I recently attended a “Learn and Groove” session on September 17th in the Great Lakes Brewing Co. beer garden presented by City Fresh and The New Agrarian Center. The session welcomed guests to learn about permaculture techniques used to restore degraded land around the world from Australian expert Darren Doherty.
Darren comes from Bendigo, in Australia, near Melbourne. He, his wife and their three children have been traveling on a self-funded tour of the world teaching in lectures and hands-on instruction the power of the permaculture movement. Darren spoke about going beyond sustainable to regenerative farms. These farms feature water preservation and reliance on few outside resources.
A key aspect to the farming techniques he discussed is the use of the keyline system which cuts into soil but doesn’t break it up; building more soil depth and allowing it to hold more water. Using gradually deeper lines, the roots are cut down and carbon is released into the soil. In three seasons, land that was un-plantable can have eighteen inches of fertile top soil. The technique was developed by Alan Yeoman who discusses in his book Priority One his theory that “we could reverse global warming in ten years. The key is to get the worlds' grass back into active production by the use of herbivores (a la buffalo).”1
An initial major planning and land-shaping activity takes place to ensure all water is stored and distributed through the farm with no run-off from the property of water or soil. This includes the use of strategically placed ponds (he calls them dams), often in key points which are natural places water will gather. The land is then shaped into a series of parallel rows, using plow patterns to distribute water evenly over the property, using gravity as much as possible.
The farms use natural fertility, ideally featuring a mix of animals and vegetables on the farm, as opposed to reliance on the bag (synthetic fertilizer). With the rise in natural gas prices, the use of synthetic fertilizers is becoming uneconomic.
I recently became aware of the return to traditional farming when reading the book THE OMNIVORE’S DILEMMA: A Natural History of Four Meals. This book really got me thinking about what I am eating, and the environment/economy in general. Author Michael Pollan writes in detail about the Polyface Farm, which is described on their web site as a “Salatin family owned, multi-generational, pasture-based, beyond organic, local-market farm and informational outreach in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley.” Darren also made reference to Joel Salatan as a very positive farming example.
Darren showed a few charts which discussed the true cost of agriculture in various countries and using various farming methods. These costs include the costs of inputs and costs of transportation. I am not sure if I captured the numbers properly, but the reports stated that the cost of a modern U.S. farm, one generally based on a single crop such as corn or soybeans, is $32,000,000 (maybe $32,000) per hectare. This compares to $50/hectare for a mixed farm such as Darren was describing.
Finally, Darren discussed the use of permaculture techniques in urban and suburban development as well as the concept of carbon trading, whereby farmers receive aid for trapping carbon in soil, funded by carbon violators. The development of permaculture is a much more efficient use of capital than growing trees in terms of reducing carbon levels. Darren spoke about carbon trading as if it is actively practiced today, though I don’t have any clear recollection that this is, in fact, the case, but it seems like a good if only-a-bit extreme idea to achieve a balanced environment.
The permaculture methods are economically and environmentally viable. As our world seeks to become (return to be) more green (to survive), Darren’s teachings and the permaculture methods need to become more mainstream. I plan to spend more time exploring these links and beyond.
1 - from the web page - which also mentions the following which ties to Polyface Farms - A few of us have started the Carbon Farmer's Coop. in Vt. Here's the concept: grass removes carbon dioxide from the air, it changes into sugars by the phenomenon of photosynthesis and is stored in the roots, we come by with our grass-fed cattle (a la buffalo) and cut off the top growth and there is a result-shedding of roots into the soil (the old adage always balance the crown with the roots), which is actually a stable form of sequestered carbon in the form of organic matter (where fossil fuels originated). This can and will be measured at the beginning and end of the growing season and our challenge is how to sell it directly to the consumer and return the money value to the carbon farmer.
Also, check out Carbon Farmers of America a company built around a vision of ecological restoration and hope.
