Author: Jessica Nuboer

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Circularity as an approach to Agroecology

Post author By Jessica Nuboer
Post date April 5, 2022
No Comments on Circularity as an approach to Agroecology

Agroecology is an inherently broad subject. We’re picking it apart to consider the effects of an agroecological approach on circularity from the perspective of nutrient, ecological, climate, and societal circularity.

Circular Agriculture is a term that’s picking up steam in farming. Policymakers love to set goals for circularity, considering the boundaries of a region, a city, or neighborhood. We’ll look at the farm system circularity, and it’s components that contribute to the entirety of the farm. Farm systems, are a series of activities and components making up the farm that influence each other. Circular farm systems, are those where resources are used, as much as possible within the farm system, with very little departing the system, or entering it.

The Farm System

A system is defined as is an arrangement of components that interact to some process, and transform inputs into output. From a structural perspective, this is with components and their interactions, and functionally, such as the way they influence or transform inputs into outputs. Think of a dairy cow, which grazes on grasses and drinks water (inputs), to produce milk (output) for consumption outside the system. With arable crops, inputs like fertilizers, pesticides, (solar) radiation and water all contribute to the final output, marketable yield. Here we’ll look at these inputs and outputs as a system whole, and will touch on the methods to make your farm operations more efficient, reducing waste and optimizing circularity.

Agricultural Circularity

Circular agriculture is a fairly new term, which with increasing adoption is being more clearly defined. According to the University of Wageningen, it’s a an approach to achieve the optimum combination of ecological principles with modern technology – not only focusing on yields, but using resources and energy sparingly – putting as little pressure on the environment, nature and climate as possible.

At NowFarmer, we agree with this sentiment, but want to stress that farmers are not solely responsible for agriculture circularity, but that the greater food system (processing and distribution) must also carry their weight in reducing waste and redundancies within the system. What it doesn’t mean, is that we’ll return to the pre-Green Revolution era of rural nostalgia from the 1900s. It’s a cooperative approach influencing scientist and researchers, organizations, farmers and consumer citizens.

One way to look at Agricultural Circularity is to take an approach to achieve the optimum combination of ecological principles with modern technology

Nutrient Circularity

Healthy soils, or soil fertility is the key component to agricultural production. Soil health is largely determined by its quality, organic matter content, water interaction and dynamics, and nutrient availability. Nutrient circularity is pivotal, as the quality of nutrients in the soil affect crop production and quality, for human and animal nutrition alike. Nutrients essential for crop growth, include growth limiting nutrients such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), and essential micronutrients and trace minerals (Mg, Cu, Zn etc.)

Nutrients that are lost to the cycle often results in pollution of air, water and ground, which has negative impacts on biodiversity and our health. These losses also lead to exhaustion of limited resources, like rock phosphate, which is mined as a fertilizer. When soils are healthy, losses of nutrients are decreased to the system, crop nutrient uptake is optimized, which has a direct impact on increasing organic materials for carbon sequestration (CO2) and other greenhouse gasses (GHGs).

Nutrient Cycle

Normally, nutrients come into the system from a combination of quality biological (animal) fertilizer, and decomposed crop residues. When animal manure is separated from dry (feces) and wet (urine) ammonification is minimized, reducing losses of gaseous escape to the atmosphere.

The use of domestic or industry sewage sludge too is rich in nutrients which can contribute to the recycling of nutrients within agricultural systems.

Though optimizations can be made, nutrient losses still occur which are out of our control. This is when precision application of chemical fertilizer, or the use of nitrogen fixing crops (intercropping or rotation) can support the reduction of losses and maintain crop yield.

Ecological circularity

The reliance on natural or synthetic chemicals for weeds, pest and disease mitigation has resulted in species that are continually adapting resilience to chemical inputs. A holistic approach to the use of these inputs is heavily reliant on the expectation that a healthy crop is a disease and pest resistant crop. By using or integrating crop species which can support disease suppression and mitigation, and management methods like rotation, the requirements of chemical inputs can be greatly reduced.

Integration of flower borders, allows for natural predators a habitat near your fields, where they can be undisturbed to feed on the pests affecting crops. By incorporating natural processes into farm management practices, farmers can achieve a “nature-inclusive” approach to farming – supporting ecosystem services and the conservation of nature and biodiversity.

A valuable contributor to ecosystem services, lady beetles are beneficial predatory insects who work to rid crops of damaging aphids, mealybugs and other pests.

Climate circularity

Though not as large as some industries, Agriculture as a whole contributes to 12% of GHG emissions globally. This is cause for concern, as agriculture is especially sensitive to the effect of climate change. Increase of drought occurrence, or more extreme weather events, put farms at risk of loosing crops, devastating livelihoods and local ecology.

Circular management works to combat GHG emissions by way of carbon sequestration, in the form of regenerative agriculture, by enhancing the natural processes of biomass degradation and reduced soil disturbance. Thus reducing environmental losses of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane, but also using less fertilizer, meaning fewer runs with the tractor and CO2 emissions.

Circular society

Although farmers play an important role in achieving circularity, they’re not alone in the efforts needed to reach these ambitious goals. Collectively, we need to overcome barriers from technical, economic, logistic, policy and social perspective, which influences all parties in achieving sustainable food systems.

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Microorganisms

Post author By Jessica Nuboer
Post date March 25, 2022

The world’s population is rapidly growing, with projections estimating 10 billion people by 2050. But the amount of farmland per capita is declining, with available farmland being taken over by urban development. Not only is farmland availability decreasing, but topsoil erosion is also leading to plateaus in yield, with a steadily increasing reliance on inputs to maintain yield demands.

It’s what lies within the soil, that can help us mitigate our topsoil losses, improve yield, and increase CO2 capture. The microbiome, or the communities of microorganisms that co-exist in the soil, will save us. These workhorses of soil health, are the white blood cells of soil, and maintaining their integrity, means healthy soil and productive crops.

A recent publication by a US national task force, from the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology published an article outlining the importance of plant microbiomes, and the opportunities of leveraging microbiome management as an integral part of the future of agriculture. Data is a key component to driving this change.

“Current advances in technology and data processing now make it possible to collect and analyze the enormous amounts of data needed to study this level of complexity, and growing support for stewardship of the land and environment call for solutions to increase crop yields while reducing chemical and water inputs.” Carbone

“A gram of soil is estimated to contain up to 10 billion bacterial cells, and may hold as many as 10,000 bacterial species.”

Raynaud & Nunan 2014

To look at the future of agriculture, we have to understand the past

The above timeline shows the progression of the agricultural revolution and scientific advances to improve productivity. Ranging from the 1800s to the 1990s, the timeline shows advancements from the invention of the traction (where each farmer could produce enough for 26 people (world population 1.65 billion), to the 1960s ‘green revolution’ with one farmer producing enough food for 155 persons (world population 3 billion), to the 1990s introduction of precision agriculture, and farm productivity reaching 265 persons ( a world population of 5.3 billion).

Along with these technological advancements, came the introduction of plant breeding, herbicides, pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, controlled irrigation, and increased mechanization. The increase in productivity meant reaching scale production and an introduction of monoculture practices.

By compensating for mismanagement, we have an opportunity to mimic natural processes, however doing so with precision technology and increased data collection. Understanding which microorganisms, and determining the balance of plant microbiomes will support soil regeneration and crop productivity.

“Intensive management without good stewardship can impose costs to the environment in the form of degradation of soils, and pollution of waterways, groundwater, and surrounding wildlife habitat.”

A fine balance

Variables such as soil composition, acidity, moisture levels, and other physical or chemical properties influence the microbiome balance.

It’s a wire act, finding the balance between having a positive symbiotic microbiome and inadvertently creating the circumstances for blooms in microbial communities which can stress plant development, leading to disease and petulance. These microbial pathogens are estimated to cost US$10 billion in agricultural products per year. However, when the balance is right, microbial communities can ward off pests, strengthen a plant’s disease-fighting capabilities, improve nutrient uptake, and mitigate the effect of stressors such as drought and salinity.

Technology as a catalyst

Precision agriculture has given researchers the data necessary to get a glimpse into the factors that affect crop productivity and soil health. With smart sensors in the soil, drone an satellite imaging, a collation of data provides a detailed look at farmland. Integrating data into simple and easy to use dashboards, helps farmers access and make decisions that will directly impact their crop and soil performance. Along with historical data, comparisons can be made with prior seasons. All of this provides better visualization and context surrounding a crop.

However great the technology, the impact fulness is determined by public behavior. With household final consumption (the market value of all goods and services purchased by households) representing 60% of the world’s GDP, consumers have a massive (in)direct effect on the demands on the agricultural food system.

Think organic produce, and the increasing demand by consumers to label foods grown organically, or the proposals to label GMO produce. Consumers are slowly determining how and which food is grown, and where. Technology is a tool that can support consumer preferences and good land stewardship.

In order to get the most out of our soil, we must take a multifaceted approach to microorganisms.

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More than Dirt

Post author By Jessica Nuboer
Post date March 25, 2022

Odds are you’ve heard about Regenerative Agriculture in one way or another. The term itself has been around for some years now but is rapidly picking up traction in consumer vernacular. Companies like Patagonia, Lush Cosmetics, and General Mills are actively promoting their dedication to regenerative agricultural practices in their raw materials sourcing and supply chain products. While four-year-old start-up, Indigo Ag, is paying farmers for volume carbon sequestered with regenerative practices.

But what is Regenerative Agriculture, and why are companies choosing for crops grown with regenerative practices over conventional methods?

Agriculture both large and small scale feeds the world’s 7 billion people. We all depend on it for food, clothing, energy, yet it consumes 80% of the world’s accessible freshwater resources and is often a contributor to the depletion of topsoils, deforestation, and land degradation. The global food system (from production, processing, and distribution) summates to a total of 26% of greenhouse gas emissions.

Why Farmers Farm

Yields for many crops have been plateauing for many years, resulting in continual efforts to maintain viability by increasing artificial inputs (think fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides). Overuse of artificial inputs often leaves soils depleted of valuable nutrients, and farmers’ profits being squeezed from both increased costs and drops in yield quality and amount.

This input dependency creates a vicious cycle of increased demand, increased expense and narrowing margins. Which leaves us wondering why farmers farm, and knowing why many farmers must have 2nd or 3rd jobs to maintain a livelihood.

Today’s food system relies largely on large-scaled production, where monoculture is the standard in order to reach demand requirements. Consumer diets and food preferences are contributing to a rise in obesity and malnutrition, yet often in western society, food is grossly undervalued and wasted.

Farmers are in a unique position to change this. They maintain the land, the production, and the ability to change our perspectives on the value of crops and soil. With companies and consumers alike becoming aware of the potential impact of regenerative practices, soon growers will have to make changes.

Soil, not dirt

Soil is complex. Our most knowledgeable soil scientists are only starting to scratch the surface in understanding how soil works. Rattan Lal, Professor of Soil Science at Ohio State University and 2020 laureate for the World Food Prize, is a long-time proponent of regenerative agriculture and considers the key for successful farming lies in the soil.

According to a 2018 OSU interview, Lal estimates that 135 billion tons of carbon have been lost into the atmosphere, in part due to agricultural practices, like plowing, slash and burn, and post-harvest bare soil. Regenerative agricultural practices can help reverse this loss by removing 65-75 parts per million of CO2 from the atmosphere, which according to Lal would equate to sequestering 135 billion tons of CO2 back into the soil over the course of 25 to 50 years.

“Soil and agriculture normally are considered a problem, a source of pollutants. But it’s really the other way around. Properly managed, agriculture and soil are the solutions to environmental problems.” Rattan Lal, Professor of Soil Science, OSU.

Regenerative agriculture is focused on the regeneration of the soil, rather than maintaining the status quo. Successful regenerative agriculture is based on its ability to both rebuild and improve organic matter and microorganisms in the soil, while at the same time removing CO2 from the air, mitigating topsoil degradation, and runoff water pollution. This focus on soil improvement is complemented by improvements in productivity and economic efficiencies.

Many practitioners of regenerative agriculture see yields maintained, or improved over conventional practices. At the same time, establishment and input costs are heavily reduced, improving the economic viability of their farm.

“Soil and agriculture normally are considered a problem, a source of pollutants. But it’s really the other way around. Properly managed, agriculture and soil are the solutions to environmental problems.”

Rattan Lal, Professor of Soil Science, OSU

Regenerative Agriculture

David Montgomery’s Growing a Revolution: Bringing our Soil Back to Life postulates that regenerative agriculture should focus on replicating rather than conquering natural ecosystems.

Soil needs protection. Coverings like mulch, grasses, clippings or other sorts of (organic) materials provide much-needed physical protection. Soil left uncovered is left to the elements, which damage its mineral constituents, and kill off microorganisms. Soil coverage also protects from extremes in temperatures, droughts, and soil depletion from wind, maintains the topsoil, and mitigates degradation. At the same time, using leguminous cover crops often provides nitrogenating properties supporting crop growth; slow decomposing mulch provides fuel for microorganism growth.

No-till agriculture minimizes the damage to topsoil with plowing. Often farmers will drill seeds into the soil rather than plow, reducing erosion, decreasing fungal damage, and preventing soil compaction.

Mimicking natural ecosystems, regenerative fields should foster diversity in flora and fauna, and minimize monocultures where possible. While not always practical, there are systems (see strip cropping) that maintain a level of crop diversity while achieving scale. Diversity in timing, utilizing a variety of crop rotation and cover crops support this.

Maintaining plant and root structure in the soil achieves multiple benefits. Roots provide both sugars which feed the soil microbiome while promoting aeration of the soil. This forms a symbiotic relationship between fungi and plants to help boost crop resilience and reduce the need for external (artificial) inputs.

Lastly, integrating livestock into the rotation provides an additional source of organic soil amendments. Along with fertilization, controlled grazing and trampling boost the soil microbiome and significantly boost soil health.

Put your money where your mouth is

We know we’re facing a soil crisis. It’s a finite resource, which we must ensure is maintained in order to continue feeding and clothing the world’s 7 billion people. Recently, a consortium of farmers, businesses, and soil health experts started the Regenerative Organic Certification in 2017, in order to bring greater awareness of regenerative practices on farms to consumers.

Ultimately the transition to regenerative organic farming must come from both farmers and consumers. Farmers demanding the transition as a way to maintain their livelihood alongside their role in soil stewardship, and consumers who need to take responsibility for purchasing and contributing to sustainably responsible agricultural practices.

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Agroecology Defined

In this series, we’ll try to define Agroecology and will consider the perspectives from farm system diversity, nutrient management, soil biota, pollination, and biological pest control, and policy change.

Header Image credit: Apricot Lane Farm, California

Before deep diving, we need to set the scene for the agricultural practices of today. Post-war saw the Green Revolution, where production was greatly increased due to chemical inputs developed prior to the war. Fritz Haber (predecessor to Haber Bosch) a German chemist discovered how to synthesize ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen gases, which are used in fertilizers. The result of this development allowed farmers to vastly increase their yields with synthetic fertilizer inputs. Over the past 70 years, we’ve seen a drastic increase in production per hectare for various crops, largely due to more efficient farming, genetic optimization, and nutrient management. Below is a chart showing this increase in global cereal yield (in kg per ha) from 1960 to 2015. It’s exponential growth, but we’re starting to realize there is a limited capability to the soils we’ve farmed for all these years.

Agricultural intensification

Feeding the average person in the developed world requires 1500 liters of fossil fuels per year and 3,500 liters of water per day. In the world today, we’re growing sufficient food for each person to consume 2720 Kcal, which could eradicate global hunger. However, food distribution and waste are largely to blame for inadequate food security globally. In India, 21 million tonnes of wheat is wasted due to inadequate storage. Western countries are guilty of between 30-50% food waste.

Industrial agriculture has become heavily dependent on non-renewable resources such as fossil fuels, minerals, and geo-deposits of waste. At the same time, labor productivity increased enormously, making it possible to produce large food surpluses for growing urban populations. Increased agricultural efficiency has been attractive, with low labor costs and increasing yields. However, that has been overshadowed with increased inputs use to mitigate diminishing yields. So the current intensification process is largely made possible with heavy substation by society or other sectors.

Agroecology is the ecology of sustainable food systems

Defining Agroecology

Agroecology is not a new development. In the 1990s, Gliessman and Altieri defined it as “The application of ecological concepts and principles to the design and management of sustainable agroecosystems”. Gliessman (2006, 2015) expanded the definition with, “The ecology of sustainable food systems”.

It’s inherently broadly defined, but we’ll consider the following principles of Agroecology by Silici (2014)

building soil structure, improving soil health, recycling nutrients, and ensuring local sourcing
conserving and using water efficiently
sustaining and improving functional diversity (both on a spatial and a temporal scale).

In practice, Agroecology is often more intensive for adoption than monoculture systems as it relies heavily on mimicking natural systems. It focuses on building up soil organic matter, undisturbed soil structure, permanent vegetation cover, biomass (crop residues) inputs into the soil, nutrient (re)cycling.

Our goal as agroecologists is to (re-)design agroecosystems in order to produce sustainable, sufficient, and safe food for the world, while preserving nature and cultures, adapting to climate change and delivering ecological services of local and global relevance

Examples of Agroecological Practices

Intercropping: Mixing crops in a single plot, such as intercropping and poly-cultures: biological complementarities improve nutrient and input efficiency, use of space, and pest regulation, thus enhancing crop yield stability

Crop rotation and fallowing: nutrients are conserved from one season to the next, and the life cycles of insect pests, diseases, and weeds are interrupted

Cover crops and mulching: reduce erosion, provide nutrients to the soil and enhance biological control of pests

Crop-livestock integration, including aquaculture: allows high biomass output and optimal nutrient recycling, beyond economic diversification

Conservation tillage: no or minimum tillage improves soil structure – including aeration and water infiltration and retention capacity – and organic matter

Integrated nutrient management, such as the use of compost, organic manure, and nitrogen-fixing crops: allows the reduction or elimination of the use of chemical fertilizers

Agro-forestry, especially the use of multifunctional trees: maintains and improves soil fertility through nitrogen fixation, enhances soil structure, and modifies the microclimate

Biological management of pests, diseases, and weeds, such as integrated pest management, push and pull methods, and allelopathy: decrease the long-term incidence of pests and reduce environmental and health hazards caused by the use of chemical control

Efficient water harvesting (especially in dryland areas) such as small-scale irrigation allows reducing the need for irrigation while increasing its efficiency

Manipulation of vegetation structure and plant associations: improve the efficiency of water use as well as promoting biodiversity

Use of local resources and renewable energy sources, composting and waste recycling: allows a reduction in the use of external inputs as well diminishing pressure on the natural resource base

Holistic landscape management: around field perimeters (windbreaks, shelterbelts, insect strips, and living fences), across multiple fields (mosaics of crop types and land-use practices), and at the landscape-to-regional scale (river buffers, woodlots, pastures, and natural or semi-natural areas)

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Conservation Agriculture: The Co’nn Rennen Farm

Post author By Jessica Nuboer
Post date January 4, 2022
No Comments on Conservation Agriculture: The Co’nn Rennen Farm

Co’nn Rennen, a second generation arable farmer in the Netherlands, implements conservation agriculture techniques to reduce input requirements, improve soil structure, reduce energy costs, for potatoes, wheat, sugarbeets, and onions.

Flevoland is the newest addition to the Netherlands. Established in 1986, this island was dredged from the Ijsselmeer, and created to accommodate new land creation to the kingdom of the Netherlands. This engineering feat was met with the expansion of new cities, and large agricultural land.

It wasn’t a long drive, but it spanned old world ingenuity and new world innovation. The Netherlands, with much of its land below sea level, has no other choice than to continually dance with water and the threat of flooding. But that wasn’t always the case, The Netherland’s coast has changed so much over the past 500 some years, but that’s to be expected. They first started draining the riverbeds and marshland to make way for agricultural plots and building dijks to prevent flooding of those valuable farmlands.

Our drive took us past some of the remnants of these little islands, each field surrounded by a small creek or ‘polder’ which acts as a natural barrier for grazing sheep or cows and often divides your property from your neighbors. Amstelveen, now a bustling city-suburb of Amsterdam is along that drive, a clear example of the expanding development and the former ‘veen’ or peatland so rich in organic material lending to excellent growing conditions. A little further on our drive, and we passed Abcoude, a small village dotted with windmills and again, more of these polder lined fields, this time with herds of Holstein Friesian dairy cows. It’s an excellent representation of the countryside, not 15 minutes drive from Amsterdam’s historic city center. Along the highway drive, we pass more of these villages and adjacent farms, and it’s idyllic.

Then, we head north, and cross an unassuming bridge, into the most recent Dutch land acquisition. It didn’t exist 70 years ago, but this new island province of Flevoland, was eventually reclaiming it from what was part of the IJsselmeer.

Crossing over, and you’re quickly aware of the newness, if only from the architecture. With all cities developed in this last century, this unique modern style that departs so greatly with the farmhouses and barns that speckle the old-country. The roads are long and straight, with few turns circumventing villages, windmills and churches. The Dutch architects have done so much to make this newly acquired land attractive, with kilometers of planted forests lining the highways. Suddenly we come across the farmland. Farms here, though a fraction of the size of the large industrial commodity farms in countries like Poland, Australia and Canada, are very large for Dutch standards.

A couple of side road turns, and we’ve arrived. There’s a windmill alright, but it’s a large wind turbine, and the swoop of the blades’ whoosh is quickly forgotten. Co’nn Rennen took over his father’s farm in 2002. Almost 20 years down the line, he recounted his experiences at a recent visit to his No-Till potato, sugarbeet, onion, and wheat farm in Zeewolde. Mr. Rennen, Co’nn’s father, leased the property in 1975, as soon as the island province was inhabitable. He started with potatoes, notoriously picky with the heavy clay from the former river bottom man-made island.

“We have a lot of clay! It was the previously the bottom of the lake IJssel, what else would it be?” explained Co’nn excitedly.

The 58 ha farm has been through many changes over the nearly 50 years of its existence. With the introduction of a crop rotation in 1975 of now potatoes, wheat, and sugarbeet the farm was managed primarily by Mr. Rennen. Co’nn always knew he would take over the farm, but took his opportunity for agricultural education in Dronten, followed by an MBA in Food and Agribusiness at Wageningen. When he moved to Kazakhstan in 1993, he picked up some Russian words… “Greetings everyone!” he shouts in Russian, half joking but low and behold, there was an one in our group who too had been to the same area of Kazakhstan as he. “Incredible” he mumbled to himself, clearly entertained by the Russian exchange. He then turned to his slideshow projected on a white screen hanging from the roof of the barn.

A picnic table and a few chairs scattered around were sufficient for us, we were eager to get to the field. Following his time working at a farm in Russia, Co’nn returned with the idea to take over the farm from his father. But there was a catch: 100% autonomy on the decision making. If he bought the farm, it was his, and he would run it the way he thought best.

“The soil was packed. We had very bad compaction, and it was affecting our crops.”

Image: Co’nn Rennen pictured in front of his winter wheat crop on his farm in Zeewolde, Flevoland.

Old management techniques lead to issues with the soil structure. Lack of dedicated tire traffic lanes had tractors driving across fields. And even with low tire pressure, the weight of the machinery pressed the soil down. There was a clear moment with Co’nn decided to join up with Veldleeuwerik, a Dutch conservation agriculture consortium founded on ten indicators for success: product worth, water, biodiversity, energy, human capital, local economies, crop protection, nutrient management, soil erosion, and soil fertility. Considering the framework for conservation agriculture is (soil cover, soil erosion prevention, and crop rotation), this initiated the change for Co’nn’s farm.

Over the years it developed further. In 2002 he stopped with double cropping (planting both early and late crops) and took a hard look at the economic drivers for intensification, and the struggles he was having at the times. In 2004 Co’nn determined the current rotation and field split: 50% rest wheat, 25% potato, 12.5% onion, 12.5% sugar beet.

Here’s where it gets interesting… From 1977 to 2020, organic matter on the farm increased 0.5%. That’s not nothing, and it’s in the positive direction. He uses a green manure, consisting of 7-8 crop varieties with the majority rye. That cover crop lasts over the temperate winters, often being destroyed with the first frost. If there’s no frost, Co’nn will mechanically destroy the cover crop in January and the remains will become compost and mulch within the fields. He uses GPS for his tractor for controlled traffic, and the controlled track lanes make a huge difference in fuel savings.

“Now we ride our tractors on top of the soil, and not through it”

Prior to switching to now plough and non-dedicated track lanes, tractors would have to work their way across the fields, burning fuel at a dizzyingly slow pace. “I like to go fast, I ride my tractors at 7-8 km per hour.” Saving time and fuel. Considering most farmers plough 75% of their fields, seasonally, this offers huge potential savings in fuel expense alone.

But the magic is what’s happening within the soil. We mentioned that organic matter increased by 0.5% from 1975-2020! And Co’nn gives a lot of credit to his silent workforce: earthworms. He recounted a savvy businessman that came by his farm, wanted to take some ‘samples’ of the soil to determine the earthworm population. After digging around and counting worms for what seemed hours on end, he announced to Co’nn he had not seen so many earthworms and was eager to strike a deal to buy Co’nn’s earthworms. No deal! “They are my employees!” And he’s absolutely right, because of the earthworms, the mulching, no-plough, no-till, direct seeding, the earthworm population is thriving! The minimal soil disturbance is improving soil microbiota, soil aggregates, pore formation, and infiltration are massive. And importantly soil moisture, retained at the root-zone. “A couple of years ago we had a massive drought” Co’nn recalled, and it was massive. Resulting in excessive water being pumped from groundwater reserves, and damages to crops across the country, let alone Europe. When asked if he irrigates at all, he replies “No, we haven’t had to use the haspel (a rolling hose overhead sprayer) for years.” That’s because what he’s doing, is working.

Image: Clay soil is rich in organic matter beneath the surface crust, visible aggregates, moisture retention, and healthy soil biota life.

But what about overheads, what are the tradeoffs to implementing conservation management? There are, there’s no doubt about it. When changing management systems, there will always be learning curves, and struggles at the beginning. “At the beginning, the onions were having some difficulty, because of their weak roots.” Due to the high compaction and soil bulk density, onions couldn’t reach into the small pore spaces, and struggled the first years. The introduction of wheat helped to improve soil structure, and of course over time the mulching, cover crops, and worms worked wonders. Wheat yields are comparable to conventional, and potatoes though their yields are similar to conventional management, Co’nn sees fewer instances of bruising and an overall higher yield quality.

Conservation Agricultural practices are not widely adopted in the Netherlands, even though there is clearly a benefit of doing so. This can come down to a lack of willingness to adapt to more soil conscious practices, but with pioneers like Co’nn Rennen, we are slowing getting the word out with soil conservation management successes. With more and more pressure coming from Dutch and European agricultural policy, the focus on soil health, carbon sequestration, growers are faced with tough decisions moving forward. But with clear examples of conventional farming, with conservation techniques, steps can be made for the benefit of soil, farmer, and society.

“A gram of soil is estimated to contain up to 10 billion bacterial cells, and may hold as many as 10,000 bacterial species.”

“Intensive management without good stewardship can impose costs to the environment in the form of degradation of soils, and pollution of waterways, groundwater, and surrounding wildlife habitat.”

“Soil and agriculture normally are considered a problem, a source of pollutants. But it’s really the other way around. Properly managed, agriculture and soil are the solutions to environmental problems.”

Header Image credit: Apricot Lane Farm, California

Agroecology is the ecology of sustainable food systems

Our goal as agroecologists is to (re-)design agroecosystems in order to produce sustainable, sufficient, and safe food for the world, while preserving nature and cultures, adapting to climate change and delivering ecological services of local and global relevance

“The soil was packed. We had very bad compaction, and it was affecting our crops.”

“Now we ride our tractors on top of the soil, and not through it”

Helping farmers manage land sustainably

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