Regeneration of our lands: a producer’s perspective | Gabe Brown | TEDxGrandForks
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0:21 - 0:26How fitting it is that this event,
which is titled "Roots to Wings," -
0:26 - 0:28is taking place here in North Dakota,
-
0:28 - 0:33for the motto of the state of North Dakota
is "Strength through the Soil." -
0:33 - 0:36And that's what I'm going
to visit with you about today, -
0:36 - 0:39it's about our soil resource.
-
0:40 - 0:42Agriculture has been challenged.
-
0:42 - 0:47How do we feed nine billion
people by the year 2050? -
0:48 - 0:52With today's current production
model, we can do that. -
0:52 - 0:56It is a model with which
one tills the soil. -
0:57 - 1:00It's a model of monoculture
production practices. -
1:00 - 1:02No matter where you go
around this great state, -
1:02 - 1:06there's fields of wheat, fields of corn,
-
1:06 - 1:10fields of soybeans, and many other crops.
-
1:10 - 1:14It's one of livestock
which are now in confinement; -
1:14 - 1:18whether it be poultry housed
in poultry houses, -
1:18 - 1:22or beef cattle in a feedlot, for example.
-
1:22 - 1:26However, these practices
have come at a cost. -
1:26 - 1:29They have caused a loss of biodiversity.
-
1:30 - 1:36Healthy native range land
has hundreds of different species -
1:36 - 1:41of plants, and animals, and insects.
-
1:42 - 1:45Monocultures have but very few.
-
1:45 - 1:48This lack of biodiversity
-
1:48 - 1:53has led to the destruction
of our soil resource. -
1:53 - 1:56And that's what I'm going
to visit with you about today. -
1:56 - 1:58I'll share some proof with you,
-
1:58 - 2:02and this is statistics provided
by North Dakota State University. -
2:02 - 2:08In Walsh County, North Dakota in 1960,
the topsoil was 34 inches deep. -
2:08 - 2:13In 2014, that topsoil
was only 15 inches deep - -
2:14 - 2:17a stunning 56 percent loss.
-
2:18 - 2:22The organic matter level on that same soil
had gone from over 8 percent -
2:23 - 2:26to less than 3 percent today.
-
2:27 - 2:29Look at the ramifications of that.
-
2:29 - 2:35The soil on your left
was the soil that had not been tilled, -
2:35 - 2:38and had not seen monoculture
production practices. -
2:38 - 2:42That's the same soil
17 years later on the right, -
2:43 - 2:47after 17 years of the production model
-
2:47 - 2:50of tillage and monocultures.
-
2:51 - 2:54It also destroys
the pore spaces in the soil. -
2:54 - 2:58Those pore spaces are critical
for the life in the soil, -
2:58 - 3:02are critical for water infiltration,
-
3:02 - 3:07because if we don't have soil aggregates,
we cannot infiltrate water. -
3:07 - 3:12I took this photo in a field less than
ten miles from where you're seated today. -
3:13 - 3:16That shows a half of an inch of rainfall
-
3:16 - 3:21can no longer be infiltrated
into the soil profile. -
3:21 - 3:24If we can't infiltrate water,
then what happens? -
3:24 - 3:27We resort to things such as tile drainage.
-
3:27 - 3:32And you're seeing this all over
the central United States today. -
3:32 - 3:35What happens when we put tile drainage in
-
3:35 - 3:39and we do not have the soil aggregates
to hold our soils in place? -
3:39 - 3:42That soil ends up in the watershed,
-
3:42 - 3:45and unfortunately, along with it,
goes all the nutrients -
3:45 - 3:49that may have been applied
to those fields. -
3:50 - 3:55That lack of biodiversity
also leads to lower nutrient cycling. -
3:55 - 3:58If we don't have
adequate nutrient cycling, -
3:58 - 4:02we're going to have to add
more and more synthetic fertilizers. -
4:02 - 4:05Those synthetic fertilizers
come at a cost - -
4:05 - 4:07the cost of fossil fuel usage,
-
4:07 - 4:13and, they also spur the decline
of the soil biology. -
4:14 - 4:16We need to understand how soil functions.
-
4:16 - 4:21How soil functions is due to that biology,
-
4:21 - 4:25because the plants get
their nutrients via the biology. -
4:26 - 4:32High synthetic fertilizer use
also aids in the propagation of weeds. -
4:32 - 4:34Most weeds love nitrogen.
-
4:34 - 4:39The more synthetic fertilizer we apply,
the more weeds we get. -
4:39 - 4:42If we have increased weed pressure,
what do we have to do? -
4:43 - 4:45Spray herbicides.
-
4:45 - 4:49Now, unfortunately, many
of those herbicides are chelates. -
4:50 - 4:51What is a chelate?
-
4:51 - 4:53A chelate binds metals.
-
4:53 - 4:58So any of the metals such as magnesium,
manganese, iron, zinc, copper, -
4:59 - 5:01then become unavailable to the plants.
-
5:02 - 5:05If the plant cannot uptake
these micronutrients, -
5:05 - 5:08it's more prone to disease.
-
5:08 - 5:11Because plants cannot
ward off diseases on their own, -
5:12 - 5:14we need to spray fungicides.
-
5:16 - 5:19Fungicides, then, are detrimental to what?
-
5:19 - 5:21Soil biology.
-
5:22 - 5:26Because plants are not healthy
enough to ward off pests, -
5:26 - 5:28we then need to do what?
-
5:29 - 5:31We spray pesticides,
-
5:31 - 5:35on the crops which are meant
for human consumption. -
5:35 - 5:39Because we spray pesticides,
we have a decline in what? -
5:40 - 5:45The very predator insects
which would take care of the pests -
5:45 - 5:46which we are spraying.
-
5:47 - 5:50We also have a decline in pollinators.
-
5:50 - 5:53You can hardly pick up
a paper or a magazine today -
5:53 - 5:56without reading about
the plight of our pollinators. -
5:56 - 6:00These pollinators are critical
in our crop production. -
6:02 - 6:05The current production model
is all about killing. -
6:05 - 6:09Whether it be weeds, a fungus, a pest,
-
6:09 - 6:13our diversity, or our profit.
-
6:13 - 6:15Take a look at these projections
-
6:15 - 6:18just put out by North Dakota
State University. -
6:18 - 6:22They're 2016 projections for some
of the major crops in our state. -
6:22 - 6:25Every one of them
projects a negative return. -
6:26 - 6:28What impact does that have
-
6:28 - 6:32on the quality of life
of those producing that crop? -
6:33 - 6:34But take it a step further:
-
6:34 - 6:37What impact does it have on our schools?
-
6:37 - 6:41Drive around this state of ours
and you'll see a lot of small towns -
6:41 - 6:44that have fewer and fewer children
attending the schools. -
6:45 - 6:47What effect does that have
on our businesses? -
6:48 - 6:50And then on our communities?
-
6:50 - 6:55What effect does the current
production model have on our health? -
6:57 - 6:58Take a look at this.
-
6:58 - 7:02The nutrient densities
of the foods that we produce -
7:02 - 7:06have declined anywhere
from 15 to 65 percent -
7:06 - 7:09in the last 50 years.
-
7:09 - 7:12This has had many negative consequences.
-
7:12 - 7:14The United States
spends more on healthcare -
7:14 - 7:17than any other developed
country in the world. -
7:17 - 7:22Yet look at this - we lead the world
in the incidences of ADD, -
7:22 - 7:29ADHD, cancer, osteoporosis,
Alzheimer's, autoimmune diseases, -
7:29 - 7:31and the list goes on and on.
-
7:31 - 7:33This is not acceptable.
-
7:34 - 7:36It cannot continue.
-
7:36 - 7:39But the good news is there's another way,
-
7:39 - 7:40and I'm going to share that with you.
-
7:40 - 7:42It's nature's way.
-
7:43 - 7:45Look at how nature functions.
-
7:45 - 7:49In nature, there's no mechanical tillage.
-
7:49 - 7:53Yet in our production model,
we're tilling the soil. -
7:53 - 7:57In nature, there's always armor
on the soil surface, -
7:57 - 8:02protecting that soil from wind erosion,
water erosion, evaporation. -
8:03 - 8:06Yet in our production model,
the fields lie bare. -
8:06 - 8:10Nature cycles water very efficiently.
-
8:10 - 8:13It's able to infiltrate
into the soil profile, -
8:13 - 8:15then, due to the large amount
of organic matter, -
8:15 - 8:19it's held there, for such a time
it's needed by plants. -
8:19 - 8:24By destroying our soil resource,
we can no longer infiltrate the water -
8:24 - 8:27and store it for when it's needed.
-
8:27 - 8:30Nature has living plant-root networks;
-
8:30 - 8:35there's things growing at all times
throughout the growing season. -
8:35 - 8:38Not that way with production agriculture.
-
8:38 - 8:43So often we hear about
the production model that we have today -
8:43 - 8:45as the "conventional model."
-
8:45 - 8:49I would argue that nature's way
is the conventional model, -
8:49 - 8:52because it's been around for eons of time.
-
8:52 - 8:56Think of it this way: what did
this land look like 400 years ago? -
8:57 - 8:59You had a lot of diversity.
-
9:00 - 9:06There was diversity of plant species:
forbs, grasses, legumes, trees. -
9:06 - 9:10And then also you had a diversity
of animals and insects, -
9:10 - 9:15and all these worked together
to build a healthy ecosystem. -
9:17 - 9:21So there's five principles
that we must follow -
9:21 - 9:23in order to follow nature's model.
-
9:23 - 9:28They are, number one: least amount
of mechanical disturbance possible. -
9:28 - 9:34On my own ranch, we have been
100 percent zero till since 1994; -
9:34 - 9:37we have not tilled the soil at all.
-
9:37 - 9:42The second tenet of soil health
is armor on the soil surface; -
9:42 - 9:45we always have the soil covered.
-
9:45 - 9:49That's a picture of one
of our fields following seeding. -
9:49 - 9:54That field is no longer prone
to wind erosion or water erosion -
9:54 - 9:57because we're keeping armor
on the surface. -
9:57 - 10:00Third tenet of soil health is diversity.
-
10:00 - 10:04My son teaches range land management
at the local community college. -
10:04 - 10:07He brought his students
out to one of our paddocks. -
10:07 - 10:13They counted over 140 different species
of grasses, forbs, and legumes. -
10:14 - 10:18Why don't we have that
in production agriculture today? -
10:18 - 10:21On our operation,
we're trying to mimic it. -
10:21 - 10:25These are just some of the cash crops
that we grow on our operation. -
10:25 - 10:29We don't just grow one
cash crop, we grow many. -
10:29 - 10:33Along with that, we do not grow
cash crops as monocultures. -
10:33 - 10:37In the upper left there, that's oats
with three types of clover growing in it. -
10:37 - 10:41In the upper right is a very diverse
cool-season broadleaf mix. -
10:41 - 10:45The lower left, that's corn
with hairy vetch growing in it. -
10:45 - 10:47The lower right, that's sunflowers
-
10:47 - 10:50with over 19 species
of covers growing with it. -
10:50 - 10:54A tremendous amount of diversity
feeding soil biology. -
10:54 - 10:57We also have orchards on our operation.
-
10:57 - 11:01These orchards, besides
providing us with the fruit, -
11:02 - 11:05we're able to have livestock
grazing underneath them, -
11:05 - 11:07thus stacking enterprises.
-
11:08 - 11:10We have five acres
of vegetable production, -
11:10 - 11:13but it's not as monocultures.
-
11:13 - 11:17In between each of those corn rows
is rows of peas, beans, squash, -
11:17 - 11:21zucchini, carrots, pumpkins,
and a variety of other species -
11:21 - 11:25so that we get the benefit of diversity.
-
11:25 - 11:27Fourth tenet of soil health
-
11:27 - 11:30is leaving roots in the ground
as long as possible. -
11:30 - 11:33You don't have to drive very far
around this state -
11:33 - 11:37to see that there are monocultures growing
for only a short period of time, -
11:37 - 11:39and then the land lays idle.
-
11:40 - 11:43These are just some of the cover crop
species which we planted -
11:43 - 11:45on our operation this past year.
-
11:45 - 11:48We actually planted
over 70 different species. -
11:49 - 11:52From the time the snow
melts in the spring, -
11:52 - 11:58until the snow stays in early winter,
we have a variety of species growing -
11:58 - 12:01on our land to feed soil health.
-
12:01 - 12:04We're optimizing solar energy collection.
-
12:04 - 12:10Because how the system works is,
we take sunlight through photosynthesis; -
12:10 - 12:14it makes carbon; that carbon
is transferred down to the roots, -
12:14 - 12:19where it's leaked out as root exudates,
that's what all the biology feeds on. -
12:19 - 12:24We need that biology in order
to get the nutrients to the plant -
12:24 - 12:27to nourish animals and people.
-
12:27 - 12:31For you see, if we have healthy soil,
we're going to have clean air, -
12:31 - 12:36clean water, healthy plants,
healthy animals, and healthy people. -
12:36 - 12:39We have to focus on feeding biology.
-
12:39 - 12:42Along with this, then, we're able to feed
-
12:42 - 12:45all of the wildlife
that's on our operation. -
12:45 - 12:48We also feed a myriad
of different insects. -
12:48 - 12:51Insects tend to get a bad rap.
-
12:51 - 12:54We like a wide variety of insects
-
12:54 - 12:57including all the predator insects
which take care of the pests. -
12:57 - 13:01We want to address our problems
through biological means -
13:01 - 13:03not through chemical means.
-
13:04 - 13:07Dr Jonathan Lundgren,
one of the world's foremost entomologists, -
13:07 - 13:09told me this:
-
13:09 - 13:15For every insect species that's a pest,
there's 1,700 that are beneficial. -
13:15 - 13:19Why in production agriculture do we aim
at just killing that pest, -
13:19 - 13:24when we should aim at providing habitat
for all those beneficials? -
13:24 - 13:30The reason producers have a pest problem
is because of a lack of diversity. -
13:30 - 13:33We need to think biologically.
-
13:33 - 13:37Fifth tenet of a healthy ecosystem
is animal impact. -
13:37 - 13:42On our operation we run
a herd of 350 beef cows. -
13:42 - 13:46We also grass finish that beef
because we know it's healthier, -
13:46 - 13:49both for us and for the animals.
-
13:49 - 13:52We have a flock of sheep
and raise grass-finished lamb. -
13:52 - 13:54We have pastured pork.
-
13:55 - 13:58We have broilers which are out on pasture.
-
13:58 - 14:05And we have a flock of 750 laying hens
which are also out on pasture. -
14:06 - 14:08We also have bees.
-
14:08 - 14:10Those bees, besides pollinating our crop,
-
14:10 - 14:13provide us with honey.
-
14:13 - 14:15Here's what we've done on our operation.
-
14:15 - 14:20When we started in 1993 on the left,
we had very shallow topsoil - -
14:20 - 14:231.7 percent organic matter.
-
14:23 - 14:27We could only infiltrate
a half of an inch of rainfall per hour. -
14:28 - 14:29We then went no-till.
-
14:29 - 14:32We started to diversify
the cash crop rotation; -
14:32 - 14:35we noticed an improvement in soil health.
-
14:35 - 14:38From there, we started
to add cover crops - -
14:38 - 14:41another improvement in soil health,
our organic matter levels rose, -
14:41 - 14:43our infiltration improved.
-
14:43 - 14:47We then started integrating
all of these livestock species -
14:47 - 14:48on top of it -
-
14:48 - 14:52another marked increase
in the health of our soil ecosystem. -
14:52 - 14:56Now in 2013, we actually
have a plot of land -
14:56 - 15:00which is now over
11 percent organic matter. -
15:01 - 15:03The same soils that in 1993
-
15:03 - 15:07could only infiltrate
a half of an inch of rainfall per hour, -
15:07 - 15:11can now infiltrate
over 15 inches of rainfall per hour. -
15:11 - 15:16We've done this without the use
of any synthetic fertilizers, -
15:16 - 15:18pesticides, or fungicides.
-
15:19 - 15:22We've done it by following
the principles of nature. -
15:22 - 15:27This has led to a ranch that is profitable
every year, regardless of price. -
15:27 - 15:32And we do this without taking part
in any government subsidies of any kind, -
15:32 - 15:36whether it be a crop insurance, EQIP, CSP,
-
15:36 - 15:39or any other form of government payment.
-
15:39 - 15:42Thus, we are not a burden to society.
-
15:42 - 15:44The stacking of enterprises has allowed us
-
15:44 - 15:48to produce many more
nutrient dense calories of food -
15:48 - 15:53at a lower cost as compared
to the current production model. -
15:53 - 15:56Yes, we can feed the world,
-
15:56 - 16:00and we can do it in a way
that regenerates our resources, -
16:00 - 16:05thus, healing farms,
families, and communities. -
16:06 - 16:07Thank you.
- Title:
- Regeneration of our lands: a producer’s perspective | Gabe Brown | TEDxGrandForks
- Description:
-
The United States is in crisis. The health of our soil resource has declined to such a point that it is not only negatively affecting farm and ranch profitability, but it is also having a devastating impact on everything from our water quality to our communities and even to our health. North Dakota rancher Gabe Brown walks us through a common sense solution to this crisis.
Gabe Brown is one of the pioneers of the current soil health movement that focuses on regenerating our resources.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 16:25
TED Translators admin approved English subtitles for Regeneration of our lands: a producer’s perspective | Gabe Brown | TEDxGrandForks | ||
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Rhonda Jacobs edited English subtitles for Regeneration of our lands: a producer’s perspective | Gabe Brown | TEDxGrandForks | ||
Rhonda Jacobs edited English subtitles for Regeneration of our lands: a producer’s perspective | Gabe Brown | TEDxGrandForks | ||
Rhonda Jacobs edited English subtitles for Regeneration of our lands: a producer’s perspective | Gabe Brown | TEDxGrandForks | ||
Rhonda Jacobs edited English subtitles for Regeneration of our lands: a producer’s perspective | Gabe Brown | TEDxGrandForks |