I hope all had a great growing season. I have had the opportunity to travel extensively across the eastern prairies over the last few months. Every where it has been dry. I continue to hear “it’s amazing how much I grew this year with so little moisture Right across the fence the cows are starving.” The power of putting biological capital back into the land to create resiliency showed up big time this year. Congratulate yourself on a great job and remember we can make it better yet. Keep thinking, changing and learning.
My favourite subject, as many of you know, is carbon sequestration. Recently I have been presently surprised by several reports which are recognizing the importance of soil as the solution. In a recent Democratic Party debate several of the candidates talked about soil and regenerative agriculture as the solution. This link will take you to a short article about regenerative agriculture with links to the democratic candidate’s comments.
The following are highlights taken from the recent report by the International Panel on Climate Change. The sad part is the media picks ONLY that plant-based diets are the answer to all our problems. Our good news story is getting through, but we have a way to go yet. The following synopsis was done by Kathy from "On Pastures”.
Balanced diets, featuring plant-based foods, such as those based on coarse grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, and animal-sourced food produced in resilient, sustainable and low-GHG emission systems, present major opportunities for adaptation and mitigation while generating significant co-benefits in terms of human health (high confidence*). " – B6.2 of the Summary for Policy Makers
"Practices that contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation in cropland include increasing soil organic matter, erosion control, improved fertiliser management, improved crop management, for example, paddy rice management, and use of varieties and genetic improvements for heat and drought tolerance. For livestock, options include better grazing land management, improved manure management, higher-quality feed, and use of breeds and genetic improvement. Different farming and pastoral systems can achieve reductions in the emissions intensity of livestock products. Depending on the farming and pastoral systems and level of development, reductions in the emissions intensity of livestock products may lead to absolute reductions in GHG emissions (medium confidence*). Many livestock related options can enhance the adaptive capacity of rural communities, in particular, of smallholders and pastoralists. Significant synergies exist between adaptation and mitigation, for example through sustainable land management approaches (high confidence*). {4.8, 5.3.3, 5.5.1, 5.6} – B6.1 of the Summary for Policy Makers
For a long time all we heard was cows were bad and they create environmental destruction and methane. It is encouraging to see the message is getting out that, systems that regenerate the soil need to have livestock to work. Keep up the good work in spreading our good news story. The message is getting through to some in high places. We can’t rest on our laurels yet but there is hope.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” ― Margaret Mead
Opportunity for contributors
One of the things you may have noticed is that this newsletter isn’t very regular. Not sure if its age or laziness on my part, but I do have trouble in getting motivated. Don Campbell has said many times that we are a movement not an organization. In a movement, when the need arises someone will step up.
What I am asking is, this is a shared responsibility. When Don retired, I agreed to take on the responsibility of the newsletter, on the proviso that others would help. So I am asking if you have a topic or have found a great article please forward and we will share it with all. I know a great many of you have many talents. Please consider stepping out and contributing to our movement. Personally I will continue to write but they will be infrequent.
