We need GMOs to feed the world like a fish needs dry land. A controversial farmer in California is proving that a veritable bumper crop can be had using new farming methods that don’t require GMO pesticides, herbicides, or even weeding, and require 10 times less water than the average farm. The best part – he earned $100K per acre last season without even harvesting all of his land.
What kind of super-fertilizer allows Paul Kaiser to grow so much food on a mere 8 acres? Lot’s of rotten food scraps and rotten plants – otherwise known as compost. And he uses loads of it.
He uses farming practices both old, and cutting-edge-new so well that agricultural specialists from University of California at Davis who have tested his top soil can drive a four-foot steel pole all the way through his fields. This, as opposed to most parts of California, where it would hit infertile hard-pan in less than 12 inches.
Last year, Kaiser’s farm located in Sonoma Valley, CA grossed more than $100,000 an acre, too. This is ten times the average for most farmers of this area, even in lucrative wine-country.
His farm is no mega-farm, either. At just under 8 acres, he is beating even other large organic farms because the soil is still so damaged in other conventional and organic farms alike. He is certainly out-performing Big Ag methods of farming as his unique farming practices have turned the soil into a goldmine.
Kaiser also doesn’t plow his fields (which means a lot less work) and he uses around 10 times less water than his peers. His neighbors still run sprinklers, but he waters for about an hour a week, using almost exclusively drip irrigation. This means that while California is still recovering from a drought, most farmers are watering the air – since most of the water is lost to evaporation. Kaiser is watering – how novel an idea – just his plants.
Read: Russians Prove Small-Scale Organic CAN Feed the World
Many California farmers recently spent millions tanking in water to try to save their crops, while Kaiser just made a healthy annual salary for even most high-paid lawyers. Water was being sold on the black market for ridiculous prices, but you can bet Kaiser wasn’t paying them.
Kaiser is a bit of a mad genius, and a dreamer, too. He rattles off statistics at local talks he gives about exactly how he grows so sustainably, often including surprising facts. For example, he leaves his roots in the ground after harvest to feed the worms. He sounds a bit like a Martin Luther King for growing green:
“Sustainable farming methods are just one corner,” he said. “Economic sustainability is another, and social sustainability is the third.”
During a recent Sunday farmers’ market, representatives of several different agricultural organizations approached Kaiser, each asking him for advice. Now, when billed for talks, he often packs the house.
Kaiser envisions small farms near every city around the globe, even in the most dry, arid climates, and with the proof of his own sweat, and soil, I believe his dream is possible.
Additional Sources:
This article is adapted from “The Drough Fighter,” by Todd Oppenheimer, originally published in Craftsmanship Magazine (www.craftsmanship.net), Photos by Christopher D. Cook.
8 acres is childs play, try doing this with tens of thousands of acres and I promise you it won’t work. And there are millions of acres of land that has to be cultivated in the U.S. Proof again that you people just don’t have any idea of how much land it really takes to feed America let alone the world.
Did you actually read any of the words in the article? He produced many times more crops per acre than conventional farmers and even other organic farmers. Pay attention in class, and you might learn something.
That is not what matters at all. Nowhere does it mention what his total expenses were nor does it mention what his net profit was. It doesn’t mention how many different types of crops he is growing nor the rotation at which they are grown. I know some people who are farming anywhere from 10,000-30,000 acres and no one is going to find enough composted material to effectively spread over that much land nor would drip irrigation work over that large of an expanse. Not to mention the insect and weed problems the would be faced. Its a little thing that’s known as economies of scale.
So pay attention in class and YOU might learn something. Its 8 acres and on the AG scale that is tiny to 100th power. He his also growing in a location that experiences more months of seasonal weather than most areas of the country. And last but not least every area of the country has different habitable zones in which certain crops will grow and others will not.
you are correct….this won’t work on large acreage….each point you make is correct….People who aren’t in ag….haven’t a clue…..Nothing wrong with this guy doing his thing…..But it won’t feed the world……
i guess you and the Monsanto farm pro dont know how to do math and scale up. its ok, Monsanto will be out of business soon and clowns like you will be picking beans on a farm just like this one in the near future.
and no I am not Monsanto in any way….and You haven’t a clue….the first of my life 15yrs all of it was on a farm in East Montana….without electricity even, cause the power had not been put in yet…..you go learn a while, fadestyle and maybe you will catch on, or maybe not………I rode horseback to school for the first 5 years to a oneroom school and later put myself through, University…….and math has nothing to do with this…..you haven’t a clue…..fadestyle……don’t be so quick to judge people you don’t know and never will know!
and by the way, go work on a farm for awhile, oh, I forgot, you can’t work that hard……
I don’t think the point of the article was that his 8acre farm could feed the world, but rather that small farms using his methods can be more productive than commercial farms using chemical and mechanical methods.
I didn’t grow up on a remote farm without electricity or ride a horse to school, but I do operate a farm exactly twice the size of his, so I’m not just talking out my a$$
Our big ag businesses in concert with lenders have systematically run small farms out of business to control the food supply and push people into the cities. I would advocate a return to small family farms where consumers would have a real choice as to what they decide to eat.
Agreed..
Have not heard of tunneltech. Thanks.
yup got one and live it. how big is the one you own?
your habits are old and worn out. unsustainable. that is why he can grow in 8 acres what you need in 100. if you are looking for more of this then just take what he is doing and times it by ten and you got your thousand acres worth of food. and he pays his employees more to do the work then people like you on average.
Your Monsanto is losing stock points by the day. get used to it. your old hat now.
I have no connection to Monsanto. I myself haven’t farmed in many years as I own my own landscape business. But my father and all of his farmer friends are doing better now then they ever did in the past. And just for the record there are many different types of seed that are not GM they could chose from but I wonder why they don’t. Simple, higher overall yields, and less inputs to production equals higher profits, plain and simple.
yes you do.
Just so you know that that is the kind of reply little immature children give. I have yet to see one intelligent comment anywhere from you on this thread. Just name calling, once a person starts name calling and talking irrational that person has already lost control of the conversation or debate. Remember children do this: Yes you are, no I’m not. Yes you did, No I didn’t. Yes you will, No I won’t. And I’m sure anyone that has young children will agree!
Yes, but what we have done as an industry is failed to show the public the benefits and let the lies take a hold. Now we are having to play catch up educating people. Problem is people would rather believe the gossip than the truth.
$156 Million Loss in Q4 as Farmers Abandon GM Crops
Yeah they are really ditching them aren’t they.
failing
Record yields record profits, I would hate to see what you call success. All sounds like jealousy to me.
it sounds like gmo is poison. nope not jealous of evil.
Poisonous to hunger that for sure.
I want to say I’m sorry about the other day. But you were the one that called me a Nazi several days earlier. Let me explain the difference. I’m a 9 generation German. My forefathers settled in Germantown PA. He fought the Germans in Trenton. My Grandfather had so much fun with them at the Ardennes, my old man had to go see what all the hype was about. They also fought them from Morocco and Normandie.
Back in the day when kids were encouraged to ask questions, one that always came up was how could the Germans lets such a thing happen back in the 1930’s. They’re smart, and really good people. But they usually don’t teach about the Armistice and the Balfour Agreement.
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
Pastor Niemöller
The squeeky wheel disappeared forever.
I can see why the Feds want to get rid of history and science in schools. These were my favorite classes when I was in HS.
I’m sure most people on this site didn’t have “How to lie with Statistics” in college, or ever heard of such a class. You do this like a pro.
What I see happening today, is what has happened in the past. I’m willing to die to prevent it. I’m sure there’s a one way ticket with my name on it to Barry’s Holiday Camp (that would be Camp Ripley where they already have the ovens, and a lot better that the ones than that Bush Klan funded through Fritz Thyssen)
I’m sure you didn’t look at the Deagle (like the Rand Corp) stats that I posted for you. Your probably in deNile about Agenda 21. Well bright eyes your not on the list to be spared. Your to bright! That is meant to be a compliment.
We go from 320 million to 70 million population in 10 years.
http://www.deagel.com/country/United-States-of-America_c0001.aspx
I can see your fear in loosing your livelihood. Can’t blame you for that, as I know what it’s like. I’ve changed professions myself several times. I know I didn’t want to belong to a group that dealt with megadeath as a good thing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSofqNSuVy8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1KvgtEnABY
I’ve had 6 years of “Hope and Change” to put the million piece puzzle together (which I do do well). Banks, food, radiation, fluoride, drugs and vaccines, chemtrails…..
Most people on this site have already figured out on there own the cause of loved ones, or there own health problems. I’ve already had my own brush, and asked the VA to check my blood for glyphosate. Well duh, stupid me, there’e a law to make that illegal!
We’re being dumbed down.
We’re being made sicker.
We’re being made infertile.
Again I’m sorry about the other day. We’re being systematically exterminated,
LOL So you don’t like Obama, Oprah, or Gates, but support everything they do??
BTW a traditional family farm was 160 acres, or 1/4 section FarmPro!
What record yields are you referring to? Can you show some sources?
The record corn and soybean yields for the crop years 2013 & 2014. If you wish you can verify these through the USDA, or since I already know you will say “I won’t believe anything this evil organization would put out”, Informa puts out independent yields as well as several other companies.
I don’t defend mankind meddling with nature. On the other hand some of it may fall within the guideline of augmenting what already is going on….and that may be a positive…I am not a scholar by anymeans….regarding changing creations originality….except to say….proceed with extreme caution…..then even, do another study!
Well”I already know you will say” is a bit presumptuous since you don’t really know anything about me. I don’t have a problem looking at people’s sources for crop yields.
I am quite familiar with corn prices which were especially low this year and unless you raise livestock, I will bet I buy more of it than you or the first thousand people you come across today. However high yield of grain with low input does not automatically equate to “better idea”.
Lots of variables to consider.
First of all let me say, I am sorry for assuming. Every once in a great while I do meet someone like yourself on a site such as this that isn’t totally biased. I do apologize for assuming. The only thing about crop prices is they are only low if you look at the last five years, if you take a larger average they are still decent. The problem is inputs have not come down with prices. As far as how much we buy and sell I am a small independent retailer that services about 40,000 acres, buys about 200,000 bushels of grain and moves probably in the neighborhood of 5200 tons of animal feed a year. Not very big by today’s standards by no means, but we make a good living and only have to answer to our customers. As I have said in another post, we as an industry have done a poor job of explaining why we need gmos, and it is true in some cases there are no benefit to the consumer,but no cost as well, while to the farmer there is a clear benefit. Our industry is now trying to play catch up educating people, but they have let the lies on social media get a foothold and it is costing everyone millions for no good reason. Just think if all this money both sides were spending actually went to either feed the hungry, or for something like cancer research what we could accomplish. It is really sad.
I think people can make money on both sides w the propaganda. As a small farmer it is more beneficial for me if GMO grains cause cancer or sickness because I can hit the farmers market and sell my product at a much higher price to “educated” people who will only eat organic non GMO foods. There is always money to be made on ignorance. And.. The door swings the other way. If there is in fact some harm from growing GMO foods and spraying with roundup, and the only wheat seed I can come by at the coop is Monsanto, then by god I will swear to you that there is no harm. I will go out of my way to prove it so you will make bread with my grain.
Sometimes getting the truth is like trying to squeeze water from a stone. Just isn’t happening. Ultimately I believe people need to become responsible for their own food production or just accept the fact that their burger king whopper may in fact contain horsemeat.
The bulk of my knowledge on the grain commodities comes from a book given by a cousin who farms several thousand acres in northern OK called ‘merchants of grain’. Good book if grain interests you and you haven’t already been forced to read it by an ag professor
record yields are no good when the price falls as it did on 2014. farmers are not making much these days, other than the young man in the article who I believe is growing marijuana, that to he is an incredible rip off artists with wicked marketing skills
True farmers can be their own worst enemy, by over producing. For a lot of them the few years will be very painful.
Last year there were no records. But the result of 3 years of record yields and high prices (which ceased in 2014) is that farm property taxes went through the roof in Ohio. Most of the larger farms are paying 300% more this year. I am happy my small farm which grows sustainable GMO free produce and poultry only got a 15% increase.
No record yields? Maybe not in Ohio, but there definitely was nationally.
mmmm no one loves roundup in their food. then we wonder why the bees are dying, you are brilliant.
Scientists smarter than me and you put together haven’t been able to determine it yet, but no you have the answer. LOL, you are stupid.
this fadestyle…guy/it…….is faded……out! with sunstroke…..or maybe Alzheimer’s ………or? ? ?
GMO’s are linked to numerous illnesses. That in itself should be enough not to continue working with GMO’s. It is a moral decision. Feed the world, but feed them food that is safe to eat.
And if they use non GM seeds they can carry seeds over from the provious year and save money as well
I may have read too quickly but I didn’t see any mention of what he pays his employees. Where did you see that?
My farm is 16 acres and my only employees are 4 children.
He pays his employees $12-$15 an hour — I saw this somewhere in another article about him.
I have to say that pay rate is extremely hard to believe. Why would anyone pay that much?
Okay, I eat organic and love vegetable gardening. I buy only at farmer markets in summer and fall if I need to supplement what I have not been able to grow due to losing battles with insects. I worked on a very small farm (150 acres) for a year. I just don’t agree with one thing some people seem to be saying. I am pretty sure the reason small farms are disappearing is mostly that it is phenomenally hard work for brutally little pay. The chemicals and fertilizers are not that expensive. The main problem is the product is not worth much at all. On the farm where I worked, the farmer was working 15 hr days with butt in tractor during many weeks of summer and there was a lot of migrant labor being paid $3 per hr. Even with all that cheap manpower, the farm family was BARELY turning a profit. Their house was not nice at all and their cars were 10 or more years old. I think Monsanto is pure evil but I don’t understand how small farms are really able to turn a profit and they are lying if they say they pay well. Virtually no soil, no matter how great you care for it, can turn anywhere close to that kind of profit. I just don’t believe the numbers in this article. I think they are just silly and false.
Net profit is what I wanted to see.
We farm over 37,000 acres and we use drip irrigation on over 30,000 of them we also use no till and large scale composting. The real increase in yields is due to the assistance of the USDA NRCS and not anything related to the introduction of gmos in the last 15 years. We are not “child’s play” and it works for us in two states. We don’t have any super bugs or weeds and receive higher prices with less expenses. We have the clear conscience of knowing are products are safe and that our use of the land won’t stop future generations use of the land as would chemical cultivation methods.
If you don’t mind I would like to know the farm name, phone#, and states of operation. Just so I can do some research into what you are doing.
If you don’t mind I would like the same information from you, Hawaii and Illinois are the two states
I don’t farm anymore I am in commercial landscape maintenance in Missouri. The fact that this is being done in Hawaii makes perfect sense given that in this location there has far more growing time which equals more harvests per year on the same acreage and also more dollars per acre. Not to mention a potentially unlimited water supply.
My mothers side of the family hails from Missouri, I agree that location and the other factors you mention are huge impacts. I just passionately believe that 15 years of commercial Gmo cultivation most of the testing and seed development done in my backyard is not the solution to global hunger. The work of us farmers, landscapers and everyone is the solution we won’t get far debating issues that are to say the least quite complex. So I believe live and let live just tired of the encroachment of others liberties upon my own. Have a great day and thank you for continuing your families tradition of land management.
Do a little more research FarmPro and you will see that he indeed has the facts and figures that you mention above. I know two farmers each with close to 600 acres who refuse to accept change. Guess what!?! Their land is failing because they use old methods that have destroyed the soil. When I speak to them of feeding their soil, they start rattling off a thousand chemicals. When I say, “No. No. No. You must use compost and other methods”, they shake their heads and say it will never work — even though their own land is dying from their methods, and they are losing money!!! They just happen to be land rich which makes them think that they are powerful. What they are is stuck in their ways because 30 years ago and AG agent told them how to do it.
The insect and weed problem takes care of itself through a healthy immune system. The plants are healthy enough to fight off invading insects because no chemicals are used that kill off the beneficial insects. You do lose a few plants every now and then, but nothing on the scale of an infestation. Last year, I did have some insect damage, but did not lose a single plant to insect infestation. The good/beneficial insects took care of the bad insects.
For those non-grow seasons you move indoors with greenhouse production.
You speak of 600 acres as it is something large, I’m am talking on the scale of thousands and tens of thousands of acres. Your examples must be of vegetable farming operations. No one would be able to move thousands of acres of soy, corn, wheat, canola, milo, cotton etc. indoors to greenhouses in an off season. I haven’t heard of one farmer in my fathers neck of the woods saying that their land is failing, as a matter of fact most of them have been seeing record years for over a decade now and not a single one of them uses organic methods.
for larger farms: Sonic Bloom is being used on 60,000 acre farms in Australia and is a proven method with similar results.
that said, I don’t see why mulching is so difficult on large scale: you only have to set it up once and add a little avery few years as it feeds the soil.
the savings on water, chemicals and weeding will pay for the cost…
Here is a little math on how mulching on a large scale would not be cost effective, especially if you live in places such as the Midwest. And just for further clarification since I am in the landscape business I happen to know just a little bit about this. On a bulk by the semi load scale mulch costs about 10$ per cubic yd. 1 cu yd @ 1inch cover approx. 160sqft. 43560sqft per acre / 160sq ft per yd= 272 yd per acre. 272yd per acre x $10 per yd= $2720 per acre of mulch. $2720 per acre mulch X lets say 30,000 acres= $81,600,000. And that is before any labor costs to move and spread said mulch. You got that kind of cash just layin around, I bet not. As a matter of fact I don’t know anyone who farms who does. Its always best do and check the math before blowing smoke. And composted mulch provides mostly phosphorus back to the soil, very little nitrogen at all. And 1 inch of mulch spread and incorporated into the soil will be gone in a years time if not faster given the right weather conditions.
And just to take the math a little further lets say it takes about an average of 1man hour to spread each yd of mulch that’s 8,160,000 man hours. And lets say your paying good at $15 per hour. 8,160,000 x 15= $122,400,000. So now before you have seen any crop or return on that investment you’ve spent $204,000,000 on just one of many inputs. Not a business model I want to follow, I think I’ll keep doing landscape work.
The ideal goal for a small scale organic farm, according to a Penn State study a couple years ago, is $1 per square foot in gross sales. I forget if it is per season or per year. Roughly $43k an acre. While I am curious as to how he is making more than double that a year, and which crops he is growing to do so, it is not that surprising. For you FarmPro, I suggest you do a little research on how our farmland is being used. You say that our land is being used to feed people and that is absolutely false. More than half of the arable land used in the US goes to commodity crops, which are turned into food for animals, fuel at a net carbon cost, or sugars and byproducts. Your economics of scale have only been made necessary over the last couple hundred years, quickly forgetting the fact that humans have been farmers for over 10,000. They are a false argument to keep farmers connected to the oil business of chemicals and heavy equipment. A single farmer doesn’t have to have thousands of acres to feed people, we only need that if we are feeding animals and the oil companies. If you are questioning that, just look up the USDA reports of land use per crop, bounce that information off of animal feed and ethanol production. We are not feeding the world, we are feeding a subsidy economy. As far as who actually feeds the world, visit the UN websites on small scale agriculture, one of which talks about the “International Year of Soils”, promoting the building and health of soil in order to produce more crops similar to those in the article. And to say that drip irrigation wouldn’t work over a large area is just ignorant. Obviously you haven’t used a system properly because a single emitter line at 20-50 psi can cover 100 square feet and definitely can be scaled up infinitely as long as the pressure is maintained. Drip is also ~98% efficient while large sprayers only hit about 75% and can be lower depending on the crop and weather conditions. It may take more time to set up but it can all be done by hand and modified as crops rotate. Time to wake up.
Yes, but the artclw was way short on what kinds of crops and really 100K an acre. I am not buying this yet, need more research.
You’re telling us that with proven gross revenue of >$100k per acre, it would be impossible to scale this up? I must be missing something huge here; please explain in a little more detail how scaling up is an impossibility.
As you scale anything up profit margin will generally decrease. Simple economics. Many people farm land that they do not actually own and land owners most often require to rent the land certain crops be grown. Farmers in low density population areas will have a much harder time finding the composted material needed. The larger of an area farmed brings on more regulation and added cost. The more employees you have more regulation and added cost. With this comes the need to invest in more equipment to help do the work. finding the water sources needed to provide enough water pressure to run drip irrigation all over the land. And the fact that all of the land area is not the same and will not support the same types of crops. Some to much sand, to much clay etc. Not to mention the losses to insect infestations that once they get going can be hard to stop. Some species can reproduce from 10 to 10,000 in just one week. The list goes on and on but I think I have conveyed my point.
looks like you dont know how to do math. no wonder your Monsanto crops are failing.
Record harvest for the last two years don’t sound like failures to me.
monsanto is losing. you dont have to convince me. the cats out of the bad and you aint putting it back in there again.
Over ninety percent of the crops in the US are gmo and they are losing? very funny.
yup asleep at the wheel until the past year. now they are losing.
Funny?
do you always get the last laugh?
Believe what you wish time will prove you and your lies wrong.
heh, i guess you have not been following their quarterly reports…. hah..losing
I guess you didn’t realize they usually have most of their income in the third quarter did you?
im talking last years loser, if you add in this years that has not made it to Q1 yet they are losing even more. youre not really the sharpest knife in the drawer are you? mosanto troll hiring needs to have higher IQ stats.
Sales in 14 was over 15B profit was over 2.7B I think they will be just fine. But I do see why your jealous.
and on a steady decline, keep this up and it wont take long to bottom out.
Over the last five years they have both been increasing. This is easy to look up so why lie? Oh yea the jealousy thing.
yes it is and everyone that sees this post will search engine monsanto $156 Million Loss in Q4 as Farmers Abandon GM Crops
Which is less than they lost in Q4 the year before. With any ag business their cash flow isn’t consistent throughout the year, and the overall trend is still upward.
They might have the land, but we as humans who need a baseline of nutrients are the big, big losers. GMO’s might be grabbing up the land, but we’re getting practically nothing from the plants except calories.
You get the same from the as you do their non gmo counterparts.
this is why they are failing and no they dont. your lack of intelligence is amazing.
Your right, things like golden rice gives you even more. Thanks for correcting me.
your lack of critical thinking is very boring. and it shows youve been eating too much gmo.
It’s your inability to understand the higher thinking that is boring you.
oops another late come back. your batting a 1000 keep up the losing streak. just like monsanto. thats why they ban gmo in other countries. yeah is monsanto…. hah
I guess I have finally made it to monsanto’s level as you now seem jealous of me as well. Wow, my first groupie.
exactly, this person gets what mr gmo doesnt. this is why monsanto fails. mr gmo has no concept of nutrient dead soil.
It sounds like you haven’t heard of Permaculture, aquaponics, or a medley of other breakthroughs in sustainable farming practices.
1st point – Are you talking about many people, or are you talking about this particular case? Many people eat 10,000+ calories a day and are overweight, does that mean that the guy who eats a balanced diet and exercises regularly will be overweight also?
2nd point – As an organics operation scales up and composting material becomes harder to obtain, proper planning and switching to wood mulch that takes longer to compost can overcome this challenge. Please refer to Paul Gautschi and the film Back to Eden.
3rd point – All farmers have to deal with regulation, employees, and equipment. This is an issue with business management and whether any particular farmer has enough knowledge/skill to work within these limitations, not an issue with organic farming.
4th point – The water pressure is found in a little thing some of us farmers use called gravity. At our farm, we currently use windmills to pump water to mini water towers, which then feed drip irrigation using gravity. As our system scales, we require more buildings, which produces more surface area for rain harvesting, and as we scale, we require more people in the community, which produces more greywater for recycling, therefore producing more water for use/reuse in produce production.
5th point – Differing land types. Yes, there are different land types, and there are also many different strengths found in all types. In a system of Permaculture, one does not look at differing types as negative, but as the foundation of differing strengths. It’s a change in perception and flexibility, not a dogma in seeing everything that differs as an obstacle.
6th point – Insect infestations aren’t a problem in a properly balanced organic system; we’ve never used an insecticide and instead use companion plantings that attract beneficial bugs that keep destructive bugs in check; while also confusing these same bugs with a multitude of differing plants. It’s called balance. If you want to see an insect problem, look at monocropping and GMOs. This is where you will see the issues. Planting all of one type of crop in any given area is like putting up a giant billboard for bugs that says, “Hey free meal without any obstacles!”
I think the point you’ve conveyed that does indeed go on and on, is in displaying your ignorance (not calling you stupid as you are obviously intelligent) towards organic farming. If you spent as much time as you do on defending the current paradigm of farming and GMOs on learning about ways to farm within a system of permaculture, and/or perhaps aquaponics (a way that uses 95% less water, 75% less energy, and half the space and time of traditional farming methods), you’d be able to help our society in a big way to become more sustainable. So, go ahead, come join the dark side of sustainability and give us a hand brother. We need all the help we can get to bring about the revolution in food production that is occurring.
you are quite off in this answer to what the guy said of which you are answering……..and that is! Feeding the world…and he did not say chemicals or GMO was the way to go forward…..what he said was, people have no clue just the massive acreage that is needed to grow enough food to feed the earth’s population as it now is……Those acres are massive……Just Massive and to think going with this articles idea can ……do the job of feeding the world, is incorrect….That’s all he said…as I read this thread….and I applaud the farmer in the article…He is doing the right thing…on a scale of local satisfaction but nothing more…..and I also am in Ag…..nearly 70 yrs….SO
You speak of these techniques as something new and innovative. All of these techniques were in existence 15+ years ago when we learned about them in college Horticulture classes. They are sustainable on a small scale and only when the farmer owns all of the land and doesn’t have to answer to anyone else, but when you apply any of these techniques to many thousands of acres they begin to breakdown because labor intensity among other things becomes far to costly. You also have to take into consideration that most wood mulch gets used in ornamental landscapes which doesn’t leave much room for composting unless your in to cutting down trees just to compost them. As far as differing land types you must also think about growing season as well. Most areas that are agrable only have the right amount of temperature for one harvest while others a person might be able to get 2 to 3 harvests in the same amount of time. A farmer must also plant crop which will grow with the temperature differential of the climate they are in. To hot in the summer for some species no harvest or to cold in the winter for some species no harvest organic or not.
Regenerative agriculture comprises an array of techniques that rebuild soil and, in the process, sequester carbon. Typically, it uses
cover crops and perennials so that bare soil is never exposed, and grazes animals in ways that mimic animals in nature. It also offers
ecological benefits far beyond carbon storage: it stops soil erosion, remineralises soil, protects the purity of groundwater and reduces damaging pesticide and fertiliser runoff.
But these methods are slow, expensive and impractical in feeding a growing population, right?
Wrong. While comprehensive statistics are hard to come by, yields from regenerative methods often exceed conventional yields (see http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/09/cover-crops-no-till-david-brandt-farms
and http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167880902000877
for anecdotal examples and http://www.sciencemag.org/content/304/5677/1623.short and http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378011000057 for scientific research). Likewise, since these methods build soil, crowd out weeds and retain moisture, fertiliser and herbicide inputs can be reduced or eliminated entirely, resulting in higher profits for farmers.
First, regenerative agriculture seeks to mimic nature, not dominate it.
As Ray Archuleta, a soil-health specialist at the USDA, puts it, “We
want to go away from control and command agriculture. We should farm in
nature’s image.”
Second, regenerative agriculture is a departure from linear thinking and
its control of variables through mechanical and chemical means. It
values the diversity of polycultures, in which animals and plants form a
complex, symbiotic, robust system.
Third, regenerative agriculture seeks to address the deep basis of
ecological health: the soil. It sees low fertility, runoff and other
problems as symptoms, not the root problem.
Regenerative agriculture cannot be implemented at scale without deep
cultural changes. We must turn away from an attitude of
nature-as-engineering-object to one of humble partnership. Regeneration of soil and
forests is fundamentally local: forest by forest, farm by farm. These
are not generic solutions, because the requirements of the land are
unique to each place. Unsurprisingly, they are typically more
labor-intensive than conventional practices, because they require a
direct, intimate relationship to the land.
* http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/mar/09/we-need-regenerative-farming-not-geoengineering
Gabe Brown is in such demand as a speaker that for every invitation he accepts, he turns down 10 more. At conferences, like the one held here at a Best Western hotel recently, people line up to seek his advice.
“The greatest roadblock to solving a problem is the human mind,” he tells audiences.
Mr. Brown, a balding North Dakota farmer who favors baseball caps and red-striped polo shirts, is not talking about disruptive technology start-ups, political causes, or the latest self-help fad.
He is talking about farming, specifically soil-conservation farming, a movement that promotes leaving fields untilled, “green manures” and other soil-enhancing methods with an almost evangelistic fervor.
Such farming methods, which mimic the biology of virgin land, can revive degenerated earth, minimize erosion, encourage plant growth and increase farmers’ profits, their proponents say. And by using them, Mr. Brown
told more than 250 farmers and ranchers who gathered at the hotel for the first Southern Soil Health Conference, he has produced crops that thrive on his 5,000-acre farm outside of Bismarck, N.D., even during
droughts or flooding.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/10/science/farmers-put-down-the-plow-for-more-productive-soil.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0
You kind of glossed over some details.. Those bug infestations, say squash bugs for example can be easily controlled by hand on a small farm with family workers. For larger operations you have to actually hire people to do that if you want it done by hand. I can send my three boys out to handle pulling worms from corn or melons on an acre plot before it gets ruined. Doing that for 80 or 160 mmight break me.
Ultimately if people want to know what’s in their food they need to grow it themselves or stfu.
You are absolutely correct, on a small tract of land using only family resources removing some types of insects by hand may work. In the case of things like aphids, scale, thrips, mites, leaf miners, weevils, etc. These will be much to small and to many to remove by hand. Now imagine if you have these pest as well as many others spread over several thousand acres and populations arising at different times throughout the growing season. Removing maybe around the order of several billion pests by hand just aint gonna cut it.
I think the whole point is to eliminate the massive farms and go back to the small family farms. We don’t want your Monsanto crap ! Adapt or go out of business !
Dude your an idiot! lol If one man can do it in 8 acres and make $100k an acre you wouldnt need millions of acres of land to feed the world!
If it can be done with 8 acres theoretically it can be done with 100 to 10,000 acres but no one knows because no one has tried. From what I am hearing this man just follows natures design and their is NO BETTER WAY to grow sustainably then natures design which has been perfected over billions of years. Monoculture hasnt worked, doesn’t work, will never work if we want to survive on this planet with billions of people. Nature doesn’t support monoculture no where in nature does monoculture exist. So its pretty silly that we think we are smarter then nature.
Lets really think about this. This guy supposedly got a $100,000 an acre? This is very possible, but there is just one catch — It isn’t a legal crop!! $10,000 gross income per acre is exceptional that you can expect from such high dollar crops as almonds and oranges, and you expect us to believe this guy is doing 10 times better? This is an outright LIE. Strange how they leave out actual crops grown and yields. Not to mention what his NET profit is, after all that is the only number that actually matters.
CORRECTO!!! That will tell ya right there if its sustainable or not.
We’re growin potatoes on this 6 acres but over here we got 2 acres of bubble gum kush and purple haze!
i knew you were smoking dope.
The author was if she actually believes this.
yeah, she made the tire article up. and your one of those tin foil hat wearing conspiracy theorists too. i bet youre a racist. woman hating bigot!
No, I love women not scared of them like you.
racist bigot
I admit I don’t like lying homos like you. You got me.
i knew you were a racist bigot and a homophobe
Monsanto and George Soros supposedly have plans to genetically modify those as well.
For the record nature doesn’t support 8 billion hungry mouths on its own. Before Agriculture most people lived in small tribes and lived like nomads. When humans began farming and bending parts of nature to our will that is when we were able to settle down as a species, stay in one place, and begin to overpopulate.
farm pro must have left school early. he cant do math.
Math is easy, this article doesn’t add up its that simple.
just as i said. you cant either. too bad your paid by monsanto
Lol, that always works when you can’t come up with a real comment.
too bad you are losing. 8 acres $100000 hmm looks like you cant do math.
You obviously can’t either since it reads $100,000 per acre not for 8. Which if you really knew anything about farming, you would know it was a total lie.
i do what they do on a small scale and it works. sounds like you are jealous of organic farmers?
My family currently runs a soil-based organic farming operation. We started our pilot project on 14,000sqft and will produce revenue of >$30k in our second year. Colleagues of ours are creating gross revenue of $410,700/year from each 3,360sqft of certified organic aquaponics systems they run, with $175,206.11 profit after Operating Expenses, Depreciation, Interest Paid on Loans, Income Taxes, and Loan Amortization; numbers directly from their latest financial pro forma.
I wouldn’t exactly call myself an expert on farming, seeing as we’re just about to move from our pilot project on less than a quarter acre to our first full-fledged project of a little over 5 acres, but I think I know enough to realize that generating >$100k on one acre is far from automatically being categorized as a lie. Now, if you’re talking about monocropping in dead soil that has no natural pest or weed defenses, therefore requiring massive amounts of investment in poisonous insecticides and herbicides, the never-ending cycle of synthetic fertilizer addiction, and fuel and water costs, then I could see how you would find it hard to believe in these types of numbers.
Tell me the crops, and the yields. I’m here to say that you are a liar, plain and simple. If we’re really that easy more people would be doing it.
Wow, did you really just call me a liar without knowing one thing about me, my family, or my colleagues family? I’m not sure where you’re from hoss, but I’ll assume you were simply unfortunate in your upbringing, so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt; none of us are able to predetermine who our parents will be so I’ll give you pity instead of anger.
I’ll give you actual figures from just one 3,360 aquaponics system that is currently in operation right now from the same people that we learned from who have been in business for over 10 years and who are currently having their mixed greens sold in Costco. And instead of just writing numbers in this comment box, I’ll do you one better. I’ll post the actual pro forma on my server in PDF format and put a link below.
You can also check out our pilot project from the same website while you’re at it to see how small the area is that we are producing the above stated revenue this year in. Feel free to browse the site to learn some things about permaculture and aquaponics, and while you’re at it, please subscribe to our blog and like us on Facebook; we love educating others like yourself who may be ignorant in these areas and are always looking for more allies to join our community and help spread the word brother 😎 We are not new to horticulture, but we are new to commercial horticulture, so the more friends the better:
http://celestinegardens.com/gmo_robert_bless_his_heart/Financial_Proforma_for_3360sqft_System.pdf
After you check out those financials, I’ll show you some pictures of that operation if you’d like. Truly a beautiful setup run by the most awesome and honorable of families.
The comment with the numbers is awaiting moderation (from length I suppose or because it has a PDF link to the spreadsheet in question); give it a few minutes.
Wish I was I could always use the extra income.
even worse, too stupid to get a job with monsanto and loves gmo what a winner.
Never applied, already own a my own company and doing good, not Monsanto good, but I was never jealous of them like you.
lol you got it confused for dislike. you are a winner. hope you get your kids off gmos before they end up with cancer like all the tested animals get. mmm eat it up.
Gmo fed beef and lamb in the freezer along with gmo sweet corn, just like everywhere else in the world NO PROBLEMS.
mmm maybe thats why your iq is so low?
Smart enough to run my own business, how bout you jealous liar.
Actually I have a Horticulture science degree as well as a pesticide applicators license, all of which requires a full hands on working knowledge of biology, entomology, chemistry, and physics. Simple math is for babies!
and i have a bridge on the moon to sell ya.
I’m sure you have visited it several times on your way to fantasyland.
awwwe gmo man thinks he has a snappy come back…fail
Better than anything you’ve come up with.
i knew you were in the pocket of the petrochemical companies either pushing their agenda or ignorant of the danger.
We have been farming for over 15,000 years Gmo have been around farms for 15 years we don’t need them as they don’t help us feed the world. We produce enough food to feed 11 billion people every year about a third of global production is wasted. UN study found that small scale organic farms like this one are actually the ones feeding 80 percent of the world and the only hope to feed expansion in population. Monoculture of nutrient defiant gmos mostly go to junk food, ethanol and animal feed not an efficient production method for food.
and you call yourself a farm pro? heh. your pro soil is deficient, dry, needs tilled, and is over all dead and now you wonder why you need so many chemicals, fertilizers and over head? hah. your old habits needs get with the program and go green and the new organic. either that or Monsanto is in your pocket?
If it is as dead as you say then why do we need chemicals? Surely weeds wouldn’t be able to grow in dead soil.
this is why you fail. you have no concept of nutrient dead soil.
I know, two years in a row of record crops, just think if it wasn’t “dead”. Quit repeating lies and open your eyes go what is actually happening.
and quit being a paid monsanto toolbox. your nutrient dead soil is losing. dead soil, dead future sales.
Why so jealous of Monsanto? Sad that is all you think about. Personally I don’t even like them, but I do respect what they have done. Much more of a Dow and basf fan myself.
jealous of monsanto? hah, youre smoking dope too.
So you admit the author was smoking dope when she wrote this, thank you.
this is how stupid you are. you must be smoking.
monsanto is as popular as your up votes. hah
I didn’t realize they were in a popularity contest. Of course their inventions are wildly popular. Popular enough to make you foam at the mouth with jealousy.
wildly popular as a hole in the head, yup