Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
and assessing the right cropping density can result in improved soil func-
tion and can improve overall crop yields.
Karl Kupers returned from the Dakota Lakes crash course in no-till
bursting with ideas—and enthusiasm. He realized that by managing his
agroecosystem so that it mimicked the mix of plants in his local, native
ecosystem, he could create a more sustainable farming system:
You look at that [mix of native species], and say those are the percentages I want
in my system. You still recognize that you're going to have 50 to 60 percent of
your ground in grain, because that's what grows naturally out here. You're going
to have 25 to 30 percent of your ground in cool-season broadleaves, about 10
percent in warm-season broadleaves, and about 5 percent in warm-season
grasses. . . .
4
This mix reflects the moist winters, relatively mild given its northern lat-
itude. Wheat and barley are cool-season grasses. Legumes, mustards, and
brassicas occupy a niche in the system for cool-season broadleaves.
Warm-season broadleaves are sunflowers, chickpeas, garbanzos, and
buckwheat. Corn, sorghum, and millet are warm-season grasses. Kupers
said:
The key point is that it's a complete change of philosophy. In winter wheat/sum-
mer fallow [rotations], crops and variety are the first thing I decide. But in this
system, it's the last thing I decide. Rotations are for the disease control, for
fertility management. Feeding the soil is first, because I'm going to make sure the
soil enhances my productivity. [I feed the soil instead of] the crop—a totally
different concept. You use rotations, not chemicals, which reduces your cost. You
time your crops for equipment and manpower; therefore reduced costs. Those
are the key components to making a sustainable agricultural system work.
Once Kupers recognized that it was possible to learn from native ecosys-
tems, he began to see more clearly how federal crop subsidies had
distorted the economics of agriculture. He recognized how much of
American agriculture farms federal subsidies rather than crops. The chief
advantage for Kupers was that a well-designed rotation using no-till
reduces weeds and diseases, and by reducing the expense of controlling
them, he hoped to come out ahead.
Conventional industrial agriculture sets out to grow a crop with min-
imal consideration of local conditions. Fertilizers are often applied at a
rate that ensures that the crop will never lack them, but this has resulted
in the kind of hypoxia, or marine dead zones, described earlier. Weeds,
insects, and diseases are entirely predictable consequences of monocrop-
