Imagine what you saw as you arrived somewhere on the Great Plains to claim your homestead. Miles and miles and miles of prairie grass and great herds of migrating bison; prairie grass often six or more feet in height; bison herds numbering in multiple thousands.
The early settlers of the Great Plains were farmers. A shovel into the soil on the Great Plains revealed great richness and fertility, dark chocolate color, strong root structure and vigorous biology. Top soil was measured in feet, not inches.
On May 20, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act that turned over vast stretches of Federal land to private citizens.
“The Homestead Act, enacted during the Civil War in 1862, provided that any adult citizen, or intended citizen, who had never borne arms against the U.S. government could claim 160 acres of surveyed government land. Claimants were required to live on and “improve” their plot by cultivating the land. After five years on the land, the original filer was entitled to the property, free and clear, except for a small registration fee. Title could also be acquired after only a six-month residency and trivial improvements, provided the claimant paid the government $1.25 per acre.”
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/homestead-act
Great Plains settlers were a mixture of farmers from the eastern United States and those that arrived directly from Europe. They brought with them the centuries of ancient technique of tilling the soil, that is, preparing the growth zone of the soil, the top 10 to 18 inches, for plant development by breaking up the surface of the soil and bringing deeper soil layers to the surface. In ancient times tilling was done using hand held tools like the hoe, known then as an ard, or using animals and slaves to turn and trample soil. To the Great Plains the farmers brought the “modern” technology of the plow.
Early plows were made of wood or soft iron. These plows could not handle the dense soil of the Great Plains. In 1837 John Deere developed the first self-polishing cast-steel plow specifically designed to cut through the Great Plains, the “grasshopper plow.” Destruction of the Great Plains was now wrought.
The farm settlers soon faced the harsh reality of living on the Great Plains. Having come from heavily-wooded areas of the eastern United States and forested Europe they were unprepared for life on the prairie. Rainfall was unpredictable; abundant years were followed by the desolation of total crop failure followed again by transitory but seeming abundance. Those that survived earned every square inch of their 160 acres.
It took the Dustbowl of the 1930s for agriculturalists, farmers to scientists, to begin to ask questions about what it takes to sustain agriculture on the Great Plains. They learned that the stability of the Great Plains ecosystem was critically dependent on soils remaining covered at all times to prevent soil erosion. They also learned that rain that fell on covered soil soaked in, but rain that fell on tilled soil ran off, more erosion.
This discussion has thus far focused on the Great Plains; however, it should not surprise you that agricultural lands outside the Great Plains behave similarly.
The ski season has come to an end; spring abounds. As you drive, what do you see? Farmlands once covered in snow are saturated with water. Farmers have created channels to drain away standing water; they want the ground to dry out as quickly as possible so spring planting can begin. What’s the first thing most farmers want to do … for many farmers it is to prepare the land for planting without their tractors sinking into a mud mire (it’s not called “mud season” for no reason). A few warmer days, a little sun, and the tractor legions are unleashed … viewed from above “ant hordes” marching, marching, marching.
Why till? Tillage prepares the seedbed, suppresses weeds, aerates the soil, turns over cover crops, buries crop residue, incorporates fertilizers (organic, e.g., manure, or synthetic) into the root zone, and activates synthetic pesticides, all leading to faster crop growth.
Why not till? Tillage fractures the soil, disrupts soil structure, destroys the biome, accelerates surface runoff and soil erosion from both water and wind, and reduces crop residue that cushioned the force of pounding raindrops and held soil particles in place. Driving the other day I observed the dust cloud behind the tilling tractor … lost soil. Every year of tillage, more lost soil.
As a result of the Dustbowl, in 1935 Congress created the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), today known as the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
NRCS helps America’s farmers, ranchers and forest landowners conserve the nation’s soil, water, air and other natural resources. … NRCS is helping private landowners improve the health of their operations while protecting our natural resources for the future. We are working to ensure the long-term sustainability of American agriculture.
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/about/
NRCS defines soil health as “the continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, and humans.” Healthy soils have high levels of microbial activity, higher levels of organic matter, and good soil structure.
Therein lies the challenge. The industrialization of agriculture has a long history in the United States, and accelerated after World War II when bomb manufacturing plants were converted to the production of nitrogen-based fertilizers. Industrialized agriculture exploded in the 1970s when President Richard M. Nixon appointed Earl “Rusty” Butz, a Purdue University academic, as his second Secretary of Agriculture. Butz exhorted farmers to plant “fencerow to fencerow,” to eliminate any and all barriers to production and yield, and not worry about soil conservation measures that had been widely instituted after the experience of the Dust Bowl in the 1930s.
Butz told farmers to think monoculture, think more acreage, think more machinery, think more chemicals, think more yield, think about a larger production system; “get big or get out.” The USDA instituted policies to encourage farmers to follow Butz’s mantras.
Industrial agriculture comprises the vast majority of crop production in the United States … tillage, monocrop, and heavy reliance on fossil fuels for synthetic fertilizer, herbicides and pesticides. It is not just the vast acres of corn, soybeans and wheat grown under industrialized practices. The reality is most crops in the US are grown this way. Industrialized agriculture grows 95 percent of crops in the US, replete with soil erosion, soil exhaustion, exhaustive water use, much of which runs off, and health-damaging synthetic fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides that pollute streams and rivers. Industrialized farming was hailed for its alleged ability to “feed the world:” the reality is industrialized farming cannot do so and comes with huge environment, social and economic costs. It is unsustainable.
There is an alternative, regenerative agriculture, a farming philosophy that focuses on the longevity of the land; soil as soil, not just dirt. Regenerative agriculture is defined as:
Farming and ranching in synchrony with nature to repair, rebuild, revitalize and restore ecosystem function starting with all life in the soil and moving to all life above the soil.
https://understandingag.com
The five principles of regenerative agriculture are:
https://www.cropin.com/blogs/the-5-principles-of-regenerative-agriculture
Great principles … what do they mean in farm life? No-till farming (put away that plow), organic cropping (using biologically-derived pesticides and fertilizers, like manure, animal compost, and plant wastes), perennial cropping, agroforestry and silvopasture (restoring the hedge and tree wind breaks Butz advocated eliminating), and integrating animal grazing (using modern grazing animals to do what the bison did on the Great Plains).
What do you get from regenerative agriculture? First, and to us foremost, healthier and better tasting food. The societal, economic and environmental benefits are also huge. Global warming … regenerative agriculture increases the soil’s capacity to capture carbon, which contributes to the reversal of global warming. Top soil increases in depth and biodiversity. Soil better retains water and reduces runoff, consequently there is less water pollution from synthetic fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides; groundwater is recharged. Regenerative agriculture maintains crop yields and increases crop resilience. It improves farm profitability. Regenerative agriculture reduces demand for fossil fuels, the fossil fuels need to manufacture the synthetic fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides; the fossil fuels needed for distribution and application.
Regenerative agriculture can accomplish something industrialized agriculture cannot, it can feed the world. Regenerative agriculture can be practiced anywhere.
Lots of ideas, lots of words. You can enjoy learning more … watch “Kiss the Ground” on Netflix.
https://www.netflix.com/title/81321999
What can we do? When you buy food ask if the grower practices restoration agriculture; those that do say so and are proud of doing so. You may have to visit producer Websites to learn about their practices. In the future, identifying regenerative agriculture producers will be somewhat easier.
Understanding Ag, LLC has launched a regenerative agriculture certification “Regen Earth VerifiedÔ. Regen Earth will be certifying farms and ranches to the highest standards of regenerative agriculture and through the verification process, will ensure that consumers choose the appropriate product that supports a healthier planet while providing more nutrient-dense food.
"Regen Earth Verification's goal is to meet each producer where they are and provide the framework for them to become fully regenerative. Regen Earth Verified was built to be inclusive, but also structured to have the highest standards to ensure that regenerative agriculture does not become greenwashed." Ben Katon, CEO at Regen Earth Verified.
We do not know how long it will take for Regen Earth Verified labels to start appearing on food products. In the meantime, all of the food producers recommended here practice regenerative agriculture.
We can change the world through what we eat … what we chose to buy, what we choose to put in our bodies.