Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Barbara Fischer" <cen12205@centurytel.net>]

I assume you are speaking of MO only.  My family has had a farm in central
Illinois since 1869.....soybeans and corn.  No need to convert to organic.

Barbara
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>
To: <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Saturday, February 03, 2007 3:55 PM
Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Popular Misconceptions


>
> Think you've got a point there. Which might explain why people from those
> $800 permaculture seminars don't grow anything themselves. Nothing in
> school or college taught me any do-it- yourself skills. Not even high
> school FFA, which is never about food gardening.
>
> I doubt we'll get many farmers to convert to organic, intensive no-till,
> and I really doubt we'll get many overeducated non-farmers to either.
>
> Yet I've read the typical farmer's return on investment today is about 2%.
> You get a better return on a savings account. The way they farm we have at
> best 50 years of topsoil left, and less for irrigation water. Going broke
> and destroying what's left of productive soil. Technology can't make more
> soil and water. But organic, intensive no-till effectively reverses the
> damages and makes it profitable to stay on the farm. But it's probably too
> late. I don't know how to tell my kids and grandkids.
>
> paul tradingpost@lobo.net
> *********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********
>
> On 2/3/2007 at 3:31 PM Laurie Ann Powell wrote:
>
> >My guess, Paul, is that the real misconception is the Western idea that
> >behavior can be "taught" or "learned" from books, tapes, seminars or
> >phone calls, and then acted on.
> >
> >Modeling, live-in apprenticeships, and daily life are the only ways that
> >"work" for any skill that requires applying knowledge in a physical way.
> >
> >Which is why we live among a generation of people who only know how to
> >teach or learn - but not know how to DO anything they teach or learn. 12
> >years of public education prepares you to be a teacher, student,
> >factory worker or a couch potato. Not a farmer. Farming with a farmer
> >teaches you to be a farmer.
> >
> >So, it's not that I don't want to do no-till or send out my soil sample
> >or remediate my pasture. But only what I learned living at Carrie's
> >house and doing her chores with her seems to really get done at my
> >house!
> >
> >Laurie Ann
> >
> >
> >
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