good solid introduction to what precision technology can do in an agricultural setting, highlighting how it is used and several of the benefits.   The second link is for a video from the US that is a little more on the lighter side of things, having the whole farm family show the technology inside the tractor cab.

Farm Futures video from the UK on Precision Technology


Common Ground's volunteer video showing one type of precision technology

Remote Irrigation Technology

The company AgSense gained a patent for their remote irrigation management solution.  Their tool helps farmers to manage their irrigation systems remotely, allowing more refined adjustments to the current circumstances, saving time, energy and money.  My understanding is that currently growers need to use the special AgSense device and software to do this, but it works for all brands of irrigation equipment and the company hopes to come out with a mobile app soon to make managing this remotely even easier.  For more information about the company and their products, see AgSense.

Rural Romanticism

As I continue to reflect on the underlying reasons behind the current movements surrounding farms and food (agricultural romanticism, eat local and more), I came across this song that I thought touches on some of what people are feeling, wanting "some space where they can breathe again."  I wonder if people are feeling a disconnect with their world and are trying to reconnect?  Check out the website for this group, The Farm, for more information about them.   I'd love to hear what you think about this song and the theme of rural/ag romanticism.

"Home Sweet Home" by The Farm

Sustainability Challenges and Tools

Sustainability in the ag industry has gained a lot of traction, but appears to be at a crossroads.  It has grown from a niche area of interest to a limited few, to a national and global issue. However, issues are being raised that require decisions that have the potential for being divisive, or pushing some participants down a different path.


Last week The Leonardo Academy National Sustainable Agriculture Standard Committee released their 395 page draft report on sustainability.  They are trying to gain agreement on standards, definitions, measurements and more.  This process has proven to be highly controversial, with several members (primarily key commodity organizations) dropping out of the process as it became evident that it was moving towards including so many parameters that it would be difficult to gain agreement and too costly to implement.


Many participants in the food chain are concerned about sustainability issues though: the growing global population and shrinking resources.  One effort that is moving forward is using technology to help participants measure what they are doing to give them the information to empower their decision making for sustainability issues.  Field to Market has a Fieldprint Calculator that helps educate farmers in how their choices would impact natural resource management and sustainability.  The key indicators included are: land use, soil loss, soil carbon, irrigation water use, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.  The tool measures these vs state and national averages.


Tensions regarding natural resource use are not likely to go away, so we need to find tools and approaches that bring parties together to work towards solutions.  Technology seems to be one way to help give people the tools they need to make better informed decisions about sustainability.  Technologies are sprouting up all around us, so stay tuned for more to come.

Locavores and Food Miles

A Locavore is someone who eats foods grown locally, usually for ecological reasons.  One key concept of Locavores is to consider the "food miles" or the distance food travels before being consumed as a means of measuring the environmental impact.  However, in the book, "Just Food" by James McWilliams, the concept of food miles is shown to be less powerful or even incorrect.

McWilliams digs into several studies, including one by the Journal of Environmental Science and Technology (2008) that measures the fossil fuel used in each stage of the food chain.  The study shows that 46% is used in the production and processing of food, and 16-25% is used in the preparation of the food to eat (16% in restaurants and 25% in homes), and only 11% in the transportation of food.

McWilliams shows any number of counter intuitive examples where what seems like the most eco-friendly food is in fact not.  For example, he quotes studies on tomatoes produced in Britain to be consumed in Britain vs tomatoes shipped from Spain to be consumed in Britain.  The tomatoes from Spain actually use fewer fossil fuels because it takes more to produce tomatoes in Britain than in Spain.  This gets at the comparative advantage of different countries or geographic regions to produce different types of food.

If we are to eat only what is produced locally, McWilliams and others highlight the likely decline in nutrition that would occur.  Tomatoes, from our example above, are frequently noted as one of the top ten "power" foods for their importance in nutrition and health.  Increased nutrition is one of the keys to the improved health and longer life expectancy in humans and should not be ignored or discounted.

Last, McWilliams notes that in order to eat locally, people usually need to drive to a farmer's market, which is usually not the closest place for them to shop.  In addition, they usually also end up shopping at another food/grocery store, because all of their food needs are not provided by the farmer's market.  These trips end up using more fossil fuel than if the person would have done one shop at their local grocery store.  Given this weekly cost to purchase food and the small cost of transportation included in the cost of food, this weakens the power of the food miles argument further. (See the McWilliams book for these cost calculations.)

I think eating locally produced foods can bring a lot of positive connections and emotions, not to mention being fresh and delicious, especially alongside other foods to complete the nutritional needs and desire for variety.  However,  I do not yet see reliable scientific evidence that it or permaculture can significantly reduce dependence on fossil fuels or feed the 8 billion people on our planet.  Instead of making eating locally a politicized "movement," I think we should simply acknowledge and celebrate the enjoyment it brings.