0:00:21.011,0:00:25.611
How fitting it is that this event,[br]which is titled "Roots to Wings,"

0:00:25.611,0:00:27.970
is taking place here in North Dakota,

0:00:28.200,0:00:33.099
for the motto of the state of North Dakota[br]is "Strength through the Soil."

0:00:33.380,0:00:36.322
And that's what I'm going[br]to visit with you about today,

0:00:36.322,0:00:39.220
it's about our soil resource.

0:00:39.530,0:00:41.859
Agriculture has been challenged.

0:00:41.859,0:00:47.370
How do we feed nine billion[br]people by the year 2050?

0:00:47.680,0:00:52.000
With today's current production[br]model, we can do that.

0:00:52.000,0:00:56.267
It is a model with which[br]one tills the soil.

0:00:56.517,0:00:59.981
It's a model of monoculture[br]production practices.

0:00:59.981,0:01:02.292
No matter where you go[br]around this great state,

0:01:02.292,0:01:05.992
there's fields of wheat, fields of corn,

0:01:05.992,0:01:09.523
fields of soybeans, and many other crops.

0:01:10.103,0:01:13.532
It's one of livestock[br]which are now in confinement;

0:01:13.532,0:01:18.254
whether it be poultry housed[br]in poultry houses,

0:01:18.254,0:01:21.718
or beef cattle in a feedlot, for example.

0:01:21.888,0:01:25.883
However, these practices[br]have come at a cost.

0:01:26.343,0:01:29.471
They have caused a loss of biodiversity.

0:01:30.401,0:01:36.096
Healthy native range land[br]has hundreds of different species

0:01:36.216,0:01:40.524
of plants, and animals, and insects.

0:01:41.644,0:01:44.503
Monocultures have but very few.

0:01:45.345,0:01:47.624
This lack of biodiversity

0:01:47.624,0:01:52.694
has led to the destruction[br]of our soil resource.

0:01:52.894,0:01:55.784
And that's what I'm going[br]to visit with you about today.

0:01:56.154,0:01:57.717
I'll share some proof with you,

0:01:57.717,0:02:02.277
and this is statistics provided[br]by North Dakota State University.

0:02:02.277,0:02:08.206
In Walsh County, North Dakota in 1960,[br]the topsoil was 34 inches deep.

0:02:08.496,0:02:13.487
In 2014, that topsoil[br]was only 15 inches deep -

0:02:13.997,0:02:17.365
a stunning 56 percent loss.

0:02:17.708,0:02:22.475
The organic matter level on that same soil[br]had gone from over 8 percent

0:02:23.085,0:02:25.527
to less than 3 percent today.

0:02:26.604,0:02:29.082
Look at the ramifications of that.

0:02:29.402,0:02:34.818
The soil on your left[br]was the soil that had not been tilled,

0:02:34.818,0:02:38.448
and had not seen monoculture[br]production practices.

0:02:38.448,0:02:42.363
That's the same soil[br]17 years later on the right,

0:02:42.753,0:02:47.148
after 17 years of the production model

0:02:47.148,0:02:50.208
of tillage and monocultures.

0:02:50.808,0:02:54.248
It also destroys[br]the pore spaces in the soil.

0:02:54.248,0:02:58.490
Those pore spaces are critical[br]for the life in the soil,

0:02:58.490,0:03:01.969
are critical for water infiltration,

0:03:01.969,0:03:06.849
because if we don't have soil aggregates,[br]we cannot infiltrate water.

0:03:06.849,0:03:12.239
I took this photo in a field less than[br]ten miles from where you're seated today.

0:03:12.959,0:03:16.482
That shows a half of an inch of rainfall

0:03:16.482,0:03:20.581
can no longer be infiltrated[br]into the soil profile.

0:03:20.581,0:03:24.114
If we can't infiltrate water,[br]then what happens?

0:03:24.114,0:03:27.347
We resort to things such as tile drainage.

0:03:27.347,0:03:31.956
And you're seeing this all over[br]the central United States today.

0:03:32.274,0:03:35.195
What happens when we put tile drainage in

0:03:35.195,0:03:39.155
and we do not have the soil aggregates[br]to hold our soils in place?

0:03:39.155,0:03:41.704
That soil ends up in the watershed,

0:03:41.704,0:03:45.384
and unfortunately, along with it,[br]goes all the nutrients

0:03:45.384,0:03:49.026
that may have been applied[br]to those fields.

0:03:49.550,0:03:54.621
That lack of biodiversity[br]also leads to lower nutrient cycling.

0:03:55.018,0:03:58.228
If we don't have[br]adequate nutrient cycling,

0:03:58.228,0:04:01.940
we're going to have to add[br]more and more synthetic fertilizers.

0:04:01.940,0:04:04.829
Those synthetic fertilizers[br]come at a cost -

0:04:04.989,0:04:07.250
the cost of fossil fuel usage,

0:04:07.250,0:04:13.135
and, they also spur the decline[br]of the soil biology.

0:04:14.073,0:04:16.412
We need to understand how soil functions.

0:04:16.412,0:04:20.683
How soil functions is due to that biology,

0:04:20.683,0:04:25.024
because the plants get[br]their nutrients via the biology.

0:04:25.673,0:04:31.634
High synthetic fertilizer use[br]also aids in the propagation of weeds.

0:04:31.634,0:04:34.453
Most weeds love nitrogen.

0:04:34.453,0:04:38.693
The more synthetic fertilizer we apply,[br]the more weeds we get.

0:04:38.983,0:04:42.474
If we have increased weed pressure,[br]what do we have to do?

0:04:42.784,0:04:44.625
Spray herbicides.

0:04:45.235,0:04:49.236
Now, unfortunately, many[br]of those herbicides are chelates.

0:04:49.536,0:04:50.725
What is a chelate?

0:04:50.725,0:04:52.895
A chelate binds metals.

0:04:52.895,0:04:58.445
So any of the metals such as magnesium,[br]manganese, iron, zinc, copper,

0:04:58.565,0:05:01.086
then become unavailable to the plants.

0:05:01.626,0:05:05.306
If the plant cannot uptake[br]these micronutrients,

0:05:05.446,0:05:07.705
it's more prone to disease.

0:05:07.705,0:05:11.345
Because plants cannot[br]ward off diseases on their own,

0:05:12.055,0:05:14.367
we need to spray fungicides.

0:05:15.507,0:05:18.607
Fungicides, then, are detrimental to what?

0:05:19.469,0:05:21.003
Soil biology.

0:05:22.100,0:05:26.157
Because plants are not healthy[br]enough to ward off pests,

0:05:26.317,0:05:28.333
we then need to do what?

0:05:28.831,0:05:30.817
We spray pesticides,

0:05:31.377,0:05:34.659
on the crops which are meant[br]for human consumption.

0:05:35.018,0:05:38.799
Because we spray pesticides,[br]we have a decline in what?

0:05:39.998,0:05:44.678
The very predator insects[br]which would take care of the pests

0:05:44.678,0:05:46.420
which we are spraying.

0:05:47.458,0:05:49.985
We also have a decline in pollinators.

0:05:50.349,0:05:52.935
You can hardly pick up[br]a paper or a magazine today

0:05:52.935,0:05:56.019
without reading about[br]the plight of our pollinators.

0:05:56.019,0:06:00.489
These pollinators are critical[br]in our crop production.

0:06:01.599,0:06:04.750
The current production model[br]is all about killing.

0:06:04.750,0:06:08.511
Whether it be weeds, a fungus, a pest,

0:06:08.961,0:06:12.971
our diversity, or our profit.

0:06:13.270,0:06:14.801
Take a look at these projections

0:06:14.801,0:06:17.570
just put out by North Dakota[br]State University.

0:06:17.570,0:06:22.170
They're 2016 projections for some[br]of the major crops in our state.

0:06:22.170,0:06:25.491
Every one of them[br]projects a negative return.

0:06:26.141,0:06:28.082
What impact does that have

0:06:28.082,0:06:32.163
on the quality of life[br]of those producing that crop?

0:06:32.663,0:06:34.343
But take it a step further:

0:06:34.343,0:06:36.822
What impact does it have on our schools?

0:06:37.152,0:06:40.534
Drive around this state of ours[br]and you'll see a lot of small towns

0:06:40.534,0:06:44.452
that have fewer and fewer children[br]attending the schools.

0:06:44.592,0:06:47.182
What effect does that have[br]on our businesses?

0:06:47.542,0:06:49.703
And then on our communities?

0:06:50.433,0:06:55.372
What effect does the current[br]production model have on our health?

0:06:56.593,0:06:57.923
Take a look at this.

0:06:57.923,0:07:01.713
The nutrient densities[br]of the foods that we produce

0:07:01.713,0:07:06.026
have declined anywhere[br]from 15 to 65 percent

0:07:06.426,0:07:08.596
in the last 50 years.

0:07:09.126,0:07:12.307
This has had many negative consequences.

0:07:12.307,0:07:14.315
The United States[br]spends more on healthcare

0:07:14.315,0:07:16.628
than any other developed[br]country in the world.

0:07:16.978,0:07:22.299
Yet look at this - we lead the world[br]in the incidences of ADD,

0:07:22.299,0:07:28.668
ADHD, cancer, osteoporosis,[br]Alzheimer's, autoimmune diseases,

0:07:28.898,0:07:31.010
and the list goes on and on.

0:07:31.426,0:07:33.199
This is not acceptable.

0:07:34.160,0:07:35.811
It cannot continue.

0:07:36.181,0:07:38.542
But the good news is there's another way,

0:07:38.542,0:07:40.471
and I'm going to share that with you.

0:07:40.471,0:07:42.302
It's nature's way.

0:07:42.552,0:07:45.015
Look at how nature functions.

0:07:45.485,0:07:48.833
In nature, there's no mechanical tillage.

0:07:49.243,0:07:52.932
Yet in our production model,[br]we're tilling the soil.

0:07:53.230,0:07:56.916
In nature, there's always armor[br]on the soil surface,

0:07:57.179,0:08:02.163
protecting that soil from wind erosion,[br]water erosion, evaporation.

0:08:02.712,0:08:05.876
Yet in our production model,[br]the fields lie bare.

0:08:06.392,0:08:09.612
Nature cycles water very efficiently.

0:08:10.182,0:08:12.693
It's able to infiltrate[br]into the soil profile,

0:08:12.693,0:08:15.334
then, due to the large amount[br]of organic matter,

0:08:15.334,0:08:18.854
it's held there, for such a time[br]it's needed by plants.

0:08:19.181,0:08:24.314
By destroying our soil resource,[br]we can no longer infiltrate the water

0:08:24.314,0:08:26.789
and store it for when it's needed.

0:08:27.263,0:08:30.153
Nature has living plant-root networks;

0:08:30.153,0:08:34.533
there's things growing at all times[br]throughout the growing season.

0:08:34.824,0:08:37.524
Not that way with production agriculture.

0:08:38.464,0:08:42.684
So often we hear about[br]the production model that we have today

0:08:42.684,0:08:45.024
as the "conventional model."

0:08:45.024,0:08:48.731
I would argue that nature's way[br]is the conventional model,

0:08:48.731,0:08:51.594
because it's been around for eons of time.

0:08:52.084,0:08:56.267
Think of it this way: what did[br]this land look like 400 years ago?

0:08:56.839,0:08:59.073
You had a lot of diversity.

0:09:00.043,0:09:05.853
There was diversity of plant species:[br]forbs, grasses, legumes, trees.

0:09:06.013,0:09:10.105
And then also you had a diversity[br]of animals and insects,

0:09:10.105,0:09:15.056
and all these worked together[br]to build a healthy ecosystem.

0:09:16.515,0:09:20.985
So there's five principles[br]that we must follow

0:09:20.985,0:09:23.382
in order to follow nature's model.

0:09:23.382,0:09:27.777
They are, number one: least amount[br]of mechanical disturbance possible.

0:09:28.187,0:09:33.784
On my own ranch, we have been[br]100 percent zero till since 1994;

0:09:33.784,0:09:36.517
we have not tilled the soil at all.

0:09:37.266,0:09:41.987
The second tenet of soil health[br]is armor on the soil surface;

0:09:42.307,0:09:44.941
we always have the soil covered.

0:09:44.941,0:09:48.528
That's a picture of one[br]of our fields following seeding.

0:09:49.178,0:09:53.774
That field is no longer prone[br]to wind erosion or water erosion

0:09:53.944,0:09:56.914
because we're keeping armor[br]on the surface.

0:09:57.290,0:10:00.081
Third tenet of soil health is diversity.

0:10:00.381,0:10:04.312
My son teaches range land management[br]at the local community college.

0:10:04.312,0:10:07.300
He brought his students[br]out to one of our paddocks.

0:10:07.300,0:10:13.441
They counted over 140 different species[br]of grasses, forbs, and legumes.

0:10:14.231,0:10:17.871
Why don't we have that[br]in production agriculture today?

0:10:18.191,0:10:20.818
On our operation,[br]we're trying to mimic it.

0:10:20.818,0:10:25.063
These are just some of the cash crops[br]that we grow on our operation.

0:10:25.063,0:10:29.112
We don't just grow one[br]cash crop, we grow many.

0:10:29.112,0:10:33.273
Along with that, we do not grow[br]cash crops as monocultures.

0:10:33.383,0:10:37.093
In the upper left there, that's oats[br]with three types of clover growing in it.

0:10:37.093,0:10:41.431
In the upper right is a very diverse[br]cool-season broadleaf mix.

0:10:41.431,0:10:44.855
The lower left, that's corn[br]with hairy vetch growing in it.

0:10:44.855,0:10:46.543
The lower right, that's sunflowers

0:10:46.543,0:10:49.843
with over 19 species[br]of covers growing with it.

0:10:49.843,0:10:54.204
A tremendous amount of diversity[br]feeding soil biology.

0:10:54.204,0:10:56.904
We also have orchards on our operation.

0:10:56.904,0:11:01.344
These orchards, besides[br]providing us with the fruit,

0:11:01.664,0:11:05.164
we're able to have livestock[br]grazing underneath them,

0:11:05.164,0:11:07.245
thus stacking enterprises.

0:11:07.575,0:11:10.165
We have five acres[br]of vegetable production,

0:11:10.165,0:11:12.905
but it's not as monocultures.

0:11:12.905,0:11:17.185
In between each of those corn rows[br]is rows of peas, beans, squash,

0:11:17.185,0:11:21.345
zucchini, carrots, pumpkins,[br]and a variety of other species

0:11:21.345,0:11:24.816
so that we get the benefit of diversity.

0:11:25.205,0:11:26.578
Fourth tenet of soil health

0:11:26.578,0:11:29.846
is leaving roots in the ground[br]as long as possible.

0:11:29.846,0:11:32.605
You don't have to drive very far[br]around this state

0:11:32.605,0:11:37.205
to see that there are monocultures growing[br]for only a short period of time,

0:11:37.205,0:11:39.135
and then the land lays idle.

0:11:39.767,0:11:42.831
These are just some of the cover crop[br]species which we planted

0:11:42.831,0:11:45.166
on our operation this past year.

0:11:45.166,0:11:48.276
We actually planted[br]over 70 different species.

0:11:48.856,0:11:51.775
From the time the snow[br]melts in the spring,

0:11:51.775,0:11:57.725
until the snow stays in early winter,[br]we have a variety of species growing

0:11:57.725,0:12:00.505
on our land to feed soil health.

0:12:00.505,0:12:03.636
We're optimizing solar energy collection.

0:12:03.636,0:12:09.645
Because how the system works is,[br]we take sunlight through photosynthesis;

0:12:09.645,0:12:13.966
it makes carbon; that carbon[br]is transferred down to the roots,

0:12:13.966,0:12:19.376
where it's leaked out as root exudates,[br]that's what all the biology feeds on.

0:12:19.376,0:12:23.580
We need that biology in order[br]to get the nutrients to the plant

0:12:23.580,0:12:26.858
to nourish animals and people.

0:12:26.858,0:12:30.648
For you see, if we have healthy soil,[br]we're going to have clean air,

0:12:30.648,0:12:35.650
clean water, healthy plants,[br]healthy animals, and healthy people.

0:12:36.069,0:12:39.100
We have to focus on feeding biology.

0:12:39.100,0:12:41.872
Along with this, then, we're able to feed

0:12:41.872,0:12:45.219
all of the wildlife[br]that's on our operation.

0:12:45.219,0:12:47.970
We also feed a myriad[br]of different insects.

0:12:47.970,0:12:50.761
Insects tend to get a bad rap.

0:12:50.761,0:12:53.501
We like a wide variety of insects

0:12:53.501,0:12:57.432
including all the predator insects[br]which take care of the pests.

0:12:57.432,0:13:01.031
We want to address our problems[br]through biological means

0:13:01.031,0:13:03.081
not through chemical means.

0:13:04.001,0:13:07.351
Dr Jonathan Lundgren,[br]one of the world's foremost entomologists,

0:13:07.351,0:13:08.881
told me this:

0:13:08.881,0:13:14.741
For every insect species that's a pest,[br]there's 1,700 that are beneficial.

0:13:15.012,0:13:19.491
Why in production agriculture do we aim[br]at just killing that pest,

0:13:19.491,0:13:24.432
when we should aim at providing habitat[br]for all those beneficials?

0:13:24.432,0:13:29.984
The reason producers have a pest problem[br]is because of a lack of diversity.

0:13:29.984,0:13:32.669
We need to think biologically.

0:13:32.669,0:13:36.871
Fifth tenet of a healthy ecosystem[br]is animal impact.

0:13:37.001,0:13:41.871
On our operation we run[br]a herd of 350 beef cows.

0:13:41.871,0:13:45.612
We also grass finish that beef[br]because we know it's healthier,

0:13:45.612,0:13:48.542
both for us and for the animals.

0:13:48.542,0:13:52.062
We have a flock of sheep[br]and raise grass-finished lamb.

0:13:52.372,0:13:54.354
We have pastured pork.

0:13:54.904,0:13:57.923
We have broilers which are out on pasture.

0:13:58.263,0:14:04.704
And we have a flock of 750 laying hens[br]which are also out on pasture.

0:14:05.835,0:14:07.715
We also have bees.

0:14:07.715,0:14:10.434
Those bees, besides pollinating our crop,

0:14:10.434,0:14:12.644
provide us with honey.

0:14:12.644,0:14:15.335
Here's what we've done on our operation.

0:14:15.335,0:14:20.054
When we started in 1993 on the left,[br]we had very shallow topsoil -

0:14:20.054,0:14:22.625
1.7 percent organic matter.

0:14:22.625,0:14:27.008
We could only infiltrate[br]a half of an inch of rainfall per hour.

0:14:27.618,0:14:29.303
We then went no-till.

0:14:29.303,0:14:31.985
We started to diversify[br]the cash crop rotation;

0:14:31.985,0:14:34.777
we noticed an improvement in soil health.

0:14:34.777,0:14:37.754
From there, we started[br]to add cover crops -

0:14:37.754,0:14:41.483
another improvement in soil health,[br]our organic matter levels rose,

0:14:41.483,0:14:43.266
our infiltration improved.

0:14:43.266,0:14:46.576
We then started integrating[br]all of these livestock species

0:14:46.576,0:14:47.750
on top of it -

0:14:47.750,0:14:52.256
another marked increase[br]in the health of our soil ecosystem.

0:14:52.256,0:14:55.740
Now in 2013, we actually[br]have a plot of land

0:14:55.740,0:15:00.389
which is now over[br]11 percent organic matter.

0:15:00.625,0:15:03.379
The same soils that in 1993

0:15:03.379,0:15:06.898
could only infiltrate[br]a half of an inch of rainfall per hour,

0:15:06.898,0:15:10.698
can now infiltrate[br]over 15 inches of rainfall per hour.

0:15:10.978,0:15:15.741
We've done this without the use[br]of any synthetic fertilizers,

0:15:15.741,0:15:18.483
pesticides, or fungicides.

0:15:18.763,0:15:21.875
We've done it by following[br]the principles of nature.

0:15:21.875,0:15:27.061
This has led to a ranch that is profitable[br]every year, regardless of price.

0:15:27.061,0:15:31.693
And we do this without taking part[br]in any government subsidies of any kind,

0:15:31.693,0:15:36.492
whether it be a crop insurance, EQIP, CSP,

0:15:36.492,0:15:39.032
or any other form of government payment.

0:15:39.032,0:15:41.752
Thus, we are not a burden to society.

0:15:42.163,0:15:44.326
The stacking of enterprises has allowed us

0:15:44.326,0:15:48.022
to produce many more[br]nutrient dense calories of food

0:15:48.472,0:15:53.273
at a lower cost as compared[br]to the current production model.

0:15:53.273,0:15:55.997
Yes, we can feed the world,

0:15:55.997,0:15:59.982
and we can do it in a way[br]that regenerates our resources,

0:16:00.492,0:16:05.091
thus, healing farms,[br]families, and communities.

0:16:05.601,0:16:06.706
Thank you.