Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>]

Let's clarify that it's not a simple conflict between extensions and USDA 
against Rodale Institute. Not any more. For example, ATTRA is funded by USDA 
and serves as a resource and information center for many innovations in 
sustainable soil management, composting, conservation tillage, cover 
cropping, etc. Many organic (and profitable) practices originally 
demonstrated by pioneers like Sir Albert Howard, Chadwick, the Rodales, and 
others are mainstream today in progressive agriculture work.

Check this out:

Summary of Sustainable Soil Management Principles
    * Soil livestock cycle nutrients and provide many other benefits.
    * Organic matter is the food for the soil livestock herd.
    * The soil should be covered to protect it from erosion and temperature 
extremes.
    * Tillage speeds the decomposition of organic matter.
    * Excess nitrogen speeds the decomposition of organic matter; 
insufficient nitrogen slows down organic matter decomposition and starves 
plants.
    * Moldboard plowing speeds the decomposition of organic matter, destroys 
earthworm habitat, and increases erosion.
    * To build soil organic matter, the production or addition of organic 
matter must exceed the decomposition of organic matter.
    * Soil fertility levels need to be within acceptable ranges before a 
soil-building program is begun.

This is not from some organic fringe nut crying in the wilderness. It's 
ATTRA, funded by USDA
http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/soilmgmt.html#summary_sustainable

Contents, same page:

 The Living Soil: Texture and Structure
 The Living Soil: The Importance of Soil Organisms
 Organic Matter, Humus, and the Soil Foodweb
 Soil Tilth and Organic Matter
 Tillage, Organic Matter, and Plant Productivity
 Fertilizer Amendments and Biologically Active Soils
 Conventional Fertilizers
 Top$oil—Your Farm'$ Capital

We've come a long way since Dust Bowl days. Unfortunately much of our 
agricultural colleges and extensions - and "Master Gardeners" - are still in 
the grip of big agribusine$$.

paul, tradingpost@riseup.net
---------------

The outstanding scientific discovery of the twentieth century is not 
television, or radio, but rather the complexity of the land organism. Only 
those who know the most about it can appreciate how little we know about it.
   - Aldo Leopold in  Round River, 1933
*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 3/31/2006 at 4:21 AM Terry Wereb wrote:

>Diane,
>   I will then, armed with that bit if info, look for
>the proper types of journal publications. They don't
>like the Rodale Intitute?  I think the real key wor is
>"financial merit"
>
>Terry W
>
>--- Dianne Palmer-Quay <R_DQuay@compuserve.com> wrote:
>
> They wouldn't be
>> willing to promote organic over conventional, but
>> they were willing to
>> support organic efforts if they were convinced that
>> the ideas had financial
>> merit and were "research-based" (the key word in
>> Extension).  I think that
>> gives us some hope since more research is available
>> now, from sources that
>> would be acceptable to Extension agents.
>>
>> Dianne in SC
>