Crucial reminders, Cheryl. Thank you. I venture to say that most Iowans, not simply urban coastal folks, have no idea that our soil is so much more than dirt. We take it all for granted. We know so little about all the microbes in it. Yet it and our water are truly our lifeblood.
Fungi, microbes, the billions of organisms that grow our crops, are being destroyed by the chemical approach to industrial agriculture. Thanks, Cheryl!
You're welcome, Larry. We are too quick to reject the tried-and-true as "old-fashioned" and to accept that the bright and shiny as an improvement. Thanks!
I-35 to northern MN is almost all rural, transitioning to trees. This spring on multiple trips we saw for the first time the dense and uniformly tan/brown cover crops which are in startling contrast to adjacent fields. Had seen none in prior 25 years; now perhaps a dozen adjacent to the road.
Bob, Thanks for this field report. I do think it's growing every year, but I don't have the current statistics. I'll have to work on this. Thanks again--good to know!
We shall see, Ralph. The sheer amount of rainfall received at one time would be difficult for any cropping system to withstand. The terrain would factor in, too. However, I do know producers who have used cover crops and reduced tillage for many years, and they've found that their land is protected against the most severe soil loss. With climate change, we do know that these extreme downpours are becoming more common. This NW Iowa area was in a severe drought for several years until this year, and severe droughts often are broken by torrential rainfall. Thank you--we'll continue to follow this issue.
Thanks Cheryl. Just today, I listened to Liz Garst and others, like Matt Liebman, talk about this issue. Liz made a point about ISU paying too much attention to production side of Ag.
I bought land along the Raccoon River in Dallas County. Corn and beans had been planted up to the river bank. After 36 years of buffering, CRP and woodland work land that had gullies five feet deep at the river's edge now have none and no rain water runs off land that gently slopes from the valley wall to a terrace and a flood plain. Portions of the prairie get burned every year. This May it all got burned. The lush green rebound of 60 or so species of prairie plants is miraculous. The wildlife has returned. I am not impressed with the millions going into the Field of Dreams. But, I like the idea of, "build it and they will come" when it comes to prairie in Iowa. Great fun! I recommend prairie to those who have some land to spare from row crops.
David Montgomery, in his work "Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations" (2012) points out that most of the civilizations of this planet have died because of how they treated their "dirt." On p. 51 he points out that Plato and Aristotle both wrote about the loss of soil and decline of their own civilizations, over 2000 years ago. This is nothing new, as I have learned from reading the book, and the role of human actions in destroying the soil was noted by writers in many civilizations. I guess we do not learn from the past. As Pogo said, we have met the enemy, and he is us. I just hope the changes I am seeing (cover crops, no till, a return to crop diversity) and hopefully more small scale, diverse farms, will prevent Iowa from becoming the next agricultural apocalypse.
Crucial reminders, Cheryl. Thank you. I venture to say that most Iowans, not simply urban coastal folks, have no idea that our soil is so much more than dirt. We take it all for granted. We know so little about all the microbes in it. Yet it and our water are truly our lifeblood.
You make a good point! Dirt has gotten a bad rap! Thanks!
Fungi, microbes, the billions of organisms that grow our crops, are being destroyed by the chemical approach to industrial agriculture. Thanks, Cheryl!
You're welcome, Larry. We are too quick to reject the tried-and-true as "old-fashioned" and to accept that the bright and shiny as an improvement. Thanks!
I-35 to northern MN is almost all rural, transitioning to trees. This spring on multiple trips we saw for the first time the dense and uniformly tan/brown cover crops which are in startling contrast to adjacent fields. Had seen none in prior 25 years; now perhaps a dozen adjacent to the road.
Bob, Thanks for this field report. I do think it's growing every year, but I don't have the current statistics. I'll have to work on this. Thanks again--good to know!
Thanks for the observations, Bob!
What does Farm Bureau or other Ag business say about the role of row cropping, and loss of soil and flooding in NW Iowa?
We shall see, Ralph. The sheer amount of rainfall received at one time would be difficult for any cropping system to withstand. The terrain would factor in, too. However, I do know producers who have used cover crops and reduced tillage for many years, and they've found that their land is protected against the most severe soil loss. With climate change, we do know that these extreme downpours are becoming more common. This NW Iowa area was in a severe drought for several years until this year, and severe droughts often are broken by torrential rainfall. Thank you--we'll continue to follow this issue.
Thanks Cheryl. Just today, I listened to Liz Garst and others, like Matt Liebman, talk about this issue. Liz made a point about ISU paying too much attention to production side of Ag.
No doubt this is correct, Ralph!
I bought land along the Raccoon River in Dallas County. Corn and beans had been planted up to the river bank. After 36 years of buffering, CRP and woodland work land that had gullies five feet deep at the river's edge now have none and no rain water runs off land that gently slopes from the valley wall to a terrace and a flood plain. Portions of the prairie get burned every year. This May it all got burned. The lush green rebound of 60 or so species of prairie plants is miraculous. The wildlife has returned. I am not impressed with the millions going into the Field of Dreams. But, I like the idea of, "build it and they will come" when it comes to prairie in Iowa. Great fun! I recommend prairie to those who have some land to spare from row crops.
Thanks, Mike. Very impressive, long-term commitment. I love your prairie restoration effort. I know it can be challenging. Thank you..
David Montgomery, in his work "Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations" (2012) points out that most of the civilizations of this planet have died because of how they treated their "dirt." On p. 51 he points out that Plato and Aristotle both wrote about the loss of soil and decline of their own civilizations, over 2000 years ago. This is nothing new, as I have learned from reading the book, and the role of human actions in destroying the soil was noted by writers in many civilizations. I guess we do not learn from the past. As Pogo said, we have met the enemy, and he is us. I just hope the changes I am seeing (cover crops, no till, a return to crop diversity) and hopefully more small scale, diverse farms, will prevent Iowa from becoming the next agricultural apocalypse.
Thanks, Diana. This sounds like a book I should read. "Nothing new under the sun," right?
Yet successive generations persist in discarding such age-old wisdom about the soil. Thanks for sharing this!