permaculture

[Mark <mpludwig@facstaff.wisc.edu>]

> The underlying premise of Lemieux's work is that all fertile soil comes
> originally from climax hardwood forests and that without renewal of climax
> hardwood breakdown products this soil will eventually become exhausted.

I'll put our midwestern grassland prairie soils (or pampas soils in SA) up 
against the best of the forest soils.  I'll grow just as good a crop but 
won't have to pull stumps to do it ;<)
Furthermore I'll take burned out farm land and graze it for 10 years and 
get similar results to 100 years of reforestation, plus I get to eat 
beef.  Dogmatism is a barrier to progress, I'd advise folks not to get 
sucked in by nonsense like only forests making humates.
Mark


Mark P. Ludwig
Poultry Research Lab
University of Wisconsin -Madison
608-262-1730 WK
608-846-7125 HM