Feeding the world without chemicals

Largely ignored by the media, two of the leading science journals and even one of the study’s sponsors, the USDA, a new study indicates that we can grow all the food we need, and do it profitably, with far fewer chemicals. The study was carried out on land owned by Iowa State University. Beginning in 2003, researchers set up three plots: one replicated the typical Midwestern cycle of planting corn one year and then soybeans the next, along with its routine mix of chemicals. On another, they planted a three-year cycle that included oats; the third plot added a four-year cycle and alfalfa. The longer rotations also integrated the raising of livestock, whose manure served as fertilizer. The results: the longer rotations produced better yields of both corn and soy, reduced the need for nitrogen fertilizer and herbicides by up to 88 percent, reduced the amounts of toxins in groundwater two hundredfold and didn’t reduce profits at all. The longer rotations had higher labor costs but remained just as profitable. This study was not about organics, but definitely points to a middle path between fully organic agriculture and chemically based methods: a third path that decreases input of chemicals and environmental burden but retains profitability. This is wonderful news! USDA’s response so far: no comment

 

 

Let's hope this little bit of science and the methods used gets shared amongst farmers quickly so that they can move forward in producing less toxic food that is more nutritious and profitable!