Carbon-Smart Farming: Feb. 6, 2015

[David Yarrow]

Carbon-Smart Farming

Grow Nutrient-Dense Food, Feed & Fuel

with David Yarrow

Missouri Organic Farm Conference

Feb. 5-7, University Plaza Hotel, Springfield, MO

54 workshops, 70 vendors

Organic & Biological Farming: 

What’s It All About?

www.moaconference.org

Carbon-smart is climate-smart.  Science now confirms that soil can store much more carbon than is currently in Earth’s atmosphere.  Returning carbon to soil also restores sustainable soil fertility, supports soil microbes, boosts productivity.  Thus, farmers are the front line to sequester carbon and mitigate climate change.  Farmers know they must adapt to the changes in climate and weather.  

A new biological agriculture is emerging that balances soil minerals, boosts soil carbon, repopulates soil microbes.  These new methods reduce use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, save farmers money, curb nutrient leaching and greenhouse gas emissions, cut water use, increase water conservation, and can produce bioenergy and biofuels.  Best of all, “carbon-smart” farming makes it easy to grow high quality, nutrient-dense crops and foods.

morning

1)  Balancing Soil Minerals & Trace Elements

Geology becomes biology.  Minerals are the elemental foundation of soil fertility and biological energy.  Step one to regenerate soil is to balance to these essential elements — not just a few, but all necessary nutrients, in proper proportions.  Carbon, the most important element for life, is nature’s way to package and deliver the other nutrients. Carbon captures ions and electrons to charge your soil battery and deliver power to grow plants.  Thus, biochar and compost are key tools for sustainable soil fertility.  

early afternoon

2)  Microbes & Plants: The Liquid Carbon Pathway

Dirt is inert, but soil is alive.  Early in evolution, as lichen eating rocks, microbes and plants began intimate affairs to share nutrients and metabolites.  20th century farming ignored and suppressed this microbial community with unbalanced fertilizers, toxic chemicals, excess tillage, and monocultures.  21st century farming is probiotic.  It’s ultimate goal is to revive the Soil Food Web as cheap labor to maintain and sustain fully functional soil fertility.  Sunshine, plants and microbes can rapidly move carbon from atmosphere to ten feet and deeper in soil.  Farmers are stewards of this biotic community.

late afternoon

3)  Liquid Crystal Water: Energy, Order & Structure in Motion

Every body is a water body.  Water, the first ingredient for life, is a medium to capture and carry energy and nutrients.  Water’s gift to life is the ability to move and flow.  Water in living cells isn’t randomly chaotic, but a carefully structured “liquid crystal” vortex.  Microbes and plants grow best fed water imprinted with stable structure, charged with energy, loaded with nutrients.  Several newly emerging technologies teach us how to structure and energize water for immediate optimum use to hold and carry nutrients into living cells.

for a green & peaceful planet,

David Yarrow

dyar...@gmail.com

573-818-4148

www.dyarrow.org

http://dyarrow.blogspot.com