Let’s Stick to Horizontal Farming for Now
Climate change calamatists…people who’ve panicked about the changes in Earth’s biosphere… say that in 50 years our farmlands will be reduced to wastelands.
Last week, a popular opinion column in the New York Times concluded that, under this scenario, “the majority of people could soon be without food or water.” Similarly, the author (a Columbia University professor), said that a simultaneous population increase will cause us to “run out of land.” http://tinyurl.com/nocfzf
His answer: start building “vertical farms” in major urban areas, where crops are grown in specially constructed, multi-story buildings and fed by trickles of rainwater and nutrient-laden mist.
Perhaps Professor Despommier hasn’t been following the continuous no-till and cover crop revolution. Prompted by smart economics, better crop yields and some public incentives, agricultural lands are being transformed.
Conventional tillage – ripping up and turning over the topsoil - is too costly. More fertilizer is needed yearly to make up for nutrients lost to leaching and soil erosion. Plowing oxidizes organic matter and releases carbon dioxide.
No-till means no tillage. Instead, farmers leave the crop stubble and soil undisturbed. Farmers plant cover crops in order to keep something constantly growing, further improving soil quality. A cover crop like annual ryegrass has roots which loosen compacted and “hardpan” layers. Cover crops restore soil health, reduce the need for added nitrogen, increase crop productivity, suppress weeds and make the soil more resilient to both drought and wet conditions.
While Columbia University casts about for funds to build the first hydroponic high-rise, the USDA and numerous universities have been quietly advancing the science…and economic value…of continuous no-till farming with cover crops. Researchers and crop advisors have been helping farmers find more crop value in these conservation methods.
Commodity crop associations have joined the parade. For example, the American Soybean Association annually recognizes farmers who take major conservation steps on their acreage. Last year, Indiana farmers Jamie and Jim Scott won the Conservation of the Year award, largely on the weight of their continuous no-till with annual ryegrass cover crop program.
The Scott’s are sowing the ryegrass seed by airplane, while the corn is still in the field, to give it extra time to establish before winter weather stops growth.
Ag-related foundations like Monsanto are getting involved, too, as are environmental groups like The Nature Conservancy. They value how continuous no-till and cover crops prevent runoff from croplands and thus improve water quality and habitat. With government economic incentives, farmers are finding it easier to make the transition to this new type of farming.
In Congress, carbon credit and “cap and trade” legislation will likely mean added sticks and carrots for farmers. Congress will look at how to use conservation measures on the hundreds of millions of existing acres in the country’s agricultural regions. Whether Congress finds an equally compelling reason to invest in multi-story farm factories in Manhattan is less certain.
Tags: Aerial seeding, Ag Conservation Solutions, all cover crops, American Soybean Association, annual ryegrass as a cover crop, Dan Towery, deep rooting, Jamie Scott, nitrogen, No-Till, No-Till corn and soybean, No-Till farming, soil compaction
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