regenerative 21st century farming: a solution to global warming & the organic green revolution
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©2009 Rodale institute
Regenerative 21st Century Farming: A Solution to Global Warming& The Organic Green Revolution
By Timothy J. LaSalle, PhDCEO, Rodale Institute
©2009 Rodale institute
The Farming System Trial ®
©2009 Rodale institute
Energy Used in Different Corn Production Systems
0
50
100
150
200
250
Tillage No Till Tillage No Till
231.7
77.5
121.6
199.2
Conventional
Organic
©2009 Rodale institute
CO2 Over Past 420,000 YearsC
O2 C
once
ntra
tion
(ppm
)
Years before 2005 from the Vostok Ice Core Data
©2009 Rodale institute
Global Effect
3.5 billion tillable acres
40% Mitigation
60%
40%Agriculture
©2009 Rodale institute
No-Till Roller Crimper
No-Till using Biology not Chemistry
©2009 Rodale institute
Natural N Production
Hairy Vetch Biomass Measurement
150 - 200 pounds per acre
©2009 Rodale institute
Carbon Impact by Field TreatmentCarbon Sequestration ( kg C / ha /year)
-44.6 -18.9 -8.1
300
744
12171261
2363
-500
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
MoldboardPlow
Sub Soil MoleKnife
Conv. No-till
Wintercovercrops
Raw DairyManure
CompostBroiler(litter,
leaves)
Compost(Dairy,
Manure,Leaves)
©2009 Rodale institute
Soil Organic Matters
1%1% 5%5%5 % 1%
©2009 Rodale institute
Rodale Institute
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
0 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 60 70 80
Soil Depth (cm)S
oil C
arbo
n (%
)
©2009 Rodale institute
2025: 2 Billion People Without Water
Austin Brown II, 65, on his ranch in Beeville, TX. Much of the state has not had a significant rainfall since August. The worst drought in nearly 100 years is racking three-quarters of Texas Photo byMichael Stravato for The New York Times
©2009 Rodale institute
C - N cycle
C - H2O
Soil Carbon Matter
Matters
Soil Carbon Matter(s)
©2009 Rodale institute
Rodale Institute
The relationships of water and soil carbon
y = 22.363x + 0.0296R2 = 1
y = 38.893x - 10.474R2 = 0.982
0
50
100
150
200
250
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Percent Soil Organic Matter
Soil Carbon Water per cwt
Linear (Soil Carbon) Linear (Water per cwt)
©2009 Rodale institute
Organic Corn - 1995 Drought
Organic Conventional
Better infiltration, retention, and delivery to plants helps avoid
drought damage
©2009 Rodale institute
Creating New Soil
A photo from a Canadian research station showing the root growth of bunchgrass plants that were kept clipped at certain levels.
Research efforts in the soil science arena have concentrated on reducing the rate of soil loss. The concept of building new topsoil is rarely considered.
From Dr. Christine Jones, Carbon For Life, Inc.
©2009 Rodale institute
Proven, Affordable, Immediate
Mob Grazing
Keyline Plow
©2009 Rodale institute
These basic processes determine whether landscapes end up like this:
…or like this.(Two rivers in the same area, with the same soils and rainfall, on the same day.)
© ManagingWholes.com
Restoring Water
©2009 Rodale institute
• Higher corn and soybean yields in drought years
• Increased soil C and N
• Higher water infiltration
• Higher water holding cap.
• Higher microbial activity
Soil in Organic Systems
©2009 Rodale institute
Organic Matter Increases Infiltration
Conventional
Organic Using Compost
©2009 Rodale institute
Buildings floated in the cedar river in
Cedar Rapids, Iowa,
following a devastating flood last
year.
Flooding in Agricultural Zones
©2009 Rodale institute
Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone
©2009 Rodale institute
40% MitigationCuba – Two rice plants the same age and same variety
Systems Rice Intensification
By: Dr. Norman Uphoff, Cornell University
©2009 Rodale institute
Systems Rice Intensification
40% Mitigation
After typhoon, FFS farmer in
Dông Trù village, Hanoi Province,
Viet Nam
By: Dr. Norman Uphoff, Cornell University
©2009 Rodale institute
• Extends plant root systems
• Produces erosion-resistant, carbon enriched soil
• Provides mechanisms for soil biological carbon fixation
• Slows decay of organic matter
Mycorrhizal Fungi
©2009 Rodale institute
Soil Aggregation:
A Biological Process
©2009 Rodale institute
a relic of sampling methodology?
Dep
th (
feet
)
Corn plant root system Sampling depths of 140 studies comparing tillage impacts on soil carbon
(shaded area denotes sampling depth)
(Figure from Baker et al. 2007)
Soil Carbon Sequestration in Conventional No-till Agriculture
©2009 Rodale institute
Global Effect
3.5 billion tillable acres
40% Mitigation
60%
40%Agriculture
©2009 Rodale institute
Single biggest solution
11 billion acres
100+ % Mitigation
©2009 Rodale institute
A sizable % of human
population now
depends on [artificial] N fertilizer.
T.E. Crews & M.B. Peoples 2002
Agricultural Calamity
©2009 Rodale institute
Frogs Not Ready for Roundup
Roundup still killed up to 71
percent of tadpoles in
outdoor tanks. Rick Relyea, University of Pittsburgh
©2009 Rodale institute
Human Sperm Count Decline
©2009 Rodale institute
Representative drawings of a person by 4 & 5 year-old
Yaqui children from the FOOTHILLS
of Sonora, Mexico
Representative drawings of a person by 4 & 5-year-
old Yaqui children from the VALLEY
of Sonora, Mexico.
An Anthropological Approach to the Evaluation of Preschool Children Exposed to Pesticides in Mexico
© Elizabeth A. Guillette, María Mercedes Meza, Maria Guadalupe Aquilar, Alma Delia Soto and Idalia Enedina Garcia
4 Years Old5 Years Old
Female
Female
MaleFemale Male
Female MaleMale
4 Years Old
5 Years Old
©2009 Rodale institute
In spite of current realities of soil loss,
global water shortages, high cost
of fossil fuels ecologically and financially,
increased aquatic dead zones,
and soil fertility depletion there exists
an agriculture that is
restorative, regenerative and profitable.
Agricultural Hope
©2009 Rodale institute
• Build Soil
• Clean Waterways
• Improve Water Retention
• Increase Drought & Flood Resistance
• Improve Yields
• Increase Adaptability to Climate Change
Ecological Restoration Too
©2009 Rodale institute
Biological farming and ranching works to build the biology.
“Bio-logical”
Chemical conventional agriculture degrades the biology.
“Bio-logical”
©2009 Rodale institute
New Markets
©2009 Rodale institute
Rodale Institute Reaches for Consumers
©2009 Rodale institute
Rodale Institute Paradise Lost
1970
©2009 Rodale institute
Organic Farm Conservancy
Rodale Institute
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