Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>]

Very interesting, and balanced IMHO.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net

*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 6/20/2011 at 1:09 PM Arzeena Hamir wrote:

>Apologies for the cross postings.
>
>Chris Bodnar of Glen Valley farm has written a great essay on the need to
>use animal-based fertility in organic production. He raises some great
>questions that are currently being swept under the table. Hope this
>results in deeper conversation.
>
>Arzeena Hamir MSc. P.Ag.
>Coordinator
>Richmond Food Security Society
>http://richmondfoodsecurity.org
>coordinator@richmondfoodsecurity.org
>http://twitter.com/arzeena
>
>
>See full article & make comments at: http://ht.ly/5ma31
>Animals, Agriculture, Fertility and What We Eat
>
>What if your vegetables came from animals? If you're eating organically,
>this isn't too far off the mark.
>
>It occurs to me regularly that our system of organic farming involves a
>significant amount of compost that, of course, comes from various
>livestock operations. In order to grow, we need soil fertility. Keeping
>our soil healthy and rich requires nutrients.
>
>As required under organic guidelines, we use compost made of manure from
>organic livestock. The vast majority of our compost comes from off-farm
>operations, including chicken, goat, duck, turkey and mushroom sources. In
>addition to this, potting soil mixes often use blood meal and bone meal
>and fish fertilizer is used on transplants to keep plants alive when
>planting is delayed.
>
>As a result, the veggies you eat from organic farms, depend on livestock
>operations in a fairly direct manner. I often wonder how this sits with
>our customers, particularly those who are vegan or vegetarian for a
>variety of reasons related to animal treatment. I've wanted to discuss
>this issue for some time.
>
>The need for fertility
>All systems of agriculture rely on the use of some inputs of nutrients and
>organic matter for the sake of fertility. When we grow and harvest a crop,
>we are removing plant matter from the fields. With it, we remove organic
>matter and nutrients that went into the plants' growth.
>
>Animal manure is an obvious source of fertility to be added back into the
>soil. It is rich in nutrients, organic matter and, in an agricultural
>context, it is readily available.
>
>Through the process of composting, bacteria breaks down matter and brings
>the temperature of the compost pile to a temperature that kills pathogenic
>bacteria. The compost is turned regularly to ensure all parts of the pile
>reach this temperature.
>
>Alternatives to animal compost
>There are alternative fertility sources for agriculture. The most widely
>used in our current system of agriculture is chemical fertilizer.
>
>The macro nutrients required for growing are manufactured or mined from
>various chemical components. Nitrogen is produced, in the form of ammonia,
>from the air using natural gas (nitrogen comprises 78% of the air we
>breath). The process is comparable to the manner by which lightening fixes
>nitrogen (fields become quite lush in the days after an electric storm).
>
>Phosphorus is made through a process that uses sulfur, coal and rock
>phosphate. Potassium is mined in the form of potash and then granulated.
>
>These processes are, obviously, energy intensive, using non-renewable
>resources. Moreover, this form of agriculture focuses on feeding the
>plants, not the soil. It does not add organic matter back into the soil
>and, over time, leaves soil lifeless -- organisms cannot live in soil
>without nutrients and organic matter.
>
>An alternate form of building soil is through the use of cover crops
>(green manures). Legumes such as peas and clovers have a symbiotic
>relationship with bacteria that grow on their roots and fix nitrogen. By
>turning these crops back into the soil, this nitrogen becomes available to
>a future crop.
>
>By growing grain crops, organic matter is returned to the soil and there
>is evidence that these cover crops can help break disease and pest cycles
>in vegetable production. Grain crops do not fix nitrogen, although they
>provide a variety of other benefits, including weed control, water and
>soil conservation and the maintenance of soil microbial activity.
>
>A limitation of cover crops is that they would require a significant
>portion of land being taken out of production at any given point in time
>in order to build the soil. And, ultimately, these crops will not build
>all of the nutrients required for production.
>
>We use cover crops over the winter to help prevent soil erosion as well as
>throughout the growing season to build soil, control weeds and maintain
>nutrients in the soil. They are an important part of our agricultural
>practices.
>
>Finally, there is an option of using human waste -- although not an option
>for organic growers, where the use of human waste is prohibited by organic
>standards. But sewage sludge is used in some conventional systems. This
>has challenges, ranging from the concentration of certain metals (like
>copper and lead) to the transfer of pathogens if the waste has not been
>treated properly.
>
>There are a variety of innovative uses of human waste (as in biosolids --
>that sounds better, doesn't it?) and this is an issue that needs further
>discussion. Simply stated, in our current system we take one of the most
>concentrated sources of nutrients and dump them into waterways where
>aquatic life is threatened by the resulting algae blooms. We are throwing
>away a source of nutrients that we cannot reclaim later.
>
>The role of livestock
>Given the above limitations, livestock remain an important component of
>organic production systems. Indeed, livestock waste is used in a variety
>of organic and conventional systems in a variety of manner -- some more
>sustainable than others.
>
>But it also remains a fact that in our society we eat a tremendous amount
>of meat. It seems problematic to me that our over-consumption of meat (and
>its impacts in the form of resource allocation, greenhouse gas production,
>etc.) should form the backbone of a "sustainable" food system.
>Nonetheless, I think animal husbandry is a crucial part of sustainable
>agriculture.
>
>In our current systems, we have more animal waste than can be used in
>agricultural systems. Animal waste leaches into our aquifers in the Lower
>Mainland (contaminating our water supplies) and runs off into rivers,
>lakes and oceans, causing algae growth and dead zones as algae decomposes
>and robs the water of oxygen.
>
>There must be a balance.
>
>A New Urban Diet?
>This has lead me to think of cultural solutions, including the reduction
>of meat consumption. This isn't new, but it is contentious. From my
>perspective, those who spend most of their days in offices do not need the
>high calorie food provided by our dairy, egg and meat agriculture in the
>quantities available.
>
>A sustainable urban diet might use fewer animal products. A vegetarian
>diet might be more appropriate for most people, most of the time.
>
>The animal products we enjoy (milk, cheese, butter, eggs, meat) might be
>better celebrated in connection with their rural origins.
>
>For example, cheese was traditionally a means of preserving milk for the
>months when animals finished their lactation cycle. Cheese could be eaten
>in the off season as well as transported to more distant markets for some
>additional income. It was not a daily staple for anyone other than the
>rural dwellers who made the product.
>
>Easy to say for someone who farms? Perhaps, but a new urban diet has to
>take into account that staple foods must come from lower on the food chain
>if we are to achieve anything resembling a sustainable food system.
>
>What this means for farmers is that they need to produce less livestock
>and animal products. It also means producing livestock based on what
>inputs can be produced at a closer distance; at the moment, all of our
>feed is brought in from the prairies and overseas and, in conventional
>systems, uses chemical fertilizers to grow and then fossil fuels for
>transport.
>
>In the end, we need a better understanding of how much livestock
>production is needed to produce an equitable and sufficient diet for the
>population. This may involve re-scaling agriculture; we have an
>increasingly number of studies showing the higher productivity of
>small-scale, organic production. The urban farming movement will play a
>significant role in this discussion as well.
>
>Otherwise, until we see a repopulation of rural areas in the form of small
>farms, we must rethink our menu and means of producing our food.
>
>Animals, Veganism and Agriculture
>In the end, I think livestock is a crucial component of sustainable
>agriculture. But this animal husbandry must be done an smaller scales
>(i.e. no 500 hog feed operations or 20,000 layer hen barns) and in
>coordination with the many other crop production systems that can make use
>of compost.
>
>In this light, I think a close relationship with animals that respects
>them as living beings, but also as part of a nutrient cycle is important.
>I don't anthropomorphize livestock, but I do recognize that as living
>beings they feel pain and have a quality of life that must be measured and
>nurtured.
>
>The animals we raise on our farm provide some food for us on the farm
>(milk and meat from the goats, eggs and eventually stewing hens from our
>chickens), but also provide some of the nutrients we need to grow our
>crops.
>
>We rely on animal compost as a part of our farm's fertility plan. I
>respect that various choices people make about their food. When discussing
>agriculture with others I often think that we arrive at the same point
>(e.g. vegetarianism) but for different reasons (e.g. compassion for
>animals vs. environmental concern).
>
>There is usually a lot of overlap in the ideas that inform our choices.
>And in that spirit, I'm curious to hear your thoughts on this topic.
>Please feel free to share your ideas and comments in the comments section
>below.
>
>
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