Young organic soybean plants growing in a cultivated field.
Credit: Stevanovicigor/Getty
Ben Hagenbuck calls himself a full-time banker and a part-time farmer. But working with his father and uncle on the family’s 1,100-acre corn and soybean farm in north-central Illinois has become much more than a hobby: Hagenbuch is part of a network of American farmers hoping to save the world. This is a grandiose goal to be sure, but it has its roots in science. Growing evidence points to chemically driven industrialized food production as a key culprit behind a broad range of both environmental and human health problems. To reverse the damage requires a focus on enriching soil health and perfecting farming practices that are free from synthetic chemicals. It’s not an easy undertaking, these farmers are finding. But it is urgent.
Fifty-year-old warnings by scientist and author Rachel Carson about how indiscriminate use of chemicals could decimate the natural world are playing out now in undeniable ways. Numerous scientific studies show that routine use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides is […]
One thing I did not see mentioned was the fact that heavy deep tilling kills worms. My grandfather always said that if you can stick your hand into the topsoil and pull up a handful of worms with the soil, then you have good soil. The chemical methods used also are a threat to the worms and worms are an essential part of a good organic soil for many reasons. They create air pockets in the soil which the roots need as well as leaving their castings which provide nutrients for the crops.