Sustainable soil health
J.W. Lemons
“A Nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt.
We have learned some harsh lessons about how to treat our soil. While most of us are aware of the problems of the past, some agricultural operations in the world are not heeding those lessons.
We all know that healthy soil is essential to feed the ever-increasing population of the world. However, many agriculture practices continue to damage and deplete our natural resources — of which soil ranks among the top. These practices have caused reductions in soil productivity due to soil loss through erosion and changes in the nutritional balances in soil. This has resulted in nutrient depletion and increased our dependence on synthetic fertilizers. Because of the low efficiency of many commercial fertilizers, we have over-applied many nutrients to maintain or increase crop production levels.
Although these increased inputs have led to higher yields to meet the demand for food production, the over-application of nutrients has resulted in continuous environmental degradation of soil, water and vegetation resources. In some areas, organic matter levels......(To read more, Click the link below):
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