Reimagining Farming – from the Ground UP

Over the past hundred years we have studied crops, genetically engineered them, and created hybrids. We have developed billion-dollar test programs to improve seeds, created fertilizers and pesticides and herbicides. We have focused heavily on crops, but we have forgotten the real base of farming. We have forgotten the soil.

Crops grow from soil. Not dirt. Not sand. Soil is much more than dirt or sand. Soil is a whole ecosystem of carbon and organic matter. It contains microbes that act in symbiosis with crops (and in some cases different microbes with different crops). It contains existing roots and other organic matter that hold the soil in place. It contains little critters like worms and bugs.

The world over, we have created industrial sized monocropping farms, not understanding what farming in such a manner does to soil. We have always thought we could tweak the soil by adding nitrogen-based fertilizers, by killing other plants and organisms with herbicides and pesticides. And that the soil would be okay. It’s not okay. Dirt and sand are dead. But soil is a living thing. When we add herbicides, we don’t just kill weeds, we kill all kinds of organisms that live in the soil and support its health. When we add pesticides, we don’t just kill pests. We kill worms and beetles and other helpful creatures. We also kill microorganisms that the crops need to pull nutrients from the earth. And when we till the soil, we remove the root structure that holds it in place, accelerating erosion and loss of the topsoil that is so vital for healthy crops.

Every year in the US, we lose about 4 million acres of farmland from production. Some of that loss is to development. And some of that loss is to poor farming practices that have destroyed the soil so that even with heroic measures, it’s not possible to grow crops any more. Worldwide, we have lost over a third of arable land from agriculture over the last 40 years. During the same time, we have added billions of people that must be fed. Clearly, we cannot continue what we have been doing.

When we reimagine community, we must incorporate farming and food growth. A self-sufficient community must grow its own food. See my earlier articles on “Making Food Security Local” that discusses growing crops indoors and “Farming as a Local Ecosystem” on regenerative farming for additional insights. But in this article, I want to focus on soil health. If we can keep soil healthy (preferred) or return soil to health (often necessary), our community can be self-sufficient for food and can stay healthy and secure.

When soil has been damaged by poor farming techniques, it often degrades to dirt or sand. Or the topsoil is washed away by erosion leaving only sand or clay in its place. To return soil to its healthy condition, we need to replace what it has lost.

The first thing we need to replace is the organic matter in the soil. Organic matter is carbon-based. But not all carbon is a good replacement for organic matter. Some try to add biochar to soil. But unless it is modified, it is the wrong sort of carbon. Michael Melendrez, of Soil Secrets, spent years working with two Department of Energy National Laboratories (Sandia and Los Alamos) to isolate the type of carbon needed for soil. He found a supramolecule that he calls the Carbon Matrix. It is a complex combination of molecules that has the right charge to attract water and the right mix to encourage the soil to generate more of it. Restoring this type of carbon to soil, or introducing it to dirt or sand, puts the earth on the track to becoming good soil in a very short amount of time (months instead of decades).

The second thing that you need in the soil is to reintroduce the microbes. Known as mycorrhizal funghi, these microbes live on the outside of plant roots. They are fed by sugars from the plants. In return, they break down the elements in the soil and transport the nutrients into the root of the plant, making it easier for the plants to obtain the nutrients they need to thrive. These microbes are often killed by herbicides and pesticides that are applied to crops in our industrial monocrop process. Their death means that plants absorb fewer nutrients and are less able to fend off disease and other growth stresses.

It is also important to continually replace nutrients in the soil as crops absorb them and then are removed from the environment for us to eat. But these nutrients must be readily available to the plants. Current fertilizers oversaturate the soil in the hopes that some of the nutrients make it through. Better approaches are to use biologically derived fertilizers to provide the nutrients.

Once the soil is repaired, it is vital not to screw it up again. Don’t till the soil to destroy the burgeoning root systems. Don’t use the herbicides and pesticides. Don’t use the nitrogen-based fertilizers. Techniques from regenerative farming will help to keep making the soil better so our reimagined community can be self-sustaining far into the future.