What it takes to grow food without fossil fuels

[roberte]

What it takes to grow food without fossil fuels



Wes Jackson has the next agricultural revolution all planned out. He’s even drawn up the budget and the 50-year Farm Bill needed to do it.

In his vision, future farms will mimic the way nature grows food and let the ecosystem – rather than fossil fuels – do most of the work. They will follow the economics of a prairie as opposed to industrial agriculture.

The visions starts with replacing the current system of annual plowing, fertilizing, and grain planting with a more permanent set of crops that will regenerate on their own, rebuild the soil and even sequester carbon from the atmosphere.

I first discovered Jackson in a book called “Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature.” His Kansas-based nonprofit, The Land Institute, is building a harvestable, perennial prairie as a model of how to grow food without plowing, without adding nitrogen fertilizer to the soil, and without water-polluting erosion.

Somewhere in the transition from our hunter-gatherer lifestyle and our agricultural societies, he explained in his lecture, human beings shifted their food source from diverse perennial plants that live year-round to annual monoculture crops that have to be replanted year after year.

Annual plowing leaves topsoil vulnerable to erosion and allows critical nitrogen and carbon nutrients to leak out.

The Land Institute has cross bred annual wheat with perennial plants to produce a crop that will regenerate and continually produce grain without plowing.

Continue reading at:
http://ecotrope.opb.org/2011/10/what...-fossil-fuels/

[mohoghead]

I've often wondered why this country insists on making ethonal out of corn when there is all that switch grass that grows naturally.

linky:http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...anol-than-corn

[Nastarana]

Originally Posted by mohoghead

I've often wondered why this country insists on making ethonal out of corn when there is all that switch grass that grows naturally.

linky:http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...anol-than-corn

Because ADM has a lot of political clout.

[fugacity]

Originally Posted by Nastarana

Because ADM has a lot of political clout.

And the technology for cellulitic ethanol isn't really ready for efficient production yet. But the corn thing is stupid too.

[Silverbeard]

With some variations Im doing some of the same things. I include a lot of microclimates, and land shaping as well. Water is scarce here, so its best to concentrate it, then keep it where you want.

Im working on the same perennial grain project,(wheat) and other grains as well. As well as some other types of crops.

So I certainly get the perennial aspect, however I am using lots of annuals as well, and expect to as my work evolves. Prairies have annuals as well. Im a big fan of overwintering grains and legumes for my particular area.

Actually rather then a prairie my work kinda mirrors the mixed forest/grasslands of the high desert. If it was wetter here, I would have them divided into a prairie and forest set up, but due to low water I have reasons for them being mixed...

I have little doubt this mindset will make waves in the future of growing food, (the general mindset not one persons working of it) because yields can be off the charts with some of this. Inputs become mainly just labor if done right, and once established that wont be as much labor as most think either...

[Silverbeard]

http://oikostreecrops.com/store/home.asp

By the way, you can get some perennial wheat here. Im pretty sure this is the most advanced selection to date. This was Tim Peters work that Ken Asmus from oikos got long ago and did some additional selection work to. They were sold out last I looked, but should have it this fall or next spring. at this point its living about 6 years, still work to go, to match anything close to its potential.....

Rye isnt as interesting to most, but its actually probably got more potential. I have lots of tims genepools for that as well, lots of potential... needs work though. There are a few other grains and crops with this potential as well, something I find extremely interesting. The squash is probably the most interesting to me past the grains.

[Gardener5]

I really like and respect Wes Jackson, I see him as one of our most helpful and innovative agriculture leaders.

[c1377]

Because we worship technology, we believe that we are light years ahead of our ancestors.
The truth is that we are too arrogant to wake up to the fact that things are going all wrong...

[roberte]

Originally Posted by c1377

Because we worship technology, we believe that we are light years ahead of our ancestors.
The truth is that we are too arrogant to wake up to the fact that things are going all wrong...

Interesting comparison is the comments in the Plant Patenting and Iraq’s Agriculture thread at http://idigmygarden.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55553

[roberte]

Originally Posted by mohoghead

I've often wondered why this country insists on making ethonal out of corn when there is all that switch grass that grows naturally.

linky:http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...anol-than-corn

It's that "...right now there are no biorefineries built that handle cellulosic material" problem. That SCIAM article was from 2008.

2011 "DuPont Danisco currently is developing the biofuel production process at a small demonstration biorefinery in Vonore — not far from the Color Wheel Farm. The pilot plant and three-year switchgrass program were funded by $72 million in state dollars during the Bredesen administration."

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/oc...ss-crossroads/