Betcha you don't know what Zero Farming is. I didn't either. But here's the scoop. Now--this isn't going to work on industrial farms, but for small plots of five acres of less it seems the real deal.
Zero Farming is zero herbicides, zero pesticides and zero synthetic fertilizers. They use a walking tractor and timely hoeing to tread lightly on the soil, avoiding soil compaction and overtilling. This practice helps to increase soil structure and nutrient availability to crops.
You ought to see the size and quality of the vegetables and flowers they get from a seven-acre farm in Palmer, Alaska. They have their own bees also, that they keep over every winter and keep them happy. And you know what they say about a happy bee? What? I've never heard it.
The Barrett Brothers with their 6,400 acre farm/ranch on the Platte River in my new novel, AS ALL MY FATHERS WERE, can't do this type farming on the whole place, but watch out for what they will do.
Good piece. My discussions with So Cal farmers indicates that the "zero" representation is false by a large proportion of farmers, nothing but marketing. This situation makes matters worse, as unsuspecting customers are consuming foods that perhaps they should not be. At least if they knew they were eating pestisides they could avoid the dangers. I doubt that your farmers are any different, deep inside. Money and marketing trump all, "zero" included. Good luck getting otherwise across in your what I am certain is an otherwise fine and correct book.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe large industrial farms can produce enough to justify their expense by zero farming. It must be left to small farmers who harken back to the original farming--subsistence farming. Well--that means just making a living and people now want and need to make more than a living. The key is how to get good healthy foods in America without poisoning the water, land, and air.
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