The road to Soil Health

46 Pages·2014·15.58 MB·English

The road to Soil
Health:
Principles for
Farming and
Ranching in the
Ray Archuleta
21st Century
NRCS: Soil Health Specialist
United States Department of Agriculture is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
““AAss ttoo mmeetthhooddss,, tthheerree mmaayybbee aa
mmiilllliioonn aanndd tthheenn ssoommee,, bbuutt
pprriinncciipplleess aarree ffeeww.. TThhee mmaann
wwhhoo ggrraassppss pprriinncciipplleess ccaann
ssuucccceessssffuullllyy sseelleecctt hhiiss oowwnn
mmeetthhoodd””
RRaallpphh WWaallddoo EEmmeerrssoonn
TThhee ggrreeaatteesstt rrooaaddbblloocckk iinn
ssoollvviinngg aa pprroobblleemm iiss tthhee
hhuummaann mmiinndd!!
GGaabbee aanndd PPaauull BBrroowwnn::
NNDD RRaanncchheerr
WWhhaatt HHaavvee WWEE LLeeaarrnneedd IInn 7799 YYeeaarrss??
Timpas, Colorado, Jan 12, 2014
April 14, 1935
4
December 19, 2012
Texas Panhandle
23 Vehicles in Chain Reaction 
Crashes
NNaattiioonnaall aanndd GGlloobbaall CCoonntteexxtt::
• Map created by Philippe Rekacewicz, UNEP/GRID-Arendaland presented in the Atlas of desertification in the world, Second edition, Arnold Publishers,
London, 1997.
KKeeeepp rreeaapp ttiinngg tthhee ssaammee
mmiissttaakkeess……hhooppiinngg ffoorr ddiiffffeerreenntt rreessuullttss
“For each federal dollar spend in the
name of conservation during the past
dozen years the United States has a
had a return about 10 cents in actual
reduction of and fertility losses” Why?:
1) Our soil mining attitude
2) Program Handouts…attack
the problem with prices and
incomes..
Milton S. Eisenhower, President KSU
1948, Article in the Country Gentleman
Reduce
Chemical,
Biological, and
Physical
Stress
Integrate
Diversity Of
Cover The
Animals
Soil
Context:
Know Your
Social
Ecological
Grow a
Synergize with
Living Root
Diversity: Crop
24/7
Rotations and
Cover Crops
Chronic Physical,Chemical,and Biological
Stress: diminishes ecosystem processes
Effective
Not effective
W C W
Antifragile Fragile
A A A C
T R T A
Runoff
E B E R
R O R B
N O
n
I
n
f
i
l
Plant root t
r
a
t
i
o
n
Personal Knowing versus 
Information Knowing
This soil is naked, hungry, thirsty and running a fever!
Ray Archuleta 2007