Ikerd and Avery and Sus Ag
Charles Benbrook (benbrook@hillnet.com)
Sun, 16 Apr 1995 08:49:23 -0700 (PDT)
John Ikerd makes useful and relevant points in remarking on Avery's often
ridiculous projections and conclusions re the state of agriculture. Both
Ikerd and Avery fail to highlight the essential foundation of productive
agriculture that is likely to prove sustainable and capable of meeting a
developed countries environmental expectations -- the quality and
productivity of soil. Avery thinks (hopes) that yields will
continuie to rise with more chemicals per acre, more intensive systems,
precision farming, and the other currently in fashion versions of
conventional agriculture. Fortuneately, most farmers know now to enjoy
Avery's idealogical and political arguments but ignore his agronomic
pronouncement. This is because they came to recognize in the last 5-10
years that conv. ag systems were steadily degrading the ability of their
soils to support high levels of production without "spoonfeeding" with
nutreints and heavy pesticide use to maintain organism-free zones.
Avery does not care to mention, or seem concerned about the
exploding knowledge and recognition that many conventional farmers are
now facing serious production problems associated with compaction, loss
of microbial biodiversity, especually organisms needed to make P
available, and to control nematodes and associated plant pathogens
without heavy duty fumigants and soil insecticides.
The science is getting clearer all the time -- productive
agriculture has less to do with what you call it, or what idealogy
someone professes to follow (organic, conv, biodynamic, sustainable) and
everything to do with the impact of farming systems on soil quality --
see various other posts for definition. Once conv. agriculture graduates
from acceptance of the need for soil erosion control to a more holistic
acceptance of all the dimensions of soil quality, and then goes about not
just keeping soil in place, but also enriching its biological support
capacity, then agriculture will become more productive, more profitable,
less dependent on chemicals, and by just about everyone's definition,
more sustainable.