Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
In the absence of supplies of imported rock phosphate, phosphorus rather than nitrogen
might become the main constraint upon crop yields, in which case we would have to ensure
rigorous recycling of animal manures, human sewage, slaughterhouse wastes etc - a fur-
ther reason for dispersing population around the countryside. A vegan system in particular
might have problems maintaining phosphorus levels, since animal feed provides an incent-
ive for recycling back to the land, and no phosphorus would be brought onto the arable
from animals grazing the hinterland.
Biomass
I have not allowed for much intensive biomass energy production, mainly be-
cause it takes up arable land that could be better used for food. In non-arable areas, I prefer
natural woodland to short rotation coppice, because of its amenity and wildlife value; the
prospect of vast acreages of the countryside curtained in eight foot high willow coppice
monoculture is not very appealing. However, there is a good case for arable biomass pro-
duction on farms to provide fuel for tractors. I have allocated ten per cent of the arable land
either for biomass to run machinery, or else to grow feed for draught animals.
The Livestock Permaculture land economy outlined in Table F produces all its food, a
substantial proportion of its textiles, and the energy for cultivating its fields on 13.4 million
hectares, a little over half the entire country. The more orthodox organic system in Table
E requires nearly 16 million hectares, it doesn't produce any fuel, it is low on fat, and it
produces less meat: only 187 calories in the daily ration, compared with 272 in the perma-
culture model. The improvement comes through using animals for what they are best at,
recycling nutrients and waste - and avoiding feeding them grains.
Woodland or Wildland
We are left in Table F with about nine million hectares, of which 3.7 million hectares
are currently classed as woodland or else 'other land on agricultural holdings including
woodland', and the rest are rough grazing - including 1.5 million hectares of grouse moor.
There are therefore nearly five million hectares of mostly poor quality land spare, for which
the most obvious uses are either to 'rewild' it, or else to put it over to woodland.
In the livestock permaculture scenario I have opted to leave slightly over half of this area
for wildlife and to convert the other half to woodland. This gives us about six million hec-
tares of woodland, around a quarter of the entire country. This is still a lower proportion
than in France (27 per cent), the EU (40 per cent) or the world (29 per cent). Six million
hectares of biodiverse woodland, coppice and plantation could produce 36 million cubic
metres of timber and pulp - three quarters of what we currently consume (most of which is
imported). A saner society, without all the junk mail, newspaper supplements no one reads,
tacky throwaway furniture and so on could make do with a lot less.
On the other hand, six million hectares of woodland could also produce enough firewood
to heat six million well insulated family homes (at three tonnes per hectare and per home).
