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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] FYI resources
  • Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2010 10:58:22 -0700


PERMANENT BEDS

Cutting soil depletion, water and energy use while raising production
http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC42/Jeavons.htm
http://biointensiveforrussia.igc.org/docs/695companion.pdf

Beds concentrate soil preparation in smaller areas
http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/envirohort/426-335/426-335.html#L3
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/quickref/vegetable/intensive_veg_gardening.html
and (High-Yield Gardening p.xi)

"To minimize the impact of drought, soil needs to capture the
rainwater that falls on it, store as much of that water as possible for
future plant use, and allow for plant roots to penetrate and proliferate.
These conditions can be achieved through management of organic matter, which
can increase water storage by 16,000 gallons per acre foot for each 1%
organic matter. Organic matter also increases the soil's ability to take in
water during rainfall events, assuring that more water will be stored. Ground
cover also increases the water infiltration rate while lowering soil water
evaporation. When all these factors are taken together the severity of
drought and the need for irrigation are greatly reduced."
http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/summaries/drought.html

Jeavons water usage and production (How To Grow More Vegetables p.
61) and (Getting More from Your Garden p.12)

Raised beds allow larger yields in less space (Organic Gardeners Home
Reference p.24), (Self-Sufficient Gardener p.110)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FYI - interesting facts


American farmers, on average, receive only about 20 cents of each food dollar
spent. The remainder goes toward the expenses of processing, packing and
distribution. Farmers who sell food direct to local customers, on the other
hand, receive the full value for their product cutting out the costs to
middlemen.

- My Top Ten Reasons for Eating Local, John Ikerd
http://web.missouri.edu/ikerdj/papers/Alabama-Eat%20Local.htm
John Ikerd is Professor Emeritus, University of Missouri - Columbia, MO

"Get big or get out" is a refrain with which American farmers are all too
familiar. Small farms are seen as being too small to survive, and thus,
unworthy of serious consideration. For example, government programs,
including publicly funded research and education, tend to focus on large,
commercial agricultural operations as the future of American agriculture. In
fact, the opposite is true. Most large, commercial farming today are too big
to survive. Small farms are the future of farming in America. "

- Many Farms Are Too Big To Survive, John Ikerd
http://www.ssu.missouri.edu/faculty/jikerd/papers/SFT-Too%20Big.htm
-----

"However, by managing more "intensively" the new farmers are able to net far
more profit from each dollar of sales. They reduce their costs of purchased
inputs through diversification, increase the value of their products through
niche markets, focus on the things that they do best, and work together to do
the things that they can't do as well alone. As a result, their net return
per dollar of sales may be 40 to 50 percent rather than the 15 to 20 percent
for a conventional farm. Thus, the net returns on a farm with $100,000 in
annual sales may be $40,000 to $50,000 and even a farm with $50,000 in annual
sales may net $20,000 to $25,000 to support the small farm family. The
bottom line is that 10 acres, intensively managed to produce high valued
products, may generate more profits than 1,000 acres used to produce bulk
agricultural commodities - corn, cattle, wheat, cotton, etc. Many small
farms make some fairly big profits."

- Farming for Profit and Quality of Life, John Ikerd
http://www.ssu.missouri.edu/faculty/jikerd/papers/SFTkeynote.html
-----

"Sustainable farming systems must be ecologically sound, economically viable,
and socially responsible. All three are essential; more of one cannot offset
a lack of either of the other two. The three dimensions of sustainability
are not a part of some formal or legal definition, but instead, are a matter
of common sense. If the land loses its ability to produce, the farm is not
sustainable. If the farmer goes broke, the farm is not sustainable. And if
a system of farming fails to support society, it will not be supported by
society, and thus, is not sustainable.

- The Family Farm on the Cutting Edge, John Ikerd
http://www.ssu.missouri.edu/faculty/jikerd/papers/YakimaFamilyFarms.html
-----

"The highest priority for American agriculture should be on reducing the
fossil energy dependence of food production. Our current food system,
including food processing and distribution, claims about 17% of total U.S.
fossil energy use, with about one-third of this total used at the farm
level.[9] In fact, we use about ten kcals of fossil energy for every kcal of
food energy produced, not counting the energy use in final food preparation.
This means that even at the farm level, American agriculture uses about three
kcals of fossil energy for every kcal of food energy produced. In a world of
rising population and dwindling fossil energy, the first priority of
agriculture should be producing more food with less fossil energy.

- Agriculture after Fossil Energy, John Ikerd
http://www.ssu.missouri.edu/faculty/jikerd/papers/Iowa-FmUnion-Energy.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


* Percentage of original U.S. topsoil lost to date: 75%
* Water needed to produce 1 pound of wheat: 25 gallons
* Water needed to reduce 1 pound of meat: 2,500 gallons
* Amount of waste produced annually by U.S. livestock in confinement
operations which is not recycled: 1 billion tons
- Diet for a New America by John Robbins
http://www.duke.edu/web/planv/realities.html
-----

Beginning in the 20th century, the energy of human and animal labor and
wastes has been replaced with the use of fossil fuels and mechanization.
Today nearly half the energy consumed in the United States goes into our
agricultural system.
- http://www.smartcommunities.ncat.org/rural/agriculture.shtml
-----

By nature, sustainable agriculture is generally smaller in scale. From an
economic standpoint sustainable agriculture works to provide viable business
pathways for small-mid sized farmers. The goal is to create a decentralized,
self-sufficient, local/regional food system that empowers farmers and
strengthens community."
- http://www.communitymarkets.biz/questions.php
------

Based on the estimate that 0.5 hectares per capita is necessary for an
adequate and diverse food supply, it would be possible to sustain a global
population of approximately 3 billion humans. However, arable land is being
degraded and lost at a rate of more than 12 million ha per year (Pimentel et
al., 1995; Pimentel et al., 1997c). At this rate of loss, in just 42 years
there will be sufficient arable land for a population of only 2 billion. It
is critical to adopt soil and water conservation techniques to protect the
soil resources that currently produce more than 99% of the world's food
(Pimentel et al., 1995; Pimentel et al., 1997c).
- http://www.oilcrash.com/articles/limit.htm
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, CORNELL UNIVERSITY
----

Given current depletion rates of land, water, and energy resources, U.S.
agricultural productivity is already unsustainable. Should the U.S.
population double within the next 60 years, the subsequent decrease in arable
land will substantially change American eating habits and dramatically reduce
future food exports. ..
Land: On-going soil erosion and expanding urbanization contribute to the
continuous loss of cropland in the U.S. Annually, more than two million acres
of prime cropland are lost to erosion, salinization, and waterlogging. In
addition, more than one million acres are removed from cultivation as
America's limited arable land is Overwhelmed by the demands of urbanization,
transportation networks, and industry. As a result of arable land shortages,
U.S. meat consumption may be reduced.
Water: The groundwater that provides 31% of the water used in agriculture
is being depleted up to 160% faster than its recharge rate. The vast U.S.
Ogallala aquifer (under Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas) will likely become
non-productive within the next 40 years. Even if water management is
substantially improved, the projected 520 million Americans in 2050 would
have about 700 gallons/day/capita, considered the minimum for all human
needs, including agriculture.
Energy: The availability of non-renewable fossil energy explains in part
the historically high productivity of U.S. agriculture. Currently the 400
gallons of oil equivalents expended to feed each American amount to about 17%
of all energy used in this country each year.

- From FOOD, LAND, POPULATION and the U.S. ECONOMY by David Pimentel of
Cornell University and Mario Giampietro Istituto of Nazionale della
Nutrizione, Rome
http://www.dieoff.org/page40.htm












  • [Livingontheland] FYI resources, Tradingpost, 11/24/2010

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