Soil erosion

Illusions of Sustainability:  Organic Believers Speak Out

By Dennis T. Avery, Hudson Institute

Friday, September 21, 2007

"I read a piece by Dennis Avery in today's Minneapolis Star. Dennis expressed concern that 'organic farms may have concentrated themselves on steep hilly land that is prone to mudslides.'  (Organic Farms Suffering Mudslides) I have visited many farmers in the Upper Midwest and I can say without reservation that this assertion is incorrect. Their losses are not due to mudslides but to an incredible amount of rain that caused flash flooding over the entire region."  (Rick, Minneapolis)   

Unfortunately, Rick, 28 counties in your region are famous for mudslides, massive soil erosion and Black Blizzard dust clouds. The Upper Mississippi Loess Hills are unstable leftovers from the last Ice Age. During the Dust Bowl, they suffered 15 times as much erosion as they do today. Without careful farming they could start eroding again, triggered by an erosion event like last month's "thousand-year" rain.  

Organic farmers refuse to use no-till farming, and this is nearly criminal in the Loess Hills. Dr. Stanley  Trimble, America's top soil erosion expert, says Loess Hills farmers cut their erosion by 95 percent after the Dust Bowl, using contour planting, more crop rotations, fencing off woodlots—and more recently, low-till farming.

"Dennis:  to use a natural event such as an extreme rainfall to discount a type of farmer and farming system is beneath a respectful individual. Do you not think that no-till farmers in SE MN . . .  experienced the same tragedy as the organic growers?" (Tim, Minnesota)

Actually, Tim, they didn't, and that's the whole point I'm trying to make. Dr. Trimble made an emergency trip to the Loess Hills after the recent flood event, because the extreme storms are what start the erosion process, and advance it most rapidly. He found NO evidence of sediment movement in the no-till fields, even on steep slopes. He found massive evidence of erosion in the conventional fields. He didn't visit organic farms, but if Minnesota Extension is reporting widespread mudslides and soil erosion, that's a bad sign for farmers rejecting no-till.   

Dr. Steven Green of Arkansas State University led a recent study that severely tested no-till for erosion against both organic and conventional farmers. The no-till allowed one-fifth as much erosion as either of the other systems. The no-till advantage is especially great in heavy rainstorms.

During this weather event, organic farming simply wasn't as soil-safe as no-till, and only 30% better than obsolete chisel tillage (still used by many organic farmers.) All the talk about organic farmers creating better soil health didn't make any difference to those raindrops.

 "Organic farms use cover crops and compost to nurture the soils, and try not to expose them to erosion."  (Paul, Illinois) 

The no-tillers create a zillion tiny dams in the soil surface with their crop residues. Water infiltration can double, while soil erosion is reduced by more than 90 percent. I thought organic was supposed to be more sustainable, not less.

"Your commentary falls on outraged ears. I will quietly and urgently work to counter you misinformation in my communities . . . ADM, ConAgra, Monsanto:  These corporations are Enemies of liberty. (Jon, Harmony Valley contributor)

 "Enemies of liberty"? None of those companies can force you to buy or do anything.

DENNIS T. AVERY was a senior policy analyst for the U.S. State Department, where he won the National Intelligence Medal of Achievement.  He is the co-author, with atmospheric physicist Fred Singer, of the book Unstoppable Global Warming—Every 1500 Years, available from Rowman & Littlefield.  Readers may write him at the Center for Global Food Issues (www.cgfi.org) Post Office Box 202, Churchville, VA 24421. Dennis can be reached at: letters@canadafreepress.com Opinion 2007 2006