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Hello [name]: I’ve had the great pleasure of visiting many farmers willing to talk about their transition to more sustainable farming practices. They’ve been graziers who have parked their tillage, planting, cultivation, harvesting and manure-hauling equipment as they learn how to match the needs of their herds with the solar-powered potential of their pastures. They’ve been corn and grain farmers who have allowed their hedgerows to grow again, greatly expanded the variety of crops they grow and added cover crops to improve soil and nurture beneficial insects. They’ve included cotton and tree farmers who have slashed pesticide use in favor of managing biodiversity to benefit their crops as part of a robust living system.
Many of these innovators were looking for paybacks in terms of growing their crops and animals, but were surprised—and delighted—by the birds that returned to grace the trees, fencelines and sky above their fields. Songbirds thrive when they have the food and habitat they need. They are visible and audible proof that biological interaction is on the upswing in ways that earthworms and beneficial fungi don’t quite have the capacity to do.
Rodale Institute gardener Eileen Weinsteiger walks you through the Institute’s perimeter trail this week, giving you a bird-by-bird tour of its micro-eco-zones. Read more >>
The ecosystem vitality of a well-balanced organic farm is the macro version of the biodiversity within a single complex organism, like you and me. Dr. Mark E. Gebhart’s own experience of moving from a serious health crisis back to health informs his teaching about the disease-suppressing compounds in raw milk. Read more >>
On the news and research front we’ve got beneficial nematodes for fruit growers, legislation aimed at curtailing greenwashing in Canada, books about soil for kids and the EPA turning up the nozzle on pesticide regulations.
We close this week as a panel of farmers and ag educators meets on our farm to help us fine tune are research efforts. We know nothing beats farmer-to-farmer advice, and we appreciate being on the receiving end. We’re also hosting another field day, inviting farmers and others for a closer look at our no-till organic system, what one collaborating professor recently termed the “nirvana of agriculture.”
Well, we don’t know about that, but when the golden wheat backdropped by an azure sky is waving in the wind, friends are gathered from near and far on our 200-year old farm to teach and learn, and work and passion and play become one, it does begin to feel like a little slice of heaven.
Greg Bowman and the
Rodale Institute editorial team
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