By: Nelson Kramer
Local News Editor
Farming is a practice that has been around for over 12,000 years. However, many aspects of our farming and agricultural systems have been adversely affecting our environment and dangerously threatening our climate.
The current farming methods have been deteriorating the nation’s previously rich topsoil to the point where it can’t hold water, let alone keep plants alive. Topsoil is critical. It’s the first layer of soil, containing microorganisms that keeps the ground fertile. When farmers harvest their crop, they release carbon that was stored in the soil back into the atmosphere, so when we can’t replant the same amount of carbon that is left in our atmosphere compromising our climate.
Today’s current farming methods use tilling, which significantly contributes to topsoil erosion. It disturbs the soil structure, and farmers have used this method for many years. Time magazine says, “A rough calculation of current rates of soil degradation suggests we have about 60 years of topsoil left.” As our environmental situation worsens, we must address and confront these issues to maintain sustainability within our agricultural practices.
Farmers also use fertilizers and pesticides. Although many improvements have been made and legislation has been put in place to limit the use of these synthetic products, farmers across the country continue to use them, disregarding the future impact of these chemical products.
The most promising solution is regenerative agriculture; this new way of farming focuses on the soil’s health and the process’s sustainability. This system practices minimal soil disturbance, in other words, it avoids tilling. Practices include cover cropping, or keeping the soil covered year-round, crop diversity, and cattle rotation. Crop rotation is a great way to maintain soil fertility through each season by letting the soil take breaks after sustaining nutrient-draining crops like wheat. Crop diversity requires planting many different types of plants in the same field, ultimately aiding in cover cropping and maintaining the soil’s microbiome. There are plenty of benefits to using sustainable farming practices, and they not only benefit the farmers themselves, but also aid local economies and the constant demand for food countrywide.
The frustrating reality is, even though we have new technology called regenerative agriculture available, farmers’ damaging methods continue to prevail throughout our farming industry. Why is it so hard to get farmers to change their destructive methods for more earth friendly solutions?
The crucial factor is money. Most farmers don’t have a strong enough incentive to swap their practices out with more sustainable ones. Farmers with expendable amounts of land don’t care when small portions are unusable. Time is money, so methods like tilling make it easier to farm large amounts of crops at a faster pace, but at the expense of the soil. Until it starts costing them money, nothing will happen, and we are running out of time. Secondly we need to increase our awareness of this issue. Many farmers across the US don’t know the detriment that comes with soil tilling. Creating education and outreach programs for these farmers is a great way to better the situation.
We, alongside farmers, big corporations, and lawmakers need to resolve the issues affecting our agricultural industries. We can show support for these causes by getting the legislation changed. Contact your local representative because, by the time this issue creates a food crisis, it will be too late.
(sources: National Geographic, Project Drawdown, Syngenta, Time Magazine)