The world's population has increased three-fold since 1950 meaning we need more food. The short-term solution; monoculture. The long-term antagonist; monoculture.
Farmers for the past century have been doing (for the most part) what is necessary to feed the world, doing so incentivized by government subsidies & capitalism. The only problem with this is it is short term. The degradation of our soils (specifically in the Midwest corn belt) WILL catch up to us. We have been able to produce more food than ever, sometimes higher yields on smaller acreage. But this comes at a major cost & that cost will be realized not by us, but the next generations in front of us.
1. Added Biomaterial
We now have to import Earth (fertilizer) from one continent to the other to produce what we need while continuing to mask the problem of massive soil erosion & carbon being emitted back to our atmosphere. Okay, so we produce more food on continually eroded soil by moving Earth from Europe to the USA.
Kind of seems like a house of cards, huh? Is this sustainable? I think not.
2. Make Money to Spend Money or Use Diesel Fuel to Make Diesel Fuel
In my opinion, just like most of this is, we are robbing Peter to pay Paul. Let me elaborate. We are using fossil fuels to go to Europe, getting chunks of Earth that we had but neglected in North America, bring it back to The United States, then use more diesel to cover ground with this said European Earth. Now for the next step, we use diesel to harvest a crop, take to an ethanol plant.... to make more diesel.
Kinda seems like a house of cards, huh?
3. Damage to Wildlife, Their Ecosystem, Our air, & to the Next Generation
Some studies show we have lost 1/3rd of our soil fertility in the Midwest Cornbelt. & this is continuing. How will this impact the next generation? Or maybe worse, how will this impact government overreach? The people in power think they know how to solve all problems. I think we can agree on that. So, in turn, elected & unelected bureaucrats start putting their noses where they don't belong & start passing laws and regulations that farmers have to agree to, or else get a job in town.
Does this mean I don't want government in our business? Yes!
What Do We Need Then? MORE NATIVE GRASSLANDS
Why?
Grasslands:
Well for one, it is the most efficient natural system of sequestering carbon. Sequestering carbon is not only essential for the environment but is also promotes bio soil diversity & plant growth! Imagine that. NO amount of cover crops or no till can compete with grasslands. Let's not forget one more important factor about grasslands, wildlife. Wildlife contributes to most sectors of our life, but I'll start here; completion along the food chain, mitigating disease outbreaks, distribution of our plants & seeds, & gobs more.
Grasslands can also be part of securing our national security via beef in our food supply.
Back to the government, ugh. Between incentives such as ethanol production, the security of our food production (crop insurance subsidies), incentives for grasslands cannot compete with the above economically or legislatively.
Yes, there are EQIP Programs through the USDA that will cost-share prioritizing our grasslands, but like I mentioned previously, they don't compete with monoculture incentives.
Maybe the MOST important part of the government overreach (or MAYBE even lack thereof) I mentioned early goes right along with grasslands not being able to compete economically. Along with all the subsidies, grasslands cannot compete per acre due the abuse & bureaucratic destruction of the cattle industry. Well one would say, "Riley, why cattle? Is there not anything else you can do with the grasslands to profit?" The short answer is no. Capitalism has concluded that the best & most efficient way to monetarily gain from grasslands (you have to have monetary gains as you can't do these things for free, let along at a deficit) is cattle production. Cattle production is competing with monoculture, the government, NCBA, a monopolized industry, & unelected bureaucrats, named the USDA, for the same acreage.
The USDA & the NCBA work hand in hand to continue to take money from small rural communities & "line the pockets" of the 4 meatpackers. Which, funny enough are members of The National CATTLEMENS Beef Ass. To make it worse, NCBA is the largest contractor using the funds of the Beef Checkoff. The cattlemen's dollar. Just going to quickly mention that The Beef Checkoff hasn't been reevaluated or had another vote to continue it since the 1980's. My grandfather, I imagine was pinned up against the wall from the disastrous market of the 80's and made a desperate attempt to trust the government to help his business. HAHAHA! Almost comical now to think of giving an unelected sector of the government my money to spend it how they see fit.
Okay, we have our goodhearted cattlemen that decide where this money goes, right? Well maybe if you want to believe that, then sure.
I am not putting together an attack against my fellow agriculturalists, but to let you view the opinion of the next generation of this industry & how critical not only cattle & grasslands are, but to prove a point that regenerative agriculture is not an option but a must if we want our environment & our children's grandchildren to do what we do and THRIVE at the same time.
Leave it better than how you found it.
- Riley Ferguson