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homestead - Re: [Homestead] Wendell Berry - NYT Today - soil, 50 yr. Farm Bill

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  • From: "Sage Austin | Eureka! Design" <eureka AT hctc.net>
  • To: bobford79 AT yahoo.com, homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Wendell Berry - NYT Today - soil, 50 yr. Farm Bill
  • Date: Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:05:49 -0600

Are wheat, rice, and sorghum perennials? I thought they were annuals. We have one perennial sunflower (tiny heads) but I think most sunflowers are annuals. Can someone explain this perennialization to me?--Sage

Any restorations will require, above all else, a substantial increase in the acreages of perennial plants. The most immediately practicable way of doing this is to go back to crop rotations that include hay, pasture and grazing animals.
But a more radical response is necessary if we are to keep eating and preserve our land at the same time. In fact, research in Canada, Australia, China and the United States over the last 30 years suggests that perennialization of the major grain crops like wheat, rice, sorghum and sunflowers can be developed in the foreseeable future. By increasing the use of mixtures of grain-bearing perennials, we can better protect the soil and substantially reduce greenhouse gases, fossil-fuel use and toxic pollution.





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