Gabe Brown’s Five Keys to Soil Health

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Author: John King | Published: November 22, 2016

Gabe Brown from North Dakota is one of the most influential farmers in the developed world. Insights from his property are inspiring commercial farmers to understand soil health from a whole new perspective and scientists are catching on to his success.

Brown recently visited Australia to rub shoulders with communities of farmers pioneering low input farming and looking to enjoy benefits of greater profits and less stress.  His message is simple: To change what you do on-farm, make little changes; to change what you see on-farm, make big changes.

Sustainability as seen by most agronomists and policy makers simply means to sustain a degraded resource like soil.  As Brown argues, unless soil is regenerating there is little hope for farmers and their communities to improve water quality.  Right now US farmers are being sued by cities for contaminating drinking water with nitrogen.

Three things made Brown question industry advice: Four years of no income from drought and hail; pioneering soil scientists pointing out how agrichemicals degrade soil function; being a keen observer of native prairie grasslands.

His cash crops now yield 25 per cent above his county average without any inputs except very occasional herbicide and he is looking to cut that completely, too.

Now scientists, and even National Geographic magazine, are banging on his door to study how soils are improving on his 2000-hectare property.  Their studies find increasing NPK and organic carbon despite no inputs used. To anybody looking in, it’s not just his use of cover crops which is eliminating fertiliser use.

Brown promotes five keys to soil health. The first is least amount of soil disturbance possible, preferably no-till.

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13 U.S. Companies Failing on Deforestation-Free Beef

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Author: Stacey McFadin | Published: November 29, 2016

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) recently released a report, “Cattle, Cleared Forests, and Climate Change: Scoring America’s Top Brands on Their Deforestation-Free Beef Commitments and Practices.” The publication highlights how beef production is the primary contributor to tropical deforestation worldwide, predominantly occurring in South America. According to the report, consumer goods companies “have the power to help stop this destruction,” yet none of the 13 United States companies studied for sourcing South American beef had strong deforestation-free policies or procedures in place. The report advises that companies should work together with meatpackers, ranchers, and government to develop a comprehensive plan to end deforestation practices within the beef industry.

According to the report, one challenge to overcome is the structure of the beef supply chain. Meatpackers receive cattle through direct supplying ranches, only some of which are monitored for deforestation practices. The larger problem arises when cattle are shifted from ranch to ranch through various stages of production, allowing indirect supplying ranches to go unmonitored for deforestation. Without a system in place to track indirect supplying ranches, or the cattle who may pass through them, the meatpackers and the consumer goods companies cannot guarantee that the beef they receive is deforestation-free through the entire supply chain. Authors Asha R. Sharma and Lael K. Goodman see potential for change if major players in the industry band together, “These companies have a responsibility to work with their South American supplying meatpackers, which have enormous influence over the beef supply chain, to adopt robust deforestation-free policies and practices.” The authors also acknowledge consumer responsibility and power to effect change, noting previous success with zero-deforestation palm oil initiatives.

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Vital Soil Fungi Damaged by GMO Bt Cotton

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Author: Dr Eva Sirinathsinghji | Published: November 24, 2016

A new study finds that transgenic cotton genetically modified to express a Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) insect toxin inhibits the development of the beneficial soil organism Rhizophagus irregularis, a common arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus.

The study, which examined three separate genetically modified (GM) cotton lines and three non-GM lines, also found that the GM varieties disrupt the ability of the fungus to form a symbiotic association with the GM crop.

The fungus, when grown with GM cotton, displays fewer reproductive spores, fewer associations with GM cotton roots and increased fungal degeneration.

While the specific mechanism requires further study, the statistical analysis carried out in the study demonstrates that the “Bt-trait significantly contributes to the inhibition of pre-symbiotic development and AM fungal colonization, which might be attributed to either Bt toxin toxicity or interference of signal perception between AM fungi and the hosts.”

Analysing three commercialised Bt cotton crops grown in China, the investigators found a reduction of fungal colonisation of roots by 44.4%, 25.0% and 51.3% for each line when compared with their isogenic parental controls.

Branching of the AM fungi was also significantly reduced, with shortened hyphae and reduced arbuscule frequency – tuft-like structures that help colonise roots on the Bt lines, which were reduced by up to 68.2% for one of the lines. This was consistent with a significant reduction in shoot biomass (Bt lines having a biomass of 0.34, 0.33 and 0.30 grams for each line) compared to controls (0.27, 0.27 and 0.25 g).

Crucially, the GM cotton plants appeared to suffer from their reduced ability to associate with the mycorrhizal fungus: they showed reduced shoot growth when compared with non-GM parental lines.

This highlights the importance of maintaining a living, healthy soil – which our industrial agricultural practices are destroying.

Unanticipated and wide reaching effects on the health of our soils

It is increasingly apparent that Bt crops are a failing technology, unable to withstand the pests they are designed to ward off. Burkina Faso, the first African nation to cultivate Bt cotton has now pulled it from the market due to the low quality of cotton it produces. India is seeing farmers revert to conventional varieties due to dire failures in Bt cotton yields that have pushed farmers further into debt and suicide.

Admitting Bt crop failures, the GM industry have since marketed crops with multiple Bt toxins in an effort to delay their futility. However, as this latest study, performed by researchers in Huazong Agricultural University under the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture shows, there are many ways in which Bt crops can have unanticipated and wide reaching effects on the health of our soils and wider environment, some of which go beyond the inability of Bt toxins to target pests.

Some problems seen with Bt crops – including the spread of crop disease and rise of secondary pest attacks – may well be exacerbated by the damage to soil biology.

Living soil is essential to life, moderating climate, storing and recycling water and nutrients, biodegrading pollutants, with humans utterly dependent on its survival for food production, and also serves as an important mitigating factor in an era of unpredictable climate change.

The sacred properties of soil have long been recognised by human cultures, but this knowledge has been eroded by the advent of industrial agriculture that has resulted in declining soil health. In the last 40 years, we have lost an estimated third of all arable land to soil infertility, reflected in plateauing and even declining crop yield gains in the last decade, despite continued increases in economic investments.

This study is the latest warning that a decisive shift from industrial / GMO practices to sustainable, agroecological methods is needed to undo the damage, and ensure food security and health of people and planet for the future.

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Is Soil our Secret Weapon Against Climate Change?

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Author: Marco Marzano de Marinis | Published: November 21, 2016

What if one of the planet’s secret weapons in the fight against climate change was all around us?

What if every country had it in abundance, and it could also be used at the same time to give a better life to those most in need?

Too good to be true?

Most of us might guess that the answer lies in clean energy, car-pooling or ramping up recycling only – but then you would be missing a big opportunity that’s literally right under our feet: soil.

With COP22 under way after entry into force of the Paris climate deal last Friday, focusing on soil could help us move from having a clear target to making actionable progress for the development of a sustainable agricultural sector, worldwide.

The intersection between climate change and agriculture is crucial to understanding the key role farmers play in mitigating climate change.

Soil is one of a farmer’s greatest assets. It is a critical component of the farming system, making a vital contribution to food security, effective water and energy utilization. An efficient use of soil can deliver multiple benefits in addition to mitigating climate change effects.

Some estimates suggest soil can store up to 1,000 kgs of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide per hectare of land. In a process known as carbon sequestration, plants “breathe” in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), and store it via their roots in the ground, as soil organic carbon. This game-changing approach could offset up to 15% of global fossil-fuel emissions, complementing crucial efforts to decarbonise the energy and transport sectors.

And it’s not just carbon sequestration that makes soil such an important ally in the fight against climate change.

Healthy soils are the basis of more productive food and agricultural systems, which are needed to meet the increasing demand for food from a growing world population, and to boost world food security and nutrition. High priority must be given to producing more sustainable and high quality food, fostering efficiency, and ensuring farmer gains, as well as strengthening economic growth, particularly in rural and remote areas. These are the critical catalysers to tackling climate change while achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

So it is clear that by keeping our soils healthy, we’ll be play our part in combatting global warming while scaling-up healthier food systems and nutrition for all.

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Agroforestry Offers Climate and Sustainability Benefits

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Published: November 28, 2016

Agroforestry has a key role to play in helping the world adopt sustainable agriculture and contrast climate change, according to a high-level conference hosted by FAO today.

“An efficient land-use approach where trees can be managed together with crops and animal production systems” is an essential component of the “new paradigm shift for sustainable agriculture,” said Director-General José Graziano da Silva said in a conference-opening statement delivered by Deputy Director-General Helena Semedo.

Agroforestry, an approach between forest and open-field farming, simultaneously provides an array of social, economic and environmental benefits ranging from nutritious food and renewable energy to clean water and enhanced biodiversity.
“We need better coordination of farm and non-farm natural resource management,” Graziano da Silva said.

Agroforestry’s mixed land-use approach makes it a tailor-made example of how the agricultural sector can contribute to the global effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

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Cattle, Cleared Forests, and Climate Change

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Tropical deforestation is responsible for about 10 percent of global warming emissions—and no product contributes more to tropical deforestation than beef. Each year, millions of hectares of forest are cleared for beef pasture, releasing carbon into the atmosphere and destroying habitat of endangered species. The deforestation impact of beef is greatest in South America, where beef was responsible for nearly three-quarters of total deforestation between 1990 and 2005.

But beef can be produced without deforestation. A combination of industry agreements and government policies has begun to reduce beef’s deforestation impact in the Brazilian Amazon. Though encouraging, these measures have been limited in scope, targeting only certain suppliers and regions. Truly deforestation-free supply chains will require more comprehensive policies and practices.

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It’s Time to Invest in Indigenous Carbon Farming on Aboriginal Lands

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Author: Rowan Foley | Published: November 15, 2016

There’s a touch of irony in the fact the Australian government has invested $200m in the international Green Climate Fund, a United Nations fund to assist developing countries in adapting to and mitigating the effects of climate change.

There is, however, no equivalent investment fund by the government, or corporate Australia, towards developing sustainable economies on Aboriginal lands through one of those mitigation practices, namely carbon farming.

Investment in a sustainable Aboriginal carbon industry would directly impact climate change, Indigenous poverty and the management of traditional lands and waters. These are all key parts of meeting Australia’s commitment to the sustainable development goals (SDGs), specifically SDG13 (climate action), as well as SDG8 (decent work and economic growth), SDG11 (sustainable cities and communities), SDG14 (life below water) and SDG15 (life on land).

The government formally adopted the sustainable development goals in Paris last year. At the same time the UN called upon the international business community to play their part in achieving the goals, saying their success relies heavily on action and collaboration by all actors.

Paris is a long way from an Aboriginal community in Cape York undertaking carbon farming or central Australia where I live, and so is Sydney. But climate change is the great equaliser. All Australians experience the hotter summers, crazy storms and pungent smoke from out-of-control bushfires that float into the cities and towns. Climate change is like the polluted air all people, rich and poor, have to endure in Beijing and around the world. It impacts on us all.

 

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Holistic Management Stewardship Video

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Author: Ann Adams | Published: November 27, 2016

Our friends at the Western Landowner’s Alliance recently shared a video about Holistic Management practitioners Jack and Tuda Crews of the Ute Creek Cattle Company and the great stewardship of their ranch. Because of improved grazing practices and other land management techniques, they have seen an increase in bird species from 17 to 100 species. They have also seen other wildlife habitat improvement as they have allowed greater recovery for their grasses.

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Small Farms Are Just As Important As Big Agriculture in the Fight Against Climate Change

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Author: Duda Cardoso | Published: November 27, 2016

Just four days before the US elections, the Paris Agreement officially became international law after receiving formal sign-off from 55 countries that contribute 55% of global greenhouse-gas emissions. This landmark deal marked a pivotal moment in the fight against climate change, particularly given its ratification by a majority of the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases, including India, China, the United States, and the European Union.

However, the election of Donald Trump has ushered in a new administration that has vocalized opposition to the agreement, leaving a wake of uncertainty. Now, more than ever, it’s important that we make every dollar and every action count in the fight against climate change.

To make this happen, the Paris Agreement needs to include one key group that has been largely left out of the most prominent plans to combat climate change: smallholder farmers. Smallholder farms are defined as single-plot farms that are often run by families, not by large corporations, such as those behind the cashier at farmers markets and farmers who supply small food chains. The world’s 450 million smallholder farmers are critical to addressing climate change and meeting the world’s food-security needs. New research from the Initiative for Smallholder Finance (ISF), “The climate conundrum: Financing smallholder productivity and resilience in the age of climate change,” suggests that achieving zero poverty, improving food security, and combating climate change can only be made possible with substantial efforts to help smallholder farmers adapt to climate change and reduce their emissions.

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How One Borderland Farm Is Planting the Seeds of Food Justice

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Author: Sarah McColl | Published: November 14, 2016

Wearing hats to block the midday New Mexico sun, the summer campers crouched in the rows of the 14-acre La Semilla Community Farm would soon break for lunch. In the full kitchen at the nearby La Semilla offices, they made tortillas and cooked recipes with chia, nopales, amaranth, and other fresh vegetables grown on the farm.

“There was a day there was no nopales left,” La Semilla’s Elena Acosta said, laughing. “They ate it all up.”

At the geographic center of the 2,000-mile-long U.S.-Mexico border sits the Paso del Norte region, a tri-state area where El Paso, Texas; Ciudad Juárez, Mexico; and Las Cruces, New Mexico, meet. It’s here that La Semilla—which means “the seed”—is sowing a healthy, more equitable food system. With a recent $825,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in the coffers, hope grows in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, which La Semilla calls home and where 39 percent of children live in poverty.

Cofounded by Aaron Sharratt, Cristina Dominguez-Eshelman, and Rebecca Wiggins-Reinhard in 2010, the farm grew out of community garden work and the realization that there was a need for an organization dedicated to addressing the challenges of the local food system.

“They took on a task that seems monumental to me because people in our region are so unfamiliar with food justice issues and food systems. It takes a lot of education,” Catherine Yanez, an educator at La Semilla, told Borderzine in 2013.

“Our organization came out of a variety of different backgrounds,” Krysten Aguilar, director of programs and policy, told TakePart, from people “who are really looking at the food system holistically.” Board of directors President Lois Stanford, for example, is an associate professor of anthropology at New Mexico State University; she recently won a national award for her work with La Semilla. “It was really important to look at it through that lens of the whole system,” Aguilar said.

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