Fallacies, Farming and Food

There seems to be a growing movement of young people -- well, not all of them are young -- who are becoming "experts" about agriculture.  They scour the Internet for information on everything from the evils of industrial agriculture to the destruction of our health with processed flour.  Their certainty of "right and wrong" is based on, "I read it, therefore it is correct," without ever questioning the source of the information.

Along with this desire to become "experts" on subject matter which requires a lifetime to master, they need to develop a little wisdom.  We have tried to instill in our children and to a lesser extent, our grandchildren, the discipline of questioning what they read.  Just because someone has a PhD after their name, or is considered an expert in their field, doesn't mean they don't have an agenda driven by less-than-pure motives.  It is important to question and dig deeper.

There is no doubt that there are better ways of doing things.  In my lifetime I have observed significant changes in agriculture that are more focused on conservation while still increasing production.  While still in college I spent some time working for an irrigation company converting sprinklers from high-pressure "rainbird" type sprinkler heads to low-pressure emitters on "drops" that used less water, less energy and placed the water closer to the plant so there was less evaporation loss.  Many small grains farmers have switched to minimum, or no-till planting and cultivation systems that leave the land almost undisturbed.  It increases the amount of organic matter in the soil, reduces loss to water and wind erosion and saves energy in the farming operations.

Some farms have switched to "strip-till" methods where they alternate crops in narrow bands.  It is a method to help reduce insect infestations because of the variation in plant species.  It also changes the soil health by utilizing nitrogen-fixing plants alongside nitrogen-depleting plants.

We see more and more farms that utilize grasses to slow runoff from fields and create "filter zones" to catch silt before it enters a stream or river.  Streams are bordered with trees and grasses rather than the crops being planted right up to their margin.  Such practices protect our water supply and provide habitat for wildlife.

Precision farming methods now vary fertilizer application, seed population rates and therefore, plant densities across a field based on the needs and capabilities of the ever-varying soils.  Such methods reduce soil depletion while also reducing, or eliminating fertilizer from being carried off the field by runoff.  It allows the maximization of production with the optimization of inputs.

Yet, the cry is louder each year that farming is "bad" and we need to re-think everything we do in agriculture.  I wish more people had the opportunity to actually spend time with farmers and ranchers to see what they are doing to protect our environment while growing more food, more efficiently, so those very people who complain will have plenty of inexpensive food to eat.

There is always room for improvement, but there is much that has been done and many who are working diligently to make those improvements happen.