4 ms·

Regenerating top soil. We have degraded 1/3 of the top soil in the last 150 years. At the current rate, we won't be able to grow food in 60 years. This is a si

Regenerating top soil. We have degraded 1/3 of the top soil in the last 150 years. At the current rate, we won't be able to grow food in 60 years. This is a significant threat to our food production capabilities as a planet, and has severe 2nd, 3rd degree repercussions as well. At the moment, agroforestry and syntropic farming are the only large scale solutions, but they need mass adoption. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/only-60-years-of-farming-left-if-soil-degradation-continues/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/only-60-years-of-...

eggsmediumrare 6y ago
If covid has taught us anything, it's that we should listen to these sorts of warnings.
searine 6y ago
This is really not an accurate depiction of the problem. First of all, it may take a 1000 years to naturally create topsoil, but that's not our problem. We have topsoil and can make topsoil much much faster. So how do we preserve, and continue to create topsoil faster than it is depleted. What is top soil? A collection of macro and micronutrients, microorganisms, and organic matter in the first 5-10 inches of soil. Essentially, its compost. Traditional farming depletes topsoil because it takes more than it gives. By traditional, I mean subsistence up until early industrial. After we figured out that plants need food, and supplemented it accordingly, the draining of nutritive value of the topsoil largely ended 100 years ago. However, industry brought about destructive methods such as deforestation and deep tillage which increase erosion. Even if you are adding in enough inputs to balance out what your crops are taking, erosion may simply sweep away your 5-10 inches of good soil. However, in the last 40 years, tiling and no-til methods have vastly improved this. No-til and more efficient combines have also much improved soil organic matter (which take decades to build, but not 1000s of years). In general. Yes, the erosion of soil is the erosion of civilization, but don't believe the media hype. Farmers aren't dumb, they are incentivized to manage their soil as best they can.
- oblio 6y ago
  Isn't the real problem these days fertilizer drainage going into rivers and oceans, etc.?
  - pfdietz 6y ago
    I think the biggest problem is nitrous oxide accumulation in the atmosphere (it comes from denitrifying bacteria acting on nitrogen fertilizers). But there may be ways to address that directly.
  - jashmatthews 6y ago
    Nitrate runoff into rivers is atrocious!
    - eitland 6y ago
      IIRC phosphate is a big problem too.
- PaulDavisThe1st 6y ago
  > Farmers aren't dumb, they are incentivized to manage their soil as best they can. Farmers aren't dumb but: 1. they've made serious mistakes like this in the past, across cultures and civilizations 2. farmers are not necessarily the people making the decisions in the contemporary vertically integrated "food business" economy of US agriculture in 2020
- onecommentman 6y ago
  We are blessed with a strong stewardship culture in .US farming, and they are incentivized to manage their soil, but what about the land they rent? Roughly 1/3 of all US farmland is leased. https://www.fool.com/millionacres/real-estate-investing/investing-farmland-real-estate-investors-guide/ https://www.fool.com/millionacres/real-estate-investing/inve... If it is owned by folks in the community, there is some social incentive. Out-of-state landlords? Profit and loss. A feedback loop for remote landlords to pay the price for letting their land get overworked might be nice. More than just the crop yield loss, but rebuilding the soil for the next generations. No-till and cover crops are a great approach, but I’ve been told there’s a steep learning curve. But the results are impressive.
jashmatthews 6y ago
Despite getting repeated a lot there's no evidence to support this. https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24232291-100-the-idea-that-there-are-only-100-harvests-left-is-just-a-fantasy/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24232291-100-the-idea...
thedevindevops 6y ago
The regenerative agriculture movement is gaining significant momentum in Austraila; https://regenfarmers.com.au/ https://regenfarmers.com.au/

eggsmediumrare 6y ago

If covid has taught us anything, it's that we should listen to these sorts of warnings.

searine 6y ago

This is really not an accurate depiction of the problem. First of all, it may take a 1000 years to naturally create topsoil, but that's not our problem. We have topsoil and can make topsoil much much faster. So how do we preserve, and continue to create topsoil faster than it is depleted. What is top soil? A collection of macro and micronutrients, microorganisms, and organic matter in the first 5-10 inches of soil. Essentially, its compost. Traditional farming depletes topsoil because it takes more than it gives. By traditional, I mean subsistence up until early industrial. After we figured out that plants need food, and supplemented it accordingly, the draining of nutritive value of the topsoil largely ended 100 years ago. However, industry brought about destructive methods such as deforestation and deep tillage which increase erosion. Even if you are adding in enough inputs to balance out what your crops are taking, erosion may simply sweep away your 5-10 inches of good soil. However, in the last 40 years, tiling and no-til methods have vastly improved this. No-til and more efficient combines have also much improved soil organic matter (which take decades to build, but not 1000s of years). In general. Yes, the erosion of soil is the erosion of civilization, but don't believe the media hype. Farmers aren't dumb, they are incentivized to manage their soil as best they can.

oblio 6y ago
Isn't the real problem these days fertilizer drainage going into rivers and oceans, etc.?
- pfdietz 6y ago
  I think the biggest problem is nitrous oxide accumulation in the atmosphere (it comes from denitrifying bacteria acting on nitrogen fertilizers). But there may be ways to address that directly.
- jashmatthews 6y ago
  Nitrate runoff into rivers is atrocious!
  - eitland 6y ago
    IIRC phosphate is a big problem too.
PaulDavisThe1st 6y ago
> Farmers aren't dumb, they are incentivized to manage their soil as best they can. Farmers aren't dumb but: 1. they've made serious mistakes like this in the past, across cultures and civilizations 2. farmers are not necessarily the people making the decisions in the contemporary vertically integrated "food business" economy of US agriculture in 2020
onecommentman 6y ago
We are blessed with a strong stewardship culture in .US farming, and they are incentivized to manage their soil, but what about the land they rent? Roughly 1/3 of all US farmland is leased. https://www.fool.com/millionacres/real-estate-investing/investing-farmland-real-estate-investors-guide/ https://www.fool.com/millionacres/real-estate-investing/inve... If it is owned by folks in the community, there is some social incentive. Out-of-state landlords? Profit and loss. A feedback loop for remote landlords to pay the price for letting their land get overworked might be nice. More than just the crop yield loss, but rebuilding the soil for the next generations. No-till and cover crops are a great approach, but I’ve been told there’s a steep learning curve. But the results are impressive.

jashmatthews 6y ago

Despite getting repeated a lot there's no evidence to support this. https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24232291-100-the-idea-that-there-are-only-100-harvests-left-is-just-a-fantasy/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24232291-100-the-idea...

thedevindevops 6y ago

The regenerative agriculture movement is gaining significant momentum in Austraila; https://regenfarmers.com.au/ https://regenfarmers.com.au/