Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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

Point well taken, IMHO. Without pride and artistry in our work - any work -
it's drudgery and mind numbing. If I couldn't find real satisfaction in the
kind of work I do then it would be a royal pain, and trust me, I've been
there... I couldn't agree more, the connection to the land is the main
thing. And if anyone asks, to me that connection is very physical. As
somebody said, the best fertilizer is the feet of the farmer. Walk the
land. Take in the smells and sounds everyone else misses in their hurry to
get on with it. 

At the same time we stress that sustainable farming must first sustain the
men and women who live on the land. Otherwise, you have the loss of rural
population and millions of homesteads going back to the bank - as has
happened for decades across the country. A lot of shattered dreams. Abuse
the land and we'll go broke - not to mention stealing its productivity
from future generations. 

It's our conviction that only true love of the land can guide us toward
sustainable stewardship of it. That breeds respect for the nature and needs
of the soil and living things. Good production is our reward for building
healthy soil and growing sensibly. So earning a good living and nurturing
the land are not in conflict. To get life from the soil we first give back
to it. Soil is life. 


paul tradingpost@lobo.net

"We abuse the land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us.
When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it
with love and respect." 
 - Aldo Leopold
*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 9/24/2006 at 11:23 AM Dan Conine wrote:

>My reply is to the article, not necessarily to anyone's views on this
>list,
>
>"Michael Moon says money can be made in agriculture, and he opposes 
>government subsidies to ranchers and farmers. ``The reason people don't 
>make money is because they're not farming or ranching smart,'' Moon 
>said. ``They're going into debt.''"
>
>I think the faulty premise is that agriculture is something to make 
>money. Most people will say "money is just a tool", and it is. It is a 
>tool that allows people to disconnect from the commons by remote 
>control. If the article would have said "there is increase to be made in 
>agriculture", then perhaps we could begin to think in terms of future 
>benefits not only to the farmer, but to the land itself. If we always 
>think in terms of extracting wealth from the land, we will never be 
>sustainable as a species.
>
>Just food for thought.
>
>Dan
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