--- In fukuoka_farming@yahoogroups.com, "carrieshepard"
<carrieshepard@y...> wrote:
> >
> Hi Gloria,
>
> I just yesterday sprinkled some nicotiana seeds on one raised bed
of
> potatoes and bush beans.  I'll report back on how this works for me.
>
> Carrie
> in OK

Well...it ought to be a really pretty bed to be sure.  Both potatoes
and beans have pretty flowers....and the nicotiana is no slouch
either.  Can't wait to hear your results, Carrie.


Are you surviving all these big storms all right there?  We got hit
again last night.  It has slowed me down considerably trying to
plant....as well as trying to keep plants from being drowned.  We had
3 inches of rain the other day.  I forgot to empty the rain gauge.
It topped off....holds 5 inches....so I know we got at least 2 more
last night.  Winds have been a huge problem, too, but the hail has
missed us.  It wouldn't be the first time hail and wind had taken all
my fruit from the trees.....or drowned a garden bed...even a raised
one.

Gloria, Texas

Hi all,

I have downloaded on Yahoo all the group messages (Thanks to yahoo2mbox!).
It tooks me hours !

There is 4168 messages.
It is 15,8 MB. Hopefully, compressing the file give 4,23 MB in Zip or 2,63 MB in
7-Zip format.

You can read it off-line, no advertising, no cookies,...

The messages are all in one file in MBOX format. I don't find any way to use it
in Outlook or Outlook Express but I succed using it with Mozilla Thunderbird.
Any way it is plain text.

If any one is interested, let me know I would be hapy to send you the file.

Cédric.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

> Are you surviving all these big storms all right there?  We got
hit
> again last night.  >
> Gloria, Texas

Hi Gloria,

We had lots of water and high winds, but thankfully no bad damage at
our place.  It's definitely wetter than usual, but it's now clear
skies and dry enough that I have to water my seedlings daily again.

We mulched my main garden heavily with grass hay I bought over the
weekend just this morning.  Peas are blooming now, tomatoes look
nice and strong, onions are growing quickly, rhubarb looks beautiful,
picking asparagus every other day, and it's nice and lush looking
with all the irises blooming now.   My roses are beginning to bloom
and I'm sure would already have if the goats hadn't eaten the tops
off them before I got their fence secured.

I planted garlic bulbs around my fruit trees and I'm going to mulch
them and try seeding more perennial herbs as I have the time.  I
have a packet of daikon radish seeds that I want to also plant
around the place and see how they work in different parts of my
landscape.

I've been mulching my flower bed behind my house with the droppings
and hay from the bunny cottage and when it's full I'll begin
mulching my grape vines and other flower beds as well.  I'd like to
get some more geese soon for the orchard also.

Blessings,
Carrie

An art project for peace, based on Masanobu Fukuoka's seedballs, created in
Richmond Virginia, USA, one of the murder capitals of this country.
<http://www.threemiles.com/plantthepiece/quotes.html>

Has anyone heard from Jamie?  I wondered if his silence means he has
made the move to Italy and the Fukuoka community there?

Gloria, Texas

Hello Gloria, no, I'm still here in France. I'm off again to Italy this
coming weekend and plans continue there and I will write when things become
more definite. As to my silence, well that continues until I can find a
better way of expressing natural farming and that would seem to be showing
by doing.

Jamie

PS Gloria, please feel free to contact me off-list whenever you want.

-----Original Message-----
From: fukuoka_farming@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:fukuoka_farming@yahoogroups.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2004 11:13 AM
To: fukuoka_farming@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [fukuoka_farming] Digest Number 728


There is 1 message in this issue.

Topics in this digest:

       1. Jamie?
            From: "Gloria C. Baikauskas" <gcb49@...>


________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Message: 1
    Date: Mon, 10 May 2004 17:30:33 -0000
    From: "Gloria C. Baikauskas" <gcb49@...>
Subject: Jamie?

Has anyone heard from Jamie?  I wondered if his silence means he has
made the move to Italy and the Fukuoka community there?

Gloria, Texas



________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________



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So would you just surface sow the larger seeds, peas & beans etc, and then
cover with the existing 'straw' from the surounding plants?

thanks
Cesca
UK

I am new to this forum and is very much interested to learn how is fukuoka
farming actually done. Can somebody tell me?

By the way, I am a soil technologist, have an ongoing backyard vermicomposting
project and is now conducting site preparation on a 2.1 hectare organic
mango-jackfruit-banana plantation. The site is very steep and very stony (loose
limestone).

The proposed plantation is located in Argao, Cebu, Philippines.

Francisco

Corner Plot Vegetables <cesca@...> wrote:

So would you just surface sow the larger seeds, peas & beans etc, and then
cover with the existing 'straw' from the surounding plants?

thanks
Cesca
UK



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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

We are glad to have you with us here.  You might try reading the
information in the files.  Also, read about Fukuoka's methods at
http://www.fukuokafarmingol.net   There is a translation of at least
one of Fukuoka's books in the files along with more such
information.

Another good place to read is http://www.soilandhealth.org in the
agriculture library.

After that....ask us questions.  I think it would be easier that
way.

Gloria, Texas

That's what I've done this year, in the middle of winter, and the
peas are growing very well indeed. They're twice the size of the
conventional-method ones.
By the way I'm new to this group and to Fukuoka farming, but very
interested. I'm trying permaculture and Bio-intensive methods. Four
years ago I didn't know the difference between a tulip and a cabbage.

Willem, France

--- In fukuoka_farming@yahoogroups.com, "Corner Plot Vegetables"
<cesca@c...> wrote:
>
> So would you just surface sow the larger seeds, peas & beans etc,
and then
> cover with the existing 'straw' from the surounding plants?
>
> thanks
> Cesca
> UK

hi everybody,
i'm afraid i need some more tips from some more experienced people,
concerning herbs the grow faster and higher than the one i try to grow:
wheat, potatoes and corn.
provided that i've been sowing clover, mustard and brocoli from last autumn
on and most of the field in all covered, many 'savage' herbs actually grow
and i think my young plants lack light and space.
I'm afraid of cutting random as if it was a grass field even at a certain
height to preserve the right plants, but of course i should act some kind
of strategy, as i now know i was wrong when i thought clover would win all
other plants.
I'm probably late, but does anyone know what to do to properly intervene?
save me and my plants,
help!

carlo

Carlo.....I am confused by what you wrote.  Do you mean savage
weeds?  Or do you mean that plants like the mustard have grown so
tall that they are shading out the other plants....wheat, potatoes
and corn?

Gloria, Texas


--- In fukuoka_farming@yahoogroups.com, carlo deprado
<carlo.deprado@t...> wrote:
> hi everybody,
> i'm afraid i need some more tips from some more experienced people,
> concerning herbs the grow faster and higher than the one i try to
grow:
> wheat, potatoes and corn.
> provided that i've been sowing clover, mustard and brocoli from
last autumn
> on and most of the field in all covered, many 'savage' herbs
actually grow
> and i think my young plants lack light and space.
> I'm afraid of cutting random as if it was a grass field even at a
certain
> height to preserve the right plants, but of course i should act
some kind
> of strategy, as i now know i was wrong when i thought clover would
win all
> other plants.
> I'm probably late, but does anyone know what to do to properly
intervene?
> save me and my plants,
> help!
>
> carlo

Hello Carlo,

My experience was like yours: simply seeding in clover  and my crops was
not enough if the land had been occupied first by other plants and if I
did nothing else. This was true for everything I tried, from simply
seeding an existing spot to actively tilling it over and then planting.
The surviving roots and seeds took over, and I had a patch of
buttercup, comfrey, and grasses, with a minority of clover and a few
struggling edible plants. I've found that there are two approaches that
work fairly well, though.
     1) Start on ground that has no vegetation (these are areas where I
had dumped dirt from other operations, sheet-mulched, or removed
artificial coverings that the previous holder of my land had put in
place). Once the clover and crops are well established, they can keep
out the weeds if they get a little help now and then.
     2) Till, maybe more than once, and then plant, with the clover (or
other cover crop), and then pick out the most agressive weeds in the
first year. Again, you do get a patch that resists undesireable plants,
but it does need a little help in the following years.

Once established, these systems do take a bit of maintenance to keep
going (I weed once in a while), but not nearly as much work as a mix of
crops and bare soil. Weeds have much more difficulty invading once the
clover is well established. I have gotten this to work with clover plus
sweetcorn/potatoes/squash, and it gives large volumes of food for very
little labour. I am trying it this year with clover plus other crops.

I also grow a mix of vegetables and herbs (lettuces, chicory, kale,
dill, cress, mustard greens, carrots, oregano, lemon balm, swiss chard,
and in summer tomatoes) in a small unheated greenhouse. This has been
self-seeding and mostly self-maintaining for a couple of years now, but
then it is mostly protected from invasion. Also, to be honest, it does
not produce the volume of food that it would if I kept everything in
rows and regularly seeded, fertilized, and pulled weeds. On the other
hand, I get food from it most of the year, and I do very little work
there. I do go in and remove thistles, grasses, and comfrey every few
months, and if I did not interfere the lemon balm and oregano would take
over the entire space. Also, the volunter tomatoes each spring are not
enough to maintain the level of production I want, so every year I add
some tomatoes I've started indoors.

Mr. Fukuoka started with conventional rice fields, which must have been
close to weed-free at the start, and then he flooded them for a while
each year, which must have prevented many kinds of weeds from taking
hold. It's also worth noting that the Fukuoka family did maintain a
regular rows-and-hoeing vegetable garden. I'm not sure how much of their
food came from the semi-wild vegetables they used an understory in the
orchards -- some, surely, but I would bet that it was not the majority.

I treat Mr. Fukuoka's ideal of "no weeding" as an ideal to strive for,
but I do weed, especially when I am setting up in the first place. If I
find I am doing a lot of weeding, then I ask myself how the situation
could have been set up better in the first place, and try something
different.

Is your area one in which white clover thrives naturally? Mine is, and
Mr. Fukuoka's was, but some people on this list who live in much drier
or hotter climates have had no luck at all with it. They may be able to
give you some good alternatives.

How big is your area? If it's not acres and acres, it might be practical
to at least pull up the undesireable plants in a small circle around
each your corn and potato plants. I had the same problem you had when I
first tried this, and didn't take corrective action until well into the
summer. I still did manage to get some production, though not as much as
a conventional gardener or farmer would and not so much as I get now.
So, I don't think it's too late yet. I've never grown wheat for food, so
I'm not sure what to do about the wheat. Good luck! Let us know how it
comes out, and we will all be wiser for it.

           Stephen

carlo deprado wrote:

> hi everybody,
> i'm afraid i need some more tips from some more experienced people,
> concerning herbs the grow faster and higher than the one i try to grow:
> wheat, potatoes and corn.
> provided that i've been sowing clover, mustard and brocoli from last
> autumn
> on and most of the field in all covered, many 'savage' herbs actually
> grow
> and i think my young plants lack light and space.
> I'm afraid of cutting random as if it was a grass field even at a certain
> height to preserve the right plants, but of course i should act some kind
> of strategy, as i now know i was wrong when i thought clover would win
> all
> other plants.
> I'm probably late, but does anyone know what to do to properly intervene?
> save me and my plants,
> help!
>
> carlo
>
>
>
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hello friends,
The point of this e-mail is two-fold and only relates to Fukuoka indirectly.

The first point is solicit feedback regarding a draft of a short book I just
helped write, a
book describing our plans for our upcoming project in Panama, also called
Abundance Farm.  Specifically, I am looking for critical feedback from those on
this list-serv for these two sections in the book's appendix, which I think
relate to Fukuoka the most:

Ecology and the Role of Humans
-A mental model of the world
-Sustainability and the types of research and development
-Fair share and the privileges of citizenship
Philosophical Context
-Philosophy, Spirituality, Practicality, the Mundane, and Happiness
-The Relationship Between Thinking and Doing
-Uniqueness, Escape, and Conventionality
-The Dialectic and Successive Approximations

Of course, it would be flattering if anyone here took it upon themselves to read
the book in entirety and offer a broader critque.

The document is available in several formats through our rudimentary website
http://www.geocities.com/abundancefarm/

If you have trouble with the website, please download the file directly using
the following URLs for doc, rtf, or html versions.

http://alum.hampshire.edu/%7EcpkF92/af/abundance-farm.doc
http://alum.hampshire.edu/%7EcpkF92/af/abundance-farm.rtf
http://alum.hampshire.edu/%7EcpkF92/af/abundance-farm.html

We welcome your feedback, either directly to me (inroadsfarm@...), or to
our yahoo group for this project, at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/trailblazing_green_community (you would have to
join the group in order to post to it but it has open membership).

The second point of this e-mail is to invite people who find the book
interesting to consider joining our project.  We are especially looking for
people with knowledge of tropical agriculture in distinct dry and wet seasons. 
But anyone interested in living in the tropics and a "developing country" and
doing farm work would be welcome.

As a side note, I read One Straw Revolution three years ago while starting a
summer internship at a college farm, organically run, in North Carolina.  To say
the least, Fukuoka had a very powerful effect on me.  Since then, I have drifted
away from what I would call my Fukuokan dogmatism, despite having 3 years of on
and off contact with this list-serv, because I find value in rigorous thinking
to help improve my doing.   To have more harmony with natural ecosystems and to
integrate with the human economy and society, as unsustainable as that system
may, is my goal more or less.  And I think that integration with the current
human economy for maximum beneficial effect (for the purpose of engaging it in a
way to get people to reflect about and change their actions) requires us to use
methods which are not always the most sustainable but still better than the
general trend.  I don't really know if this is the right approach, and maybe
it's just a cop out, but it just makes the most
  sense to me at the moment.

Hope to hear from some of you,

Scott Devine

Little Washington, VA, USA


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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Towards a Sustainable Agriculture
by Steve Diver

Sustainable agriculture is an important element of the overall
effort to make human activities compatible with the demands of
the earth's eco-system. Thus, an understanding of the different
approaches to ecological agriculture is necessary if we want to
utilise the planet's resources wisely.

While sustainable agriculture is based on long-term goals and
not a specific set of farming practices, it is usually
accompanied by a reduction of purchased inputs in favor of
managing on-farm resources. A good example is reliance on
biologically-fixed nitrogen from legumes as versus manufactured
nitrogen fertilizers. Low-input agriculture is one of several
alternative farming systems whose methods are adaptable to
sustainable agriculture.

Low-input farming is based on a reduction--but not necessarily
elimination--of chemical fertilizers, insecticides, and
herbicides. Farmers are adopting these practices primarily to
reduce costs, but also because they want to minimize impact on
the environment or because they perceive future pesticide
regulations.

In a search for information on how to farm with fewer chemicals,
it is helpful to examine alternative farming systems in
existence that largely exclude chemicals in favor of biological
farming practices. Experiences of producers who've successfully
practiced these methods are valuable to farmers considering a
transition to low-input sustainable agriculture.

Alternative Farming Systems
There are four established approaches to alternative farming in
the U.S. A common thread in all four schools is an emphasis on
biological systems to supply fertility and pest control rather
than chemical inputs.

Organic farming is the most widely recognized alternative
farming system. Modern organic farming evolved as an alternative
to chemical agriculture in the 1940s, largely in response to the
publications of J.I. Rodale in the U.S., Lady Eve Balfour in
England, and Sir Albert Howard in India.

In 1980, U.S.D.A. released a landmark report titled Report and
Recommendations on Organic Farming [1] in which organic farming
was defined as such:

Organic farming is a production system which avoids or largely
excludes the use of synthetically compounded fertilizers,
pesticides, growth regulators, and livestock feed additives. To
the maximum extent feasible, organic farming systems rely upon
crop rotations, crop residues, animal manures, legumes, green
manures, off-farm organic wastes, mechanical cultivation,
mineral-bearing rocks, and aspects of biological pest control to
maintain soil productivity and tilth, to supply plant nutrients,
and to control insects, weeds, and other pests.

In the 70s and 80s, organic certification of farms emerged as a
marketing tool to insure foods produced organically met
specified standards of production. The Organic Foods Production
Act, included in the 1990 Farm Bill, enabled USDA to develop a
national program of universal standards, certification
accreditation, and food labeling. Implementation, initially
scheduled for October of 1993, was delayed due to lack of
funding and complexity of issues and is anticipated to take
effect in 1995.

Biodynamic farming evolved in Europe in the 1920s following
lectures on agriculture by the Austrian anthroposophist Rudolf
Steiner. Biodynamic farming parallels organic farming in many
ways but places greater emphasis on the integration of animals
to create a closed nutrient cycle, effect of crop planting dates
in relation to the calendar, and awareness of spiritual forces
in nature. A unique feature of this system is the use of eight
specific preparations derived from cow manure, silica, and
herbal extracts to treat compost piles, soils, and crops.

Demeter (tm) is a certification program for food and feed
produced by strictly biodynamic farming methods. The Community
Supported Agriculture (CSA) marketing programs, gathering
popularity as an innovative method of subscription farming, were
largely introduced into the U.S. by the biodynamic movement. An
article on soil quality and financial performance of biodynamic
and conventional farms in New Zealand in the April 16, 1993
issue of Science. In a comparison of 16 adjacent farms, the
biodynamic farms exhibited superior soil physical, biological,
and chemical properties and were just as financially viable as
their counterparts. [2]

  "Biological" farming has become synonymous with farmers using
the Reams fertility system as the basis for crop production. Eco-
agriculture is the term used to describe this system by the
monthly Acres, U.S.A. The Reams system is based on the LaMotte-
Morgan soil test and the use of rock phosphate, calcium
carbonate, and compost to achieve nutrient ratios of 7:1 calcium
to magnesium, 2:1 phosphorus to potassium, and so
on. "Biological" farming allows the use of selected chemical
fertilizers (avoiding disruptive materials such as anhydrous
ammonia and potassium chloride) and adopts low-input approaches
to use of herbicides and insecticides.

  Diagnostic instruments to monitor plant and soil conditions are
frequently used in "Biological" farming; these include
refractometers to monitor sugar content (Brix) in plant tissue
sap; electrical conductivity meters to monitor ERGS (or energy
released per gram of soil); ORPS meters (or oxygen reduction
potential of soil); and radionics. Based on data gathered,
foliar sprays containing biostimulants and soluble nutrients are
applied. The Pandol Brothers, a large commercial fruit and
vegetable operation in California, reduced their annual
pesticide bill from $500,000 to $50,000 per year after adopting
a "Biological" fertility program.

Nature Farming was developed in Japan in the 1930s by Mokichi
Okada, who later formed the Mokichi Okada Association (MOA).
Nature Farming parallels organic farming in many ways but
includes special emphasis on soil health through composts rather
than organic fertilizers, when possible. Kyusei Nature Farming,
a branch group, emphasizes use of microbial preparations in
addition to traditional Nature Farming. Nature Farming is most
active in the Pacific rim, including California and Hawaii.

  Since the late 1980s, Nature Farming has gained wider
recognition in the United States through the coordinated efforts
of MOA and the Rodale Institute in the formation of the World
Sustainable Agriculture Association (WSAA). The WSAA and MOA
sponsor annual conferences on Nature Farming and sustainable
agriculture. Kyusei Nature Farming conducts on-farm research in
California.

In addition to these methods-based approaches to sustainable
farming, regenerative agriculture and permaculture are widely
recognized in the U.S. and abroad. However, these latter
systems, like sustainable agriculture, are more conceptually
oriented than methods-based.

  Regenerative agriculture became the preferred term of the
Rodale Institute in the late 1970s and 80s under the direction
of Robert Rodale. Regenerative agriculture builds on nature's
own inherent capacity to cope with pests, enhance soil
fertility, and increase productivity. It implies a continuing
ability to re- create the resources that the system requires. In
practice, regenerative agriculture uses low-input and organic
farming systems as a framework to achieve these goals.

  Permaculture is a contraction of "permanent agriculture" and
was coined by Bill Mollison, an Australian forest ecologist, in
1978. Permaculture is concerned with designing ecological human
habitats and food production systems, and follows specific
guidelines and principles in the design of these systems. To the
extent that permaculture is not a production system, per se, but
rather a land use planning philosophy, it is not limited to a
specific method of production. Thus, practically any site-
specific ecological farming system is amenable to permaculture.

  A common thread among all six schools is an opposing world view
to the industrial model of agriculture. These competing
paradigms were summarized in "Conventional Versus Alternative
Agriculture: The Paradigmatic Roots of the Debate" [3] as:

centralization vs. decentralization

dependence vs. independence

competition vs. community

dominance of nature vs. harmony with nature

specialization vs. diversity

exploitation vs. restraint

These objectives obviously have more to do with societal and
economic responses to modern industrial agriculture than they do
with farming practice A or farming practice B. Nevertheless,
they underscore the sometimes contentious debate between
sustainable farming advocates and supporters of high-input
conventional agriculture.

Evolution of Sustainable Agriculture
In the 1960s and 70s, a growing environmental agriculture
movement evolved in response to increasing soil erosion,
pesticide use, and groundwater contamination. Simultaneously,
economic conditions for farmers were becoming more stressful and
the number of family farms declined.

In 1980 Wes Jackson of The Land Institute in Salina, KS, began
using the term "sustainable agriculture" to describe an
alternative system of agriculture based upon resource
conservation and quality of rural life. Through the lobbying
efforts of several nonprofit farming organizations, Congress
passed legislation in the 1985 Farm Bill that mandated
implementation of a low-input sustainable agriculture program by
the Department of Agriculture.

In 1988 U.S.D.A. initiated the Low-Input Sustainable Agriculture
research and education program, or LISA. In 1991 the name of
this program was changed to the Sustainable Agriculture Research
and Education Program, or SARE. Funds made available through the
LISA/SARE programs have resulted in significant additions to
landgrant research and extension programs in the last five
years.

While sustainable agriculture has become the umbrella under
which many of the above-mentioned alternative farming systems
fall, it is important to note that sustainable agriculture is
really a long-term goal, not a specific set of farming
practices. In Sustainable Agriculture in Temperate Zones [4]
sustainable agriculture was defined as such:

Sustainable Agriculture is a philosophy based on human goals and
on understanding the long-term impact of our activities on the
environment and on other species. Use of this philosophy guides
our application of prior experience and the latest scientific
advances to create integrated, resource-conserving, equitable
farming systems. These systems reduce environmental degradation,
maintain agricultural productivity, promote economic viability
in both the short and long term and maintain stable rural
communities and quality of life.

Three indicators that appear most frequently in a definition of
sustainable agriculture are:

Environmentally sound

Economically viable

Socially acceptable

In this context, sustainable agriculture embraces all
agricultural systems striving to meet these criteria. Many
aspects of modern conventional agriculture are included in
sustainable agriculture, just as are many aspects of alternative
farming systems.

One aspect of modern agriculture receiving a lot of attention in
the sustainable agriculture discussion is the use of chemical
inputs to supply fertility and pest control. While agriculture
chemicals will continue to play an important role in American
agriculture, many farmers are looking at alternatives due to
environmental, economical, or regulatory reasons. In a
transition to farming systems more reliant on biological methods
of production, low-input farming serves as an intermediary step.

Low-Input Agriculture
The term low-input agriculture has been defined as a production
activity that uses synthetic fertilizers or pesticides below
rates commonly recommended by the Extension Service. It does not
mean elimination of these materials. Yields are maintained
through greater emphasis on cultural practices, IPM, and
utilization of on-farm resources and management.

Although the term "low-input farming" has often been used to
describe any system of alternative agriculture, it can be seen
that it is distinctly different from organic farming, etc.
Nevertheless, any system that reduces purchased chemical inputs
can be called low-input farming.

As research funded through U.S.D.A.'s LISA/SARE program has
emerged, it is apparent that many Extension programs are now
offering low-input practices as a regular option for growers.
Examples of low-input agriculture Extension Service programs in
the United States:

University of Arkansas reduced herbicide program for soybeans

University of Massachusetts low-spray apple orchard program

Pennsylvania State University living mulches for vegetables
program

In Oklahoma, speakers have reported at Horticulture Industries
Show meetings that: (1) poultry litter can replace nitrogen
fertilizers in the production of watermelons; (2) legume cover
crops can supply the total nitrogen requirements of pecan trees;
and, (3) two timely applications of a synthetic insecticide can
produce a full crop of worm-free apples.

In Arkansas, speakers have reported at the Arkansas Society for
Horticultural Science meetings that: (1) compost amended potting
mixes produce superior vegetable transplants than traditional
soilless mixes; (2) no-till vegetable systems are feasible using
reduced herbicide rates to kill cover crops; and, (3)
subterranean clover living mulches supply nitrogen and weed
control in peach orchards.

Integrated pest management is probably the oldest and most
widely recognized Extension Service program devoted to low-input
agriculture. However, only recently have the "non-chemical"
approaches--such as cultural, mechanical, and biological--within
the IPM framework been emphasized over the chemical component.
Some programs, in fact, are now termed "biologically-intensive
IPM."

In Oklahoma, low-input sustainable agriculture is being
practiced on many farms and ranches. Extension efforts are
needed to photograph and document these practices for wider
distribution. Research efforts are needed to validate practices
through on-farm research for wider application.

Finally, in the adoption of sustainable farming practices that
depend on a higher degree of management of biological resources,
it is helpful to remember one or two ideas about priorities in
farming:

"Any system that allows people to get started, however imperfect
it might be, is the right system for that situation."

That is to say that during these rough times in U.S.
agriculture, it is far more important to help young people get
into farming, and keep established farmers financially secure,
than it is to worry about eliminating tools--including
fertilizers and pesticides--that support farming. In other
words, "get the engine running first, then adjust the
carburetor."

----------------------------------------------------------------
---------------

References
USDA. 1980. Report and Recommendations on Organic Farming. U.S.
Dept. of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 94 p.

Reaganold, J.P., et al. 1993. Soil quality and financial
performance of biodynamic and conventional farms in New Zealand.
Science. April 16. p. 344-349.

Beus, C.E., and R.E. Dunlap. 1990. Conventional versus
alternative agriculture: the paradigmatic roots of the debate.
Rural Sociology. 55(4): 590-616.

Francis, C.A., C.B. Flora, and L.D. King. 1990. Sustainable
Agriculture in Temperate Zones. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 487
p.



Alternative Farming Organizations
Organic Farming
Rodale Institute Research Center
611 Siegfriedale Rd.
Kutztown, PA 19530
(610) 683-6383

Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA)-International
3185 Township Rd. 179
Bellefontane, OH 43311
(513) 592-4983

Biodynamic Farming
Biodynamic Farming & Gardening Assn.
P.O. Box 550
Kimberton, PA 19442
(215) 935-7797

Josephine Porter Institute of Applied Biodynamics
P.O. Box 133
Woolwine, VA 24185
(703) 930-2463


Michael Fields Agricultural Institute
West 2493 County Rd. ES
East Troy, WI 53120
(414) 642-3303

Biological Farming
Acres, U.S.A. Book Store
2617-C Edenborn Ave
Metairie, LA 70002
(504) 889-2100

Nature Farming
Mokichi Okada Association
c/o Pacific Cultural Center
1835 Vancouver Drive
Honolulu, HI 96822
(808) 595-6344
(808) 595-8014 Fax

Nature Farming Research & Development Center

6495 Santa Rosa Rd.
Lompac, CA 93436
(805) 737-1536
(805) 736-9599 Fax



-----------------------------------------------------------------
---------------


Steve Diver is a farm advisor at a sustainable farming
information center in the U.S. He can be contacted at
steved@....

This article was published in New Renaissance magazine Vol.6,
No.2


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

FIRST, DO NO FARM
A New Book Argues That Agriculture Is a Disaster

Enviros are familiar with critiques of large-scale,
chemical-dependent agriculture, but Richard Manning has bigger fish
to fry:  In his new book "Against the Grain," Manning argues that
agriculture itself -- the whole shebang -- is a disaster, a
"dangerous and consuming beast of a social system."  Hunter-gatherers
not only had more fun, he says, but they were demonstrably healthier.
Agriculture led to a small, rich upper class and a large, unhealthy
laborer class, not to mention endless cycles of famine.  Michelle
Nijhuis reviews Manning's provocative new book -- today on the Grist
Magazine website.

today in Grist:  Richard Manning's "Against the Grain" gives farming
a big thumbs-down -- by Michelle Nijhuis
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/books/books052704.asp?source=daily>

interesting overview but no mention of natural way of farming or even the
notill  conventional farming method .the focus is mostly on avoiding
chemicals in fertiliser and pesticides  while soils get depleted thru
tilling in the first place necessiting more fertilisers creating more need
for pesticides .

jean-claude

masnobu fukuoka shows us the way to get from this agriculture to becomes
creator of ecosytems -that can sustain a gathering life style

too bad IMO it comes from a mostly vegetarian perpective . hunter gatherers
cultures have been demonstration of the healthiest way of living ( in
comparaison of grain based cultures ) but they never had acces to grains and
choose between 40 percent to 60 percent( for the average) , -of their calory
coming from animals , with some exception like the environmentally
defavorised kung in the kalhari desert at 35 percent , to the inuits with
over 95 percent .

i am very interested myself to extend masanobu' s aproach to animal raising
the natural way ,it will be  a  more difficult move as it will be
questionning the basis of neolithic cultures : private ownership of land

animals move a lot to be able to graze or feed naturally without impacting
the land , plants have the advantage of being grounded.
anyone interested by this challenge ?

jean-claude


> FIRST, DO NO FARM
> A New Book Argues That Agriculture Is a Disaster
>
>

I have no doubt about agriculture being the biggest mistake. There are
many books available that underline this point. For anyone interested
in exploring this I'll list a few books:

Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
The Story of B by Daniel Quinn
My Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
My Name is Chellis and I'm in Recovery from Western Cvilization by
Chellis Glendinning
Coming Home to the Pleistocene by Paul Shepherd
Future Primitive by John Zerzan
A Language Older Than Words by Derrick Jensen
The Culture of Make Believe by Derrick Jensen
Guns, Germs and Steel by Jarred Diamond
Stone Age Economics by Marshall Sahlins

There are many others, those are some of my favorites.

I can also suggest reading the anthropology essays at
http://www.primitivism.com/anthropology.htm
A good starting point is the Marshall Sahlins essay on that web page.

--------- snip ---------

> I am very interested myself to extend masanobu's
aproach to animal raising the natural way...animals
move a lot to be able to graze or feed naturally
without impacting the land...anyone interested by this
challenge?...jean-claude

-------------------------

I think the key to this method would be pairing the
species with the right environment. For example,
imagine a large fenced acreage for swine with a
veritable forest of pig-food producing trees that
ripen and drop their various goodies all throughout
the year. Contiguous gated planting areas for root
foods such as potatoes, rutabegas, carrots, and other
seasonal crops could be opened for additional forage
as appropriate.

The result would be a healthy herd of swine that
required little care or expense. Culling the herd of
its excess young males would produce top quality meat
at very low cost. Also, weaners could be sold for cash
income.






__________________________________
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>
> I think the key to this method would be pairing the
> species with the right environment. For example,
> imagine a large fenced acreage for swine with a
> veritable forest of pig-food producing trees that
> ripen and drop their various goodies all throughout
> the year. Contiguous gated planting areas for root
> foods such as potatoes, rutabegas, carrots, and other
> seasonal crops could be opened for additional forage
> as appropriate.
>
> The result would be a healthy herd of swine that
> required little care or expense. Culling the herd of
> its excess young males would produce top quality meat
> at very low cost. Also, weaners could be sold for cash
> income.

it is interesting you take the ex of pigs ,it have allways been my intention
to raise wild boar that way . i was born on a little village in sologne in
france , wild boars have been raised that way since the kings used the land
as a hunting ground , my celtic ancestors were also relying on wild boar
meat,  they were helping along the animals with crops .
now in sologne fields of corn  grains or roots are planted just for wild
life to be hunted .
in the south of france where wheat was not grown chestnut was the bread and
wild boars are living underneath .
i used to harvest chestnut to sale to  Paris  we were sleeping in the
special house where chestnuts were dried and every night we could hear wild
boars eating with much noise and also much "handiness" , they are  skinning
the chestnuts before eating them just with their teeths and tongue .

anyway that was my plan when i was taking care of a 30 acres property , now
that i lost it i am with only 5 acres and can't do it because allready 2
third of my property is off fence for deers to be favorised and a third is
for trees bushes and vegetables , wild boars wil displace the deer .

jean-claude

I've tried raising Muscovy ducks in as natural way as I could. We have
multiple dams and the idea was not to feed them and have them simply
graze for their needs. The problem that I encountered was that we were
raising free ranging chickens at the same time and we were feeding the
chickens grain and kitchen scraps. It all worked fine for a few weeks
until the ducks wised up to the easy food available around the house
that we were giving the chickens. We ended up eating the ducks and now
only have chickens. Ideally I'd like to experiment again with this,
either without chickens or releasing the duck son the farthest dam
hoping they would stay clear of the house.

I am contemplating an experiment along these lines with a few goats,
but have reservations about whether they will stay on my land. We have
forty acres (half cleared half pasture) and our fukuokan vegetable
garden is fenced from wildlife and I'd be happy to have the goats roam
the rest of the land. I'm wondering if we bond well with the animals
initially whether they'd be inclined to stay with us rather than
heading off into the forest that adjoins our land. We have a fence with
our only neighbours but the rest of the land is either poorly fenced or
unfenced.

Jean-claud, could you please let me know your thoughts about goats in
this regard. I agree totally about private ownership being the problem
but there is no way around this for me in the immediate future.




On 28/05/2004, at 9:00 PM, Ingrid Bauer/Jean-Claude Catry wrote:
>
> i am very interested myself to extend masanobu' s aproach to animal
> raising
> the natural way ,it will be  a  more difficult move as it will be
> questionning the basis of neolithic cultures : private ownership of
> land
>
> animals move a lot to be able to graze or feed naturally without
> impacting
> the land , plants have the advantage of being grounded.
> anyone interested by this challenge ?

I've raised goats. o keep them close to you, always feed them something even
if they forage for most of their diet. I kept a few alfafa pellets and would
feed three or four goats a handful a day.

Also, if youring a bell or beat on a tin pan just before you give them the
alfalfa, they will always come to you when you ring if they escape.


On Saturday 29 May 2004 10:18 pm, Adam Carter wrote:
> I am contemplating an experiment along these lines with a few goats,
> but have reservations about whether they will stay on my land. We have
> forty acres (half cleared half pasture) and our fukuokan vegetable
> garden is fenced from wildlife and I'd be happy to have the goats roam

One of our school families raised & loved them, yet had many an occasion to
quote the (Middle Eastern?) saying, "If you have no troubles, get a goat."  This
may have had to do with many temptations on the neighbor's property.
N

Ralph wrote:

>  I've raised goats. o keep them close to you, always feed them something even
> if they forage for most of their diet. I kept a few alfafa pellets and would
> feed three or four goats a handful a day.
>
> Also, if youring a bell or beat on a tin pan just before you give them the
> alfalfa, they will always come to you when you ring if they escape.
>
>
> On Saturday 29 May 2004 10:18 pm, Adam Carter wrote:
> > I am contemplating an experiment along these lines with a few goats,
> > but have reservations about whether they will stay on my land. We have
> > forty acres (half cleared half pasture) and our fukuokan vegetable
> > garden is fenced from wildlife and I'd be happy to have the goats roam


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Quick question: If we go back to hunter gathering, can we feed the entire
world population?

Or do we need agriculture?

E.

At 12:26 AM 5/28/04 -0400, you wrote:
>FIRST, DO NO FARM
>A New Book Argues That Agriculture Is a Disaster
>
>Enviros are familiar with critiques of large-scale,
>chemical-dependent agriculture, but Richard Manning has bigger fish
>to fry:  In his new book "Against the Grain," Manning argues that
>agriculture itself -- the whole shebang -- is a disaster, a
>"dangerous and consuming beast of a social system."  Hunter-gatherers
>not only had more fun, he says, but they were demonstrably healthier.
>Agriculture led to a small, rich upper class and a large, unhealthy
>laborer class, not to mention endless cycles of famine.  Michelle
>Nijhuis reviews Manning's provocative new book -- today on the Grist
>Magazine website.
>
>today in Grist:  Richard Manning's "Against the Grain" gives farming
>a big thumbs-down -- by Michelle Nijhuis
><http://www.gristmagazine.com/books/books052704.asp?source=daily>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>

Very interested to read the ideas about animal raising fukuoka fashion.

This leads into something that interests me. I have heard that it is far
less efficient to get one's protein from animals as opposed to from plants
such as soy beans, i.e. that for the amount (nutrients, energy) you put
into raising animals versus plants, you get a lot more out of the plants.

How do we deal with this ethically, if we are trying to minimise our impact
on the land?

cheers, Elin.

At 11:50 PM 5/30/04 -0400, you wrote:
>One of our school families raised & loved them, yet had many an occasion to
>quote the (Middle Eastern?) saying, "If you have no troubles, get a
>goat."  This
>may have had to do with many temptations on the neighbor's property.
>N
>
>Ralph wrote:
>
> >  I've raised goats. o keep them close to you, always feed them
> something even
> > if they forage for most of their diet. I kept a few alfafa pellets and
> would
> > feed three or four goats a handful a day.
> >
> > Also, if youring a bell or beat on a tin pan just before you give them the
> > alfalfa, they will always come to you when you ring if they escape.
> >
> >
> > On Saturday 29 May 2004 10:18 pm, Adam Carter wrote:
> > > I am contemplating an experiment along these lines with a few goats,
> > > but have reservations about whether they will stay on my land. We have
> > > forty acres (half cleared half pasture) and our fukuokan vegetable
> > > garden is fenced from wildlife and I'd be happy to have the goats roam
>
>
>[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>

Quick answer: Six billion (and counting) people could not live as
hunter gatherers.

However, I do not believe that six billion people could ever
sustainably live on this planet regardless of the means they use to
feed themselves. To me this is a simple fact. The collapse of
civilisation is inevitable, and drawing nearer.

Despite the overwhelming evidence it took me a long time to accept this
conclusion.

On 01/06/2004, at 10:16 AM, Elinor Jean wrote:

> Quick question: If we go back to hunter gathering, can we feed the
> entire
> world population?
>
> Or do we need agriculture?
>
> E.

Elin, this issue is also tied in with the one on agriculture.

You raise valid points about modern factory farming. However to raise
plants for purely anthropocentric needs requires large scale land
clearing and therefore loss of habitat for wild animals. In the modern
agricultural world there is no right or wrong answer as to how one
chooses to meet their nutritional needs.

If you are looking for ethical answers, I suggest you look to how
hunter gatherers lived within their ecosystems. Fukuoka style animal
raising methods are a small step in that direction. It is closer to
hunting wild animals and that (in a closed ecosystem) is the only long
term sustainable way for humans to exist.

Cheers, Adam.

On 01/06/2004, at 10:13 AM, Elinor Jean wrote:

> Very interested to read the ideas about animal raising fukuoka fashion.
>
> This leads into something that interests me. I have heard that it is
> far
> less efficient to get one's protein from animals as opposed to from
> plants
> such as soy beans, i.e. that for the amount (nutrients, energy) you put
> into raising animals versus plants, you get a lot more out of the
> plants.
>
> How do we deal with this ethically, if we are trying to minimise our
> impact
> on the land?
>
> cheers, Elin.

--- In fukuoka_farming@yahoogroups.com, "Ingrid Bauer/Jean-Claude
Catry" <instinct@s...> wrote:
> masnobu fukuoka shows us the way to get from this agriculture to
becomes
>...
> animals move a lot to be able to graze or feed naturally without
impacting
> the land , plants have the advantage of being grounded.
> anyone interested by this challenge ?
>
> jean-claude
>
>
> > FIRST, DO NO FARM
> > A New Book Argues That Agriculture Is a Disaster
> >

Jean-claude and Folks,

I've spent many years reading and writing about Masanobu
Fukuokas' methods from the perspective that "Natural
Farming" could and should be applied to general large scale
commercial type animal (dairy and meat) livestock farming-cropping
systems. I think readers here would be interested to learn that other
animal husbandry writers in the past have also advocated the basic
type tenets as Fukuokas four principals; namely F. Newman Turner
during the forties and fifties.

Turner was a follower of Sir Albert Howard, the well-known organic
author-authority. Basically Turner saw no need to use synthetic
Fertilizers (he advocated ambient pasture compost amendments); he saw
no profit from monocultures, sprays or herbicides (complex pasture
systems utilize "weeds", so there is very little need to act
on
controlling them); No (Deep) tillage or anything more than very
shallow tillage is ever needed. There are other advocates of these
methods too all based on a common pasture and pasture cropping
advocacy that slipped from view with the green revolution; you just
have to look for the information from a different interpretation; one
that includes (not excludes) animals.

As I have written on my website (www.ahtuttle.com); I believe and
continue to promote that I am very sure that Fukuokas' thesis of
(actual commercial) farming methods without addressing an advocacy of
animal hoof actions and pastures influence is as blatantly incorrect
and miss-informed from a economical, social, and environmental
perspective as is that of any conventional agri-chemical and bio-
technical type system agriculture with their presumed miss-uses'.

I advocate that pasture and pasture cropping methods are sustainable
and valid from anywhere between 10 and ten thousand animal
equivalents or more.

"The Elysian Fields Pasture Project" is updated seasonally as
time
allows.

Be safe. Sincerely,

Royal A. Purdy, author `The Elysian Fields Pasture Project"
A. H. Tuttle and Company
Farmington, NY. , U.S.A.
Upstate New York, Finger Lakes Region

I do not think there is a quick fix nor an easy answer to the question.
First of all, our world's population is so dense because of many
reasons, but mass agricultural practices probably contribute to it.
There was a time when each family had to provide their own food through
small farms, and they traded and sold off the excess.  Personally, I
like that concept and will soon be doing it myself.  Even if each
community had a garden, or several gardens, depending upon how large the
community, it would go a long ways in providing food.  The necessities
for life do not include instant, prepackaged and highly processed foods
and I think a good diet can be had from eating the seasonal produce that
grows in a local garden with a couple chickens for eggs and a goat for
milk could supply a community with a wealth of healthy and very
cost-reduced food.  Of course, that would require a radical change of
paradigm for almost everyone in the US and maybe most other countries.
But it seems a better answer than mega-agriculture or hunter-gathering.

Roxann


Quick question: If we go back to hunter gathering, can we feed the
entire
world population?

Or do we need agriculture?

E.






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]