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Author Topic: Sustainable Farming  (Read 9313 times)

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AGelbert

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Re: Sustainable Farming
« Reply #90 on: April 22, 2019, 09:34:15 pm »
 
Duckweed


HOW TO GROW DUCKWEED AND AZOLLA

If you know Garden Pool, then you know we love 🦆 Duckweed 🌞! This amazing plant is important to our system and now we would like to teach you how to grow duckweed for yourself.

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֍ The basics of duckweed and azolla. What is so special about these tiny plants and the difference between them.

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֍ How to take care of your duckweed and azolla in the off-season

How to Grow Duckweed and Azolla Video


Class: How to Grow Duckweed and Azolla
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Where: The Garden Pool in Mesa, AZ
Length: 40 minutes
This class was recorded live in a classroom setting. To be a part of our classes in person, join our meetup group.

https://gardenpool.org/online-classes/how-to-grow-duckweed-and-azolla
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Sustainable Farming
« Reply #91 on: April 23, 2019, 05:52:06 pm »
A Hydrocarbon Hellspawn said this about CH4
Quote
It is one of the more useful molecules out there in the long run,

Sure, from YOUR rather narrow definition of "useful" (It's a hydrocarbon!). 

But in the BIOSPHERE that we all depend on, THE most useful molecule in the hydrocarbon pantheon is this one:

Ethylene: The Ripening Hormone

Ethylene causes fruit to ripen and plants to die on schedule so they can  be recycled into the biosphere. In short it is key to the life cycle of all earthlings. Now THAT is REALLY useful! So you see, I DO recognize that there is ONE hydrocarbon that we really need AS LONG AS WE DON'T BURN IT!


C2H4 (Ethylene)

A bowl (see below) of some products produced by ethylene, that fossil fuelers, and other LIVING BEINGS, NEED 

My favorite HYDROCARBON!

What!? You mean to tell me Agelbert, the quixotic crusader against fossil fuel folly in all its poisonous and biosphere trashing forms has some hydrocarbon love? 

YEP!    

Back when I was trying to get through pre-med in the daytime, while I worked as a computer analyst in the FAA at night (I was promoted from air traffic control to Automation), I took Botany, one of many biology courses the curriculum required. 

Botany was a lot of fun. I learned how they keep grapes from having seeds in them (Gibberrelins) and all sorts of interesting facts about plant biochemistry. But the story of the orange grove fruit warehouses in Florida in the early 20th century was one I liked especially because it is a great example of the scientific method in action. Read on. 8)

The vast orange groves in Florida around 1910 had giant warehouses where picked fruit would be stored while they reached the proper stage of ripeness before shipping them to markets. The oranges are picked nearly full size and still green. They are tough at that stage and not easily bruised by the picking process.


The crop is stored in heated warehouses to finish the ripening process. The oranges, as they ripen, obtain their pretty orange color. The fruit expands somewhat and becomes more fragile but, since they already have them packed in bags or crates ready for shipping, they get to markets pretty well unscathed.


Well, around 1910, the orange growers were sold on electrification of their orange ripening warehouses. They had hitherto used kerosene heaters which sometimes caused a warehouse to burn down and they liked the idea of controlling the temperature within a few degrees to fine tune the ripening process. Boy, were they in for an unpleasant surprise!  :P 

They spent small fortunes in electrifying the warehouses with lights and elecric space heaters. The picking season came and they happily picked the crop and stored it in the new and improved hot shot electric heater warehouses. They waited for the oranges to ripen, fill out and turn orange in color. And waited. And waited. Those silly, stubborn oranges refused to ripen! They stayed hard and green.

A bright bulb among the growers, all of whom had ALWAYS believed (wrongly) that HEAT is what makes fruit ripen, stated that there must have been something besides heat in those old kerosene heaters that made the fruit ripen.

They got a team of scientists to do some experiments with green oranges with and without kerosene heaters at various temperatures and the oranges exposed to the kerosene heaters DID ripen as they always had before irrespective of temperature. Next they identified all the products of combustion of the long chained hydrocarbon called kerosene.

We all know when you burn (oxidize) a hydrocarbon, you get CO2 + H2O. But that is ONLY if you have COMPLETE combustion.

A kerosene heater, as many family tragedies can attest to, puts out lots of INCOMPLETE combustion products like CO (carbon monoxide) that will kill you quickly and quietly.

But there is another product of incomplete combustion that burning kerosene puts out. It's called Ethylene.

This tiny molecule is a miracle of plant biochemistry. The scientists determined that ethylene was making the oranges ripen! So the growers had to put the kerosene heaters back in.

Well, they got electric lights out of the deal and plant science took a giant step forward so everything worked out for the best.

The obvious follow up question is, where does the ethylene, now defined as a plant ripening hormone, come from when the oranges ripen on the tree?  ??? From the orange, as long as it is connected to the tree when it turns color. AFTER the fruit is sufficently ripe (i.e. the orange gets its orange color), the tree is not required for ethylene production.

Henceforth, whether on the tree or off it, the orange itself keeps putting out ethylene until it rots in preparation for the orange seeds to grow.  Pretty neat, huh?

This was a revolutionary development in botany in general and fruit growing in particular. The study of plant hormones grew explosively from that point and many mysteries were (and still are being) solved about how these miraculous photosynthetic life forms function.

What is so amazing to me is that such a simple molecule can do so much. Have you ever put bananas on top of a bowl of fruit containing apples in the bottom? Sure, everyone has.

Have you noticed how fast those bananas get overripe when they are on top of apples? YEP, ripe apples are one of the highest ethylene producers out there! :o Those bananas produce much less, but when the added apple ethylene whacks them, here come the brown spots!  :P

Unless you are going to eat the above bananas TODAY, this is a No No! The bananas will ripen too fast! Set them a few feet away and they will keep longer.  ;)

So now you know that, if you have a well ventilated area and happen to have brought some green bananas from the store that you are worried about "going bad" before ripening or just refusing to turn yellow, as sometimes happens, a small hurricane kerosene lamp placed in the vicinity of the bananas will ripen them. You can impress your spouse with your botany smarts.  ;D


Behold, the humble ethylene molecule, my favorite hydrocaron.
Ethylene (IUPAC name: ethene) is a hydrocarbon with the formula C2H4 or H2C=CH2. It is a colorless flammable gas with a faint "sweet and musky" odor when pure.[3] It is the simplest alkene (a hydrocarbon with carbon-carbon double bonds), and the simplest unsaturated hydrocarbon after acetylene (C2H2).

Ethylene is widely used in chemical industry, and its worldwide production (over 109 million tonnes in 2006) exceeds that of any other organic compound.[4][5] Ethylene is also an important natural plant hormone, used in agriculture to force the ripening of fruits.[6]

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Sustainable Farming
« Reply #92 on: April 25, 2019, 07:56:49 pm »
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Sustainable Farming
« Reply #93 on: August 09, 2019, 05:45:43 pm »
 
Make Nexus Hot News part of your morning: click here to subscribe.

August 9, 2019

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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September 4, 2019



Wisconsin-based brand “Organic Valley” is now the largest food company world-wide to run on 100 percent renewable energy.

The company completed three solar installations in August that will generate nearly 13 megawatts of power and are part of a larger 32 megawatt portfolio of solar projects called Butter Solar Portfolio owned by Canadian company BluEarth Renewables. Upper Midwest Municipal Energy Group has agreed to buy the power from the projects, which will be used by ten communities in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa, potentially reducing their power costs. Organic Valley’s CEO said the company is now aiming to assist their 2,000 farmers with other sustainable initiatives. (Wisconsin Public Radio)

Read more Renewable Energy NEWS:

https://mailchi.mp/climatenexus/democratic-candidates-release-climate-plans-dominion-energy-wants-electric-school-buses-electric-f-150-pickup-coming-to-market-and-more?e=0fd17c5b57
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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You Thought It Was Impossible to Grow Oranges in the Snow?
« Reply #95 on: September 14, 2019, 08:34:12 pm »
Documentary — Nebraska Retiree Uses Earth’s Heat to Grow Oranges in Snow

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola Fact Checked

September 14, 2019


STORY AT-A-GLANCE

Tropical fruits can be grown in subzero climates with geothermal energy

The only heat source for geothermal greenhouses is the Earth’s heat, which is 52 degrees at 8 feet deep

Energy costs to run a geothermal greenhouse are less than a dollar a day

Harmful herbicides and pesticides can be avoided with geothermal greenhouses

Geothermal greenhouse produce is marketable at local farmer's markets

The crops can be more profitable because there are few transportation costs involved

Finch's geothermal energy-based farming has been fruitful, pun intended  ;D. The greenhouse includes 20 citrus trees with 13 varieties of fruits, along with cacti, orchids, nine varieties of grapes, figs, avocados, ivy, tomatoes, garden plants and flowers.6 One 24-year-old tree will grow to be 100 years old or more, says Finch.7

Each tree is capable of producing as much as 125 pounds of fruit every year which Finch sells at local farmers markets.8 The year-round growing and low transportation costs help the marketability of the products says Finch –– and "locally grown" can be just as much of a sales point as "organic." Finch sells Valencia oranges, the fruit from which most juice comes. The temperatures are so salutatory, you could probably grow bananas too, he muses.9

Yet the energy costs associated with running the geothermal greenhouse are surprisingly low –– less than a dollar a day. A geothermal greenhouse Finch designed for a local high school in Alliance has used an average of 96 cents a day in energy costs for the last several years.10

Full article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2019/09/14/nebraska-geothermal-greenhouse.aspx
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

Surly1

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Re: Sustainable Farming
« Reply #96 on: September 15, 2019, 10:10:00 am »
Truly remarkable.

AGelbert

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Re: Sustainable Farming
« Reply #97 on: September 15, 2019, 03:23:07 pm »
Full article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2019/09/14/nebraska-geothermal-greenhouse.aspx
Truly remarkable.

What impressed me most what the fact the trench has to be at least 54 feet long. I guess the thermal mass in the trench is not self sustaining with a shorter trench. I may never have a chance to put that knowledge in practice, but perhaps someone that reads this will.

I would love to be able to grow bananas and oranges and avocados and even mangos here in Vermont, but I probably will never have the opportunity. I know Amory Lovins successfully grew Bananas in the mountains of Colorado (his still does 👍).
   
I grew Bananas in Puerto Rico and had an Avocado and Mango tree. Bananas are easy to grow in the tropics and are generally impervious to bugs. Birds can get to them, but only when they are so ripe they are falling off the plant. You need to harvest them before that point is reached. The plants don't get much higher than 12 feet or so.

Mango and Avocado trees get way too big (over 30 feet) for a trench, so a dwarf hybrid would have to be the only type you could grow in a covered trench. Avocado and Mango trees must grow for at least 7 years or so before you can get fruit.

Avocado trees are peculiar because they are both male and female (at different times of the day to prevent cross-pollination on the same tree). Usually you need another Avocado tree nearby for proper flower fertlization. Mango trees don't have that problem, but hybrids revert to more stringy fruit (harder to eat) versions rather easily. You need to have similar hybrid trees near each other to keep the fruit true to the hybrid brand.

Mangos are not like apples, which have a uniform pulp texture across most varieties. Mango texture can vary widely from easy to eat to a fruit dense with stringy "dental tape floss" like fibers all the way to the seed. The versions we get in Vermont are low fiber, peach easy to eat, but pretty bland in taste. I suspect they are picked when they not fully ripe so they aren't damaged in shipping. There is nothing like eating a mango, or any other fruit, for that matter, when it has fully ripened on the tree. 😋
« Last Edit: September 15, 2019, 04:58:54 pm by AGelbert »
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Regenerative Agriculture - Part 1
« Reply #98 on: November 06, 2019, 06:40:18 pm »
Regenerative Agriculture - Part 1
15,322 views•Sep 1, 2019


Just Have a Think
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Carbon Dioxide levels in our atmosphere continue to climb, as does our global atmospheric temperature. Despite greater awareness of the issues, and huge strides forward by the renewable energy industry, we are not having any effect on the overall problem. But some people think we're looking in the wrong place for the solution and that all we need to do is take some lessons from the way nature has always used it's resources to regulate heat across our blue planet.

Walter Jehne- The Soil Carbon Sponge, Climate Solutions and Healthy Water Cycles
17,465 views•Apr 29, 2018


Biodiversity for a Livable Climate
Biodiversity for a Livable Climate presents
A talk by Walter Jehne
Australian climate scientist and soil microbiologist
Director of Healthy Soils Australia
Introduction by Didi Pershouse

April 26, 2018
Harvard University, Haller Hall
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He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Regenerative Agriculture - Part 2
« Reply #99 on: November 06, 2019, 06:53:35 pm »
Regenerative Agriculture - Part 2
12,318 views•Sep 1, 2019


Just Have a Think
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Regenerative Agriculture has been around for a very long time. The trouble is it's just not the way most modern farming techniques are taught or practiced. Walter Jehne is an Australian microbiologist who argues that with a few very simple changes to the way we manage our land, all of which are just taking a lead from nature, the answer to reducing our global atmospheric temperature could be as easy as A-B-C...

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Yes, Indoor Agriculture Can Feed the World
« Reply #100 on: November 21, 2019, 11:58:42 am »
Yes, Indoor Agriculture Can Feed the World

And for many food crops, it already does

Source: Rabbobank World Vegetable Map 2018

By Micki Seibel (six minute read) 



He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Sustainable Farming
« Reply #101 on: November 21, 2019, 12:41:09 pm »
Agelbert NOTE: This article is from 2017, but it shows that the great progress happening around the world in growing crops sustainably is not "hopium".

What’s happening around the world?

The US is a relatively small producer of greenhouse vegetables. In fact, the US represents only about 0.2% of the global greenhouse vegetable market, with the rest of the world producing over $300B of vegetables in greenhouses year-round.


read more:

By Allison Kopf May 19, 2017 · 5 min read


He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Regreening
« Reply #102 on: November 30, 2019, 07:54:43 pm »
BLACK BEAR NEWS - Paris Agreement Breached - Regreening
218 views•Nov 30, 2019


Black Bear News
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#FridayGasStrike #ExtinctionRebellion #ClimateStrike
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The breach of the Paris Agreement
http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2019/...

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He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Why Ploughing Is Such A Bad Idea
« Reply #103 on: December 03, 2019, 08:12:41 pm »
Tractor ploughing the fields. From That’sFarming.

Why Ploughing Is Such A Bad Idea
By Daan

Feb 20, 2019 · 8 min read

Part of the series “Quest for Drawdown”. For anyone who has walked around farming areas, you’ll be aware that ploughing is an integral part of agriculture as we know it — widespread throughout many countries. However, what you might not know is that it has a very big negative impact on biodiversity and global warming.

There are many different processes involved in modern-day conventional agriculture. Ploughing (which comes in many forms) is a process whereby the top layer of soil is overturned — like flipping a pancake [1]. Tilling is another process, similar to ploughing, whereby soil is cut and broken into smaller pieces; like pulling a comb through the soil [1]. What these two processes have in common is that they both break up and disturb the soil causing a lot of disruption and problems — let me explain…

Firstly, when ploughing and tilling through the fields, the plants in the top layer of the fields rot and decompose, producing and releasing carbon dioxide and methane in the process [2]. Also, fields that are not tilled (so-called “zero tilled” fields) contain sub-soil fungi and plants with roots that extend deep and allow carbon sequestration (absorbing CO2 from atmosphere) [3]. Hence, by not ploughing or tilling, the potential for carbon sequestering (uptake of CO2 from atmosphere) is unleashed. Within the EU under current conventional farming methods, 5% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions come from agricultural soils [4] (just soils, no animals!). That’s more than aviation and shipping combined [5],[6].

Difference between tilled and no-till ecosystems. From United States Department of Agriculture, USDA.

Secondly, by disturbing the top layer of soil small pores present in the soil structure that are responsible for the uptake of water are destroyed. In fact, tilling or ploughing a field often results in soil compaction [7]; which reduces overall soil porosity. This leads to reduced water holding capacity and an overall less hospitable environment for all life in the soil [7]. As a result, the farmer has to water more and there is an increased risk of flooding during heavy rains [8], [9].

Thus, thirdly the natural microbiome of the soil is compromised by the disruption and then subsequent compaction caused by tilling or ploughing. Soil, much like our guts, relies for its “health” on the biodiversity of naturally occurring organisms including bacteria, fungi, worms, and insects that are to be found there [10],[11]. All of these different organisms contribute to the stability and porosity of the soil structure, as well as to the richness of the soil in the forms of the organic matter broken down from plant and animal material. Mineral materials are also made more bio-available by these organisms to the plants grown as crops [10],[11]. Furthermore, these organisms form the bottom of the food chain for bigger animals such as voles and birds [12]; which in turn form a pyramid of biodiversity further outside the fields, and into the trees and hedgerows and beyond. All major disruptions to the soil mean major disruptions to the home of all these vitally important organisms [13].

The soil food web nourishes the crops that grow in fields. From USDA.

Fourthly, any soil contains a large amount of seeds buried in the soil, like a giant seed bank. When buried, these remain dormant [14]. However, when tilling or ploughing these seeds are brought to the surface and are allowed to germinate, [15],[16]. As a result, more weeds are present and the farmer has to apply extra herbicides.

Fifth, breaking up the soil leaves it more exposed to wind and rain erosion [17]. During a single rainstorm 2,000 tons of topsoil slipped into the river Wye, in England [18]. Once lost, this soil cannot be recovered. Furthermore, rain erosion causes runoff of farming additives, such as fertilisers, pesticides, and herbicides. These are carried along with the soil and enter waterways, streams, rivers, and eventually seas and oceans ultimately causing dead zones (places where the aquatic habitat is altered in such a way that it becomes inhospitable to most life forms) [19], [20]. There are currently 500 dead zones in the world, compared to 50 in 1950 [20].

[img width=840https://miro.medium.com/max/1400/1*TpOIIhtH8EibGCY2utNHNQ.jpeg[/img]http://
Oceanic deadzone. From AquaViews.

Last but not least, dragging a one and half tonne piece of steel equipment [21] through soil is actually quite a big effort, and requires a lot of energy. That energy comes in the form of diesel, burnt to power the tractor — thus adding to the GHG emissions of regular farming.

To see the global picture, roughly 30% of global land area has been acutely degraded, with over 3.2 billion people already affected [22]. Every year we additionally lose an area the size of Greece of fertile soil [23], [24]. For the economists amongst us, that amounts to an annual loss of 10% of global GDP (which is more than what it costs to prevent it) 👀 [23].

This human-induced loss of natural resources paves the way for hunger and conflict [22]. To plough, or not to plough, plays a crucial role in that downward spiral [24].

Degraded land. From Eric van den Elsen 2014, Ecologic.

Why is that so?

Now you may wonder, why is that so? Why would farmers use techniques that have so many downsides? One reason is that in conventional thinking farmers have to deal with two main struggles: the weather and weeds. In order to get rid of weeds, three common options exist: ploughing (which makes the weeds decompose), herbicides and shading the weeds to death [18]. In some cases where farmers have abandoned tilling, such as in the US, the amount of herbicides used (such as glyphosate) has increased [18] (although this is not necessary). In other cases there are initial investments that need to be made, such as purchasing a “cross-slot-drill” [25], a machine that can sow seeds into the ground without ploughing or tilling.

Additionally, when switching to no plough/no till farming, in the first few years there can be a decreased yield of crops, leading some farmers to return to old practises [26]. However, after these initial years yield in many cases is actually higher than in conventional farming [26],[25],[27].

Beyond that, the topic of no-till/no-plough farming is relatively unresearched [25],[2]. Another important factor is that many farmers have quite a lot of debt, [28], [29], and are stuck between this high debt and ever higher demand for low consumer prices [30]. This means that farmers will be reluctant to try anything new that might not absolutely guarantee them from day one the profits they are used to [30].

What are the alternatives

There are a plethora of alternative approaches that involve no-till, and many of these have been shown to be more profitable than conventional methods [31], [32] . These include adapted forms of no-till organic farming, direct soil drilling, restorative agriculture[33], agroforestry (syntropy) [34], permaculture, using perennial crops [35] etc. There is such a vast abundance of possibilities that I will not cover them in this article, however, I will talk about them in the future. What must be noted is that all of these methods are dependent and adaptable to the type of crops chosen, the soil type, and the local climate.

For what remains, we need to rethink the way we do agriculture and give farmers the attention and help they deserve in the face of our current ecological crisis. In the end, it affects all of us; the food that we eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

References:

[1] “Agriculture: What is the difference between tilling and plowing? — Quora.” [Online]. Available: https://www.quora.com/Agriculture-What-is-the-difference-between-tilling-and-plowing.

[2] S. Mangalassery, S. Sjögersten, D. L. Sparkes, C. J. Sturrock, J. Craigon, and S. J. Mooney, “To what extent can zero tillage lead to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from temperate soils?,” Sci. Rep., vol. 4, p. 4586, Apr. 2014.

[3] “The importance of soil organic matter.” [Online]. Available: http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/a0100e/a0100e0a.htm#bm10.

[4] “Archive:Agriculture — greenhouse gas emission statistics — Statistics Explained.” [Online]. Available: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Archive:Agriculture_-_greenhouse_gas_emission_statistics.

[5] “Facts & figures aviation.” [Online]. Available: https://www.atag.org/facts-figures.html.

[6] “Reducing emissions from the shipping sector | Climate Action.” [Online]. Available: https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/transport/shipping_en.

[7] “Soil compaction | UMN Extension.” [Online]. Available: https://extension.umn.edu/soil-management-and-health/soil-compaction.

[8] “Frequent tillage and its impact on soil quality | Integrated Crop Management.” [Online]. Available: https://crops.extension.iastate.edu/frequent-tillage-and-its-impact-soil-quality.

[9] “Improving Water Retention with Cover Crops | No-till on the Plains | Agriculture Production Systems Modeling Nature.” [Online]. Available: http://www.notill.org/improving-water-retention-with-cover-crops.

[10] “Earths natural internet.”, http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20141111-plants-have-a-hidden-internet

[11] “Healthy Soil Microbes, Healthy People — The Atlantic.” [Online]. Available: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/06/healthy-soil-microbes-healthy-people/276710/.

[12] “Soil Food Web | NRCS Soils.” [Online]. Available: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detailfull/soils/health/biology/?cid=nrcs142p2_053868.

[13] “Crop cultivation and wild animals.” [Online]. Available: https://reducing-suffering.org/crop-cultivation-and-wild-animals/#No-till_farming.

[14] “Wikipedia Soil Seed Bank.” [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_seed_bank.

[15] “Tilling is one chore you might be able to skip — FineGardening.” [Online]. Available: https://www.finegardening.com/article/tilling-is-one-chore-you-might-be-able-to-skip.

[16] “Cultivating Vs. Tilling — The Difference & Why You Should Cultivate.” [Online]. Available: https://mantis.com/cultivating-the-soil-why-its-important-and-how-it-differs-from-tilling/.

[17] “Heavy Rain, Soil Erosion and Nutrient Losses | Integrated Crop Management.” [Online]. Available: https://crops.extension.iastate.edu/cropnews/2008/06/heavy-rain-soil-erosion-and-nutrient-losses.

[18] “Kill the Plough, Save Our Soils.” [Online]. Available: https://www.newsweek.com/2014/06/06/kill-plough-save-our-soils-252623.html.

[19] “Managing Runoff to Reduce the Dead Zone | GEOG 3: The Future of Food.” [Online]. Available: https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog3/node/1114.

[20] “Oceans suffocating as huge dead zones quadruple since 1950, scientists warn.” [Online]. Available: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jan/04/oceans-suffocating-dead-zones-oxygen-starved.

[21] “Mounted Reversible Plough • MASS.” [Online]. Available: https://en.mass.bg/134/mounted-reversible-plough.

[22] “Land degradation threatens human wellbeing, major report warns | Environment | The Guardian.” [Online]. Available: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/26/land-degradation-is-undermining-human-wellbeing-un-report-warns.

[23] “Media Release: Worsening Worldwide Land Degradation Now ‘Critical’, Undermining Well-Being of 3.2 Billion People | IPBES.” [Online]. Available: https://www.ipbes.net/news/media-release-worsening-worldwide-land-degradation-now-‘critical’-undermining-well-being-32.

[24] “Third of Earth’s soil is acutely degraded due to agriculture | Environment | The Guardian.” [Online]. Available: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/12/third-of-earths-soil-acutely-degraded-due-to-agriculture-study.

[25] “Farmers are abandoning traditional ploughing — BBC News.” [Online]. Available: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-38332276.

[26] “Better soil quality and yield by no longer ploughing maize soil — WUR.” [Online]. Available: https://www.wur.nl/en/show/Better-soil-quality-and-yield-by-no-longer-ploughing-maize-soil.htm.

[27] “Does ploughing actually damage soils and crops? — BBC News.” [Online]. Available: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-40166313.

[28] “‘Bad debt’ on the rise in farming and agriculture sector — NEWS — Farmers Guardian.” [Online]. Available: https://www.fginsight.com/news/news/bad-debt-on-the-rise-in-farming-and-agriculture-sector-65810.

[29] “What Every New Farmer Should Know About Farm Debt — Upstart University.” [Online]. Available: https://university.upstartfarmers.com/blog/new-farmer-farm-debt.

[30] “De boer moet uit de spagaat: ‘Schulden en steeds goedkoper produceren zet de boeren klem’ | De Volkskrant.” [Online]. Available: https://www.volkskrant.nl/economie/de-boer-moet-uit-de-spagaat-schulden-en-steeds-goedkoper-produceren-zet-de-boeren-klem-~b90315fd/.

[31] “Wayback Machine.” [Online]. Available: https://web.archive.org/web/20110727131205/http://www.notill.org/KnowledgeBase/03_economics_derpsch.pdf.

[32] D. L. Beck, J. L. Miller, and M. P. Hagny, “Successful No-Till on the Central and Northern Plains.”

[33] “Wikipedia Regenerative Agriculture.”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regenerative_agriculture

[34] “Differences between organic and syntropic farming — Agenda Gotsch.” [Online]. Available: https://www.agendagotsch.com/2018/04/24/differences-between-organic-and-syntropic-farming/.

[35] “Perennial Crops | Drawdown.” [Online]. Available: https://www.drawdown.org/solutions/coming-attractions/perennial-crops.


Climate Change - Environment - Agriculture - Global Warming - Ecology

WRITTEN BY Daan

The Quest for Drawdown — I intend to write for as long as necessary to halt the current sixth mass extinction and achieve climate drawdown.


https://medium.com/datadriveninvestor/why-ploughing-is-such-a-bad-idea-62956c17967c


He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Clearly, there’s an extreme disconnect between our public policy, on the one hand, and what would be good for consumers, family farmers and the ecosystem, on the other hand.

Three Steps For Building A Million-Person Food Citizen Force

By Anthony Flaccavento, Organic Consumers Association

December 15, 2019 | ORGANIZE!


Americans cherish the “family farm.” Most are also happy to be able to buy local foods at farmers markets, grocers or their favorite restaurants. In the marketplace, consumers are sending the message that they want more sustainable and organic food, sales of which exceeded $50 billion last year. And the vast majority of people in our nation believe that climate change is real, and that urgent action needs to be taken.

While there is some variability depending upon one’s political affiliation, Democrats and Republicans alike hold these views. If this is what we... -more-
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

 

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