Is This The End Of Chemical Agriculture-? Epi- 453

See full show notes at Keith Snow.com

s This End Of Chemical Agriculture?

Since the mid-19th-century usage of NPK fertilizer has increased by over 800% up to 2019. This has allowed modern AG to produce a massive amount of food that is used for all sorts of products from cereal, non-dairy milk to fuel additives and beyond. The USA exports billions of tons of commodity foods each year to countries all over the globe.

“U.S. agricultural exports in fiscal year (FY) 2022 are projected at $175.5 billion, down $2.0 billion from the August forecast, but still a record if realized. This decrease is driven by reductions in oilseed and oilseed product exports that are partially offset by increases in livestock, poultry, dairy, cotton, and ethanol exports.”

— USDA

All this food production comes at a steep cost to farmers, the environment, and most importantly, this soil! Studies show that foods grown on American soil have steadily declined in nutritive value.

Vitamins, Minerals, and other components of basic foods (fruits, vegetables, grains) are less nutritious than they were decades ago. This is because modern agriculture used methods that destroy soil life, water infiltration, organic matter, photovoltaic capacity, etc.

The use of chemicals such as Glyphosate (Round Up), herbicides, pesticides, and other inputs are very harsh on soil and surrounding watersheds.

These methods only work when farmers can afford these costly inputs, they have been rising each year but in 2022 input costs are astounding. NPK cost is rising so fast it’s becoming untenable for farmers to plant crops, even with subsidies.

“Texas A&M economists found heading into spring planting, fertilizer prices are up 80% compared to 2021, and in some cases, farmers are seeing certain fertilizer prices more than double what they saw last year. But for the report, AFPC was conservative in its estimate, using a 50% increase in fertilizer costs. ”

— Ag Web

My point to this whole episode is many, small to medium-sized farmers will start to reject this whole system and decide to use Regenerative Agriculture instead of being controlled by “the system” and basically forced to continue injuring their land with this modern chemical-laden system.

I hope it happens, it will be painful, but if there is a will, there is a way!