LAND

Have you ever wondered what has happened to rainfall? Walter Jehne armed with an arsenal of science delivers a lecture that spans the math of global warming, the biology and evolution of soil and plant life, and the physics of water and heat cycles with the promise of a cooler planet by engaging the same processes Mother Nature has used throughout millenniums.

How to cool the planet? The presentation goes through the math of solar radiation, re-radiation, the role healthy soil play in fixing carbon and retaining water, plant transpiration in Earth’s water cycle, cloud formation and rain. If we could increase cloud cover by 2% through healthy soil and plant transpiration we could offset an additional 3 watts per square meter of solar radiation.   

Part 2 the A, B, C of healthy soil and its dividends. Over 1,000 farms in Australia are participating in the program and report: 100% crop yields, 300% nutritional integrity, 300% reliability and 500% soil regeneration. Healthy soils are spongy and plant transpiration removes heat from the soil by approximately 85 watts per square meter.

The issues related to industrial agriculture are significant. Poor soil conditions make it more difficult to grow nutrient dense food and when soil is lifeless we lose our ability to feed ourselves. Soil degradation also reduces our ability to mitigate climate change ….

A few years ago, a report from the UN Food & Agricultural Organization warned that at the current rate of soil erosion we have only 60 harvests left! We urgently need to address the mismanagement of our lands and soil…..

A cattle rancher growing top soil at 0.5 to 1% annually and increasing the cattle the ranch can support by 5 fold in 3 years. Growing healthy soil by 1% permits one acre to hold 25,000 gallons more water.

‘Herbivores play an essencial role in building soil that can store more water, absorb more carbon from the atmosphere and produce nutrient rich food’.

Discussion of techniques in regenerative farming systems in growing blueberries, blackberries, red and black rasberries, strawberries and aronia berries.

Sustainable farming uses many of the same techniques that were common practice before industrial agriculture. Keeping roots in the soil all year round protects soil from erosion and increases water retention. There are many more techniques covered in this presentation aimed to assure healthy soil for generations to come…

In 1991, Cuba lost access to the machines and chemicals needed for industrial agricultural and out of necessity transformed its semi-industrial agricultural system into a network of thousands of small rural farms and urban gardens, which uses organic farming principles. Much can be learned from the Cuban experience….

More than 50,000 farmers in Bangladesh have adopted this farming technique to protect their livelyhoods from floods.

The different blend of honey-producing flower strips on agricultural land, pest control and partnerships between bee-keepers and farmers.

A team of scientists in Minnesota, along with local farmers are developing a new grain called Kernza, which unlike most grain crops is a perennial. Kernza, which is similar to wheat, is nutritious and high in protein and has become a popular choice for bakeries and breweries in the Minnesota region, However it will take another decade before the rest of us can buy it….    

Will coal-country become an AgTech capital? AppHarvest, the largest greenhouse in the US (2.8 million square feet) uses digital monitoring, sun & LED lighting, recycled rainwater and nonchemical growing practices. All of its irrigation water (360,000 gallons a day) is supplied from rain collected from the roof and stored in a ten acres pond (46 million gallons) basically a three month supply in case of drought. Pest control uses nonchemical biological methods, such as tiny wasps ( Encarsia formosa and Eretmocerus eremicus) to control white flies, the nemesis of greenhouse production.

Growing salmon in the desert, where temperatures can reach 45C is no small challenge, however Fish Farm has successfully created ways to reconstitute the exact conditions and environment salmon experience throughout their life cycle….

Growing warm-weather citrus in a very cold climate uses a simple geothermal system to warm the greenhouse with zero energy costs.

Software data sensors manage the amount of light, nutrients, water, air temperature, humidity and harvest time for the organic farm located outside of New York in an old industrial warehouse. Although highly automated…

A look inside Singapore’s Sustenir vertical farm. The farm produces one tonne of kale or 3.2 tonnes of lettuce every month in a space no larger than a two bedroom apartment. The produce is ship to shops within hours of harvesting, super fresh!

Growing luscious temperate crops in Somaliland with a greenhouse system which uses seawater and corrugated cardboard to increase cooling and humidity. The process has reduced the need for fresh water by tenfold and /or more.  

Researchers at Chongqing Jiaotong University developed a paste of a substance found naturally in plant cell walls that when added to sand helps plants retain water and nutrients. They have already transformed in 6 months 200 hectares of an Inner Mongolian desert and plan an additional 13,000 hectares in the coming years.  

Ole Morten Oleson presents liquid nanoclay that can transform desert sand literally into productive land for crops such as wheat, vegetables or trees He explains briefly the history of the invention and science, which has opened the door to food production on desert land.  

There are several techniques describe in this video to transform sand to soil in a 5 month timeframe.

Almost 50 years ago, David Bamberger bought 5,500 acres of stony, overgrazed land in Texas; there was no water, the wells and an aquifer were completely dry. When it rained, the water ran off, so he planted various grasses to soak in the rainfall and within two years the first spring came to life and the transformation began  …

‘Desertification is a fancy word for land turning to desert’ and Allan Savory has devoted his entire life to stopping it, There is a way forward not only to protect grasslands, but to reclaim degraded land desertified.   

The extraordinary greening transformation of barren land …

Biochar : The ancient technique of making carbon rich biochar is making a come-back on a farm in Florida that has turned sandy soil into a green oasis.

Entocycle is the UK’s first fully automated insect protein farm. The farming of insects  produces a natural,  high protein feed for animals and fish using food waste. Entocycle is the UK’s first fully automated insect protein farm. The farming of insects produces a natural,  high protein feed for animals and fish using food waste.

Methane emissions from the planet’s 1.5 Billion cattle represents a significant source of emissions; however there may be a natural feed additive which can reduce those emissions by 60% : red algae and the current testing looks very promising.