Excellence in Ag Sciences Day 2011 Educators connecting Agriculture to Research, John W. Doran Editor: Renewable Agriculture & Food Systems, Co-founder Renewing Earth and Its People Foundation, USDA-ARS Cooperator, Former President SSSA, Agronomy & Horticulture, Univ. Nebraska, In-Field Tests for Soil Quality & Health
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Excellence in Ag Sciences Day 2011 Educators connecting Agriculture to Research,
Excellence in Ag Sciences Day 2011 Educators connecting Agriculture to Research,. In-Field Tests for Soil Quality & Health. John W. Doran Editor: Renewable Agriculture & Food Systems, Co-founder Renewing Earth and Its People Foundation, USDA-ARS Cooperator, Former President SSSA, - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Excellence in Ag Sciences Day 2011Educators connecting Agriculture to Research,
John W. DoranEditor: Renewable Agriculture & Food Systems,
Co-founder Renewing Earth and Its People Foundation,USDA-ARS Cooperator, Former President SSSA,
Agronomy & Horticulture, Univ. Nebraska, Lincoln, NEContinuing education : Appalachian School of Life
In-Field Tests for Soil Quality & Health
THREATS to SUSTAININGEARTH & ITS PEOPLE
• Population Growth Adequate Food and Standard of Living
• Fossil Fuel Dependence $ and environmental Costs
POVERTY- - - - - of Affluence - - - - - WAR
ENVIRONMENT HEALTH/AIDS
Early settlers plowing the prairie – To survive in a seemingly hostile environment
2-3 fold grain yield increases from industrial agriculture have come at a fairly high cost and
always subsidized by oil
Green revolution scientists shocked to discover that feeding the world could impair the environment
People who farmed sustainably for over 40 centuries now lose 18 lbs of farmable soil
for every 1 lb of food eaten
For the first time since the dawn of civilization we now have the technological capacity to change the
global environment
Renewable Agriculture & Food Systems
Need Soil Management to economically meet food production needs and maintain quality of essential soil, water, and air resources
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE An agriculture that can EVOLVE toward:
• Greater human UTILITY
• Greater EFFICIENCY of RESOURCE use
• Favorable BALANCE with the ENVIRONMENT
(Richard Harwood, MSU, 1990)
Sustain. Strategies & Indicators
• Conserve soil organic matter Change in time/space (Color chart/Density)
Late Spring Nitrate-N Test for non-limited corn yield
(Early June, top 12” soil, corn 12” tall 4-6 leaves) EC differential of 0.15 units (21 ppm nitrate-N) in fertilized corn or 0.10 units (14 ppm nitrate-N) with manure or after
soybean or alfalfa.
Nitrate loss after heavy rain and water logging
If soil EC is 0.01, the Nitrate-N content is < 1.4 ppm
“Dig A Hole”
Single Most ValuableSoil Quality Indicator
OUR CHALLENGE
Charting a course towards Sustainability
by Translating Science into Practice
The End of the Beginning
Achieving Global Sustainability
• What can I do, I’m only one person?
• Change must come from within ourselves.
• We must be the change that we want in the world! (Mahatma Gandhi)