Q.
Could poor water infiltration, salinity, soil compaction, disease, loss of earthworms, erosion, decline in OM%, herbicide resistance & year-after-year insect infestations all be individual and unrelated problems? Perhaps they are better looked at as symptoms of a deeper, underlying problem?
Treating symptoms
Our current solution
“To this point, the solution to our problems have been an expensive seed variety with a new trait, an extra fungicide pass, more tillage, 10 more Ibs of nitrogen fertilizer and on and on. The results of this system have been a transfer of wealth from farms and small communities to large corporations.
As we deplete the health of our soil, we depend more and more on these expensive inputs.” ~Joseph Gardiner
Figure: Canadian net farm income and gross revenue, inflation-adjusted, net of government payments, 1926-2016. Source: Darrin Qualman
a perfect blueprint
nature’s Solution
What if we tried to mimic the natural system in how we farm? The productive soils we farm today weren’t built by monocultures, heavy tillage & synthetic fertilizer but by ruminant animals, mob grazing diverse grasslands.
The 6 Principles of Soil Health:
know your Context
Always have a Living Root In The Ground
Plant Diversity
Animal Integration
Soil Armour/Cover on surface
Minimize Soil & Chemical Disturbance
“I used to wake up in the morning and try to figure out what I can kill on my farm. Now I wake up and try to figure out how to bring more life to my operation.”
-Gabe Brown
“You read books and you study nature, and when they don’t agree, you throw away the books.”
-William Albrecht
Call it soil health, conservation, sustainable, regenerative, or any other buzzword of the day - frankly, I don’t care. My savings have been incredible and I just call my farming what it is: survival and profitability.
-Adam Chappell
Soil Owners Manual
How do i get started?
There is no better way to get started than by reading: “A Soil Owner’s Manual” by Jon Stika.
“There is no system of production, or soil amendment, that will fix what is wrong with your soil. Only your understanding of how the soil functions will fix what ails your soil. You must become a student of what makes soil healthy. It’s that simple and there are no shortcuts.”
~Jon Stika
