Could new soil practices save farmers from climate change? l ABC News

Some farmers believe no-till soil management can insulate plants against extreme weather.

#ABCNews #Farming #ClimateChange

[brittanyfriedman]

shocked to see the mainstrea media reporting on actual solutions to the problems we face

[jasonhatfield]

Not very well explained but nice to see mainstream media paying attention to this. Industrial farming is CHEMICAL dependent and causes destruction and depletion of the soil whereas regenerative practices require no outside input and build soil over time. This puts carbon back into the earth instead of releasing it into the atmosphere as traditional chemical farming does. That’s the key difference.

[johnauner]

University of Missouri, MU-extension, have been at this with some Missouri farmers for almost 40 years. The Missouri Grazing Manual was essentially complete in the early 80's. We can sequester carbon fast by re-creating the Great Plains.

[masterquadbiker]

I was surprised when I actually did this on my own i had this big old Belfast sink in my garden which was used as a flower bed many moons ago but the soil in it was literally dusty dirt completely lifeless and of no use at all but one summer I decided to plant wildflower seeds in it and by the end of the summer the Sink rammed full with wildflowers had changed the dirt and it became much more compost like and looked like proper soil, it made me realise how important looking after soil was

[hasenafarms]

Not to mention no till and regenerative practices also play a big role in carbon sequestration, which is how we reverse this whole mess to begin with. It's unfortunate they didn't mention that.

[js.goldklang]

Sure no till is great but we need to move to perennial ag as much as possible. Tree crops like chestnuts, hazelnuts, fruits, etc, along with silvopasture and regenerative grazing should be the solutions emphasized in my opinion. But no till, compost, mulch, rotation should definitely be standard for annual ag.

[judyreynolds]

My grandfather was cool!! He had college education in Engineering and Ag.Was in the Navy on a ship in the war. Nope He did not mono crop. He mixed the crops. It was dry land farming in West Texas. He planted a different crop in each land of that field. Cotton, milo, vegetable garden, sorghum, corn. He planted cushaw and okra on top of terraces, in the terrace bottoms, planted tomatoes and watermelon. Our garden was scattered all over that field! It made harvesting interesting all scattered, but a lot less loss due to disease, drought, and pest. Our cows grazed and pooped all over the field’s in winter months. Fall planting of barley and wheat, and cool weather crops. I do not ever remember him fertilizing!! He was practicing diversified farming when it was NOT the cool thing! Our neighboring big huge farmers fertilized, irrigation, and mono crop their fields!! He was using farm practice from days of recovering from dust bowl. He was cool!!

[gardenweedsgrower]

We also need to save the bees and pollinator insects. In times like these we need convert our wasteful lawns and backyards to permaculture food forest gardens landscapes with perennial drought and heat tolerant plants to provide food year long for our family, friends and neighbors. It’s healthy and better for us mentality/physically and the environment. You will get your vitamins C from the food you grown and vitamin D from the sun. :)

[lorrihernandez]

Wonderful, informative piece. These are such hard working, smart farmers. We support our local small farmers through participating in a CSA and shopping at our local farmers market.

[Getawaymoments]

Sad that no mention in credits about who photographed this story. Network TV disrespect for visual storytellers is rampant.

[koicaine]

I'm slowly turning my yard into a regenerative food forest but it's really hard because it's basically beach sand. I've been doing Terra Preta, compost, chop & drop, leaf mulch, worm castings etc. It's hard to turn sand into soil.

[mezenman]

Number one tip I can offer people is to buy your food local. Find an ethical local farmer and support them. Yes our prices are higher. But we sell a better product. The product is superior in many ways. Taste, health, and better for the environment. People have to stop supporting the round up

[TheNewMediaoftheDawn]

One point, they said regenerative ag won’t out perform conventional, but I think once soil biology and organic matter is well established it will out yield conventional. Hopefully more switch to farming like this.

[johnnycarrillo]

Support small farms not corporate farms

[claudiagates]

Please look into Mr Charles Dowding and his no dig approach. He's been doing this for over 40 years. Many so called farmers are so close minded that they didn't even care to listen to his explanation on why it's important to leave the soil as undisturbed as possible. Yet, they are starting to apply the same principles and pretend it's a new thing. Mr Dowding also explains that some soils might require some digging initially, like heavy clay soil, but not constantly. I learned a lot from him, am using his methods and my little vegetable garden is very healthy and productive. Have fun 😊

[AnyKeyLady]

A lot of farmers and gardeners have been doing the no till/ no dig method for a few years now as they have also learnt that by doing so it also releases the carbon dioxide that was taken in by the plants, just like when they chop trees down.

The layering or "Lasagna" method of greens and browns, is what you would do in your composter or wormery, you are also doing on your planting area, allowing the existing micro life to break down the nutrients directly where it needs it.

Homemade, organic fertilisers are made on site, using worm castings or poop and pesticides, if used at all are made with plants such as lavender, rosemary and peppermint.

[calliekuykendall]

Thanks for reporting on this, regenerative farming is definitely the future

[rickghaly]

Great Job ABC News. More like this please.

[marjoriejohnson]

I have been on this bandstand for 60 + years.i grew up on a dairy farm and we used horses..my mother went to work for US soil conservation dept after dad could physically farm. And I took a earth science course. there is a difference between dirt and soil..it's all about the structure of soil.

[derek-]

Depending on the area introducing certain elements such as agroforestry can also help if done correctly.