Soil health is vitally important,...
because if the soil in the environment is deficient and toxic, then we can expect the same of the food, that it's going to be missing vital nutrients. And if that be the case, then by eating that food, we can assume that we aren't going to get a lot of nutritional benefit.
It turns out, that the food that we are eating today has very little nutrition compared to foods that were grown only a few decades ago.
Growers who are concerned for soil quality in the US say that if things don't get better soon, that we could expect to see another Dust Bowl situation arise in the years to come.
Investigating The Quality...
Back in 2004, researchers from Texas sought to investigate how much might have changed over the years as far as the nutrition content for vegetables and other crops grown in the country.
They looked at the nutritional data for more than 40 different vegetables and fruits, between the years of 1950-1999. They found that there were notable declines in iron, protein, calcium, vitamin B2, vitamin C, and phosphorus.
The researchers at the time had concluded that the reason these circumstances came about was because farmers were paying too much attention to the traits of their crops, as opposed to focusing on the nutrition. Meaning, they were more focused on pest resistance, size of the crops, and growth rate.
The fingers have been pointed in many directions as to what's to blame for the poor soil quality in various regions.
Some researchers have also investigated the effects of heavy metals and their contribution to soil contamination and they unsurprisingly discovered that heavy metals have a negative effect on the crop.
They recommend that people try to avoid eating large quantities of foods that are being grown in such an area, that might be coming from a region with contaminated soil. They have previously warned that it could promote excessive accumulation of heavy metals in your body.
The concern for soil quality has prompted a number of farmers to consider going organic.
Many farmers today are looking for new advice and information on what could help them to develop the best soil health building practices for their growing operation. Thankfully, the technology we have today provides them with many options as far as educational resources and ways to network with others.
Farmers from around the world are able to network with each other today and can share their different farming tips and secrets, techniques from different cultures, helpful knowledge that might be able to assist other farmers in boosting the quality of their crops and farm.
Some of the tips that have been shared for trying to address the issue, such as opting for organic growing methods, or trying to reduce the reliance on fertilizers and pesticides, or using rotational grazing practices. There's also been growing popularity for no-till farming.
The same problems that farmers face in the US, we see farmers also facing in other places around the world. And this is why there could be tremendous benefit if growers work together in order to share their expertise.
Researchers in the Netherlands have been busy working on an app that is going to allow farmers to be able to compare their soil quality by using their smartphone.
Those who use the app will be able to post the soil data to the cloud and share details with other farmers on what they are doing to try and improve conditions of their fields. Researchers believe that farmers from around the world might be able to learn from one another, different and helpful tips on how to grow better. And it's not the only app on the market that's been created to try and help growers network with one another in an effort to boost the quality and results of their farming experience.
Pics:
Pixabay
wikipedia
giphy
pixabay
pixabay
Sources:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/soil-depletion-and-nutrition-loss/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/only-60-years-of-farming-left-if-soil-degradation-continues/
https://dev.thedailystar.net/city/soil-not-healthy-1529980
https://www.farmanddairy.com/news/ohio-grazing-conference-focuses-on-soil-health/467467.html
http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=434769
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09064710.2017.1401113
http://nationalpost.com/life/food/grass-fed-beef-is-growing-in-popularity-but-can-it-survive-less-nutritious-grass
https://www.agweek.com/business/agriculture/4405028-soil-health-minute-soil-health-panel-northern-corn-and-soybean-expo
http://blackburnnews.com/chatham/chatham-news/2018/02/16/soil-health-conference-attendance-overflows/
https://horizon-magazine.eu/article/cultural-cross-fertilisation-rescue-soils_en.html
https://civileats.com/2018/02/13/no-till-farmers-push-for-healthy-soils-ignites-a-movement-in-the-plains/
http://www.hpj.com/ag_news/patience-belief-and-passion-needed-for-soil-health-journey/article_7aaf9234-0d09-11e8-8a66-efdbbe4c8930.html
Related Posts:
New Startup Enables Farmers To Sell Their Goods Direct To Consumers
Hydroponics: New Life To An Old Way Of Growing
https://steemit.com/market/@doitvoluntarily/hydroponics-new-life-to-an-old-way-of-growing
A New Tool That Might Help Farmers Save Their Crops
https://steemit.com/farming/@doitvoluntarily/a-new-tool-that-might-help-farmers-save-their-crops
Hello my friend.
I am just going to say without shock to you...
In the areas where water needs to be supplemented from a source, other than rain...
A lot of toxins and fluoride and heavy metals etc are in this, as we know so that fits in line with your article
Do not get me started on the garbage in the air and chemtrails, mixed with the rain cycles either that "water" humanity and food sources.
Have a good week, hope you see my reply.
Be well man.
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you got that right, it's a mess ain't it?, thanks for taking the time to stop by 👌😄
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I am currently looking at setting up an aquaponic system - but still in the stages of research because of soil degradation...
One Love
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right on! 👌😄
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:D
haha - living on a farm certainly has its perks 😄
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A great resource for soil health rejuvenation is a man named Gabe Brown. He uses zero-till high diversity plantings, and large heard mob grazing to build amazing soils at high rates with little rainfall. There are a bunch of videos on you tube that feature his seminars.
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thanks for sharing that for anyone else interested as well, cheers 😄👌👍
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Thank you so much for raising awareness around this urgent issue. Humans have largely forgotten how to take care of the soil. We must let the soil rest and feed it if it will feed us. We cannot abuse it with chemicals and the heavy weight of machines which destroys microbial populations and compacts the soil and kills all life. We've resteemed this to our earth-centered curation page, Steemit's home for raising awareness around earth-centered knowledge and practical skills. Thanks again!
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Sad truth. Luckily more and more farmers are making the switch to organic and sustainable farming. If we all keep opting for organic and local than more farmers will make the swap and hopefully with that the nutrients will return to the soil and our food chain.
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vote with the dollars! 👍👍
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healthy soil us important for healthy life i got your point thanks for shearing with all of us.
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this is so important and is an issue SO close to my own heart. i grew up in indiana, the midwest of the USA, where so much of the soil is being depleted due to harmful herbicides, pesticides and lack of giving back to the soil. Going organic, no till and adding in fungi and other microorganisms through compost, compost tea, mulch and giving it a rest are the only options. thanks for raising awareness around this very important issue <3!!!
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thank you 😄 thx for checking it out 👍
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Monocultures are to blame for this poor soil quality. We have lost the art of crop rotation in favor of the same high yielding crops.
Permaculture is still the best way forward.
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A serious concern that I was not aware of. We buy fruits and vegetables weekly and that’s not good that they contain less and less nutrients as time goes on.
A soil quality app could be rather useful. It could be used to generate trends and mark areas with nutrient rich soil...similar to how gold miners drill holes to test for soil rich in gold deposits.
Informative post, thanks for sharing.
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your post really omportant of life back to the.this is s good tropic of farmers improvement condition of their field.if we are together try to doing this problem solution failing it possible.this is a good thought of you.i respect your thought.thank u very much for your good post. @doitvoluntarily
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Like they say “old is good” everything now either has chemicals or other things involved in it . This also causes us humans to live less because nothing can be really “natural” .
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100% agree with you.
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Hi doitvoluntarily. This is very alarming as I like to eat fruits such as mangos, oranges, apples and grapes and I found out that they had less nutrition than before. Thanks for this educational article to bring awareness. Upvoted!
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It would be ideal that the producers from all over the world could have a meeting where they can raise and share their experiences in these issues, there are many reasons why the soil loses its nutrients,
The fields are no longer sown according to the producer's knowledge, now the fields are sown according to the profitability of the grain, and there are places that certain grains can not be planted.
In Argentina all the producers are planted with soybeans and not all fields are suitable for this grain. Probocando great damage to the ground
Excellent information dear friend @doitvoluntarily
I wish you a prosperous week
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same to you @jlufer ! thank you 😄
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This article is very useful for me and farmers all over the world. This article has opened up my insights as a farmer. Thank you very much for your knowledge @doitvoluntarily.
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The pesticides, especially glyphosate kills the natural bacteria in the soils. Round up was patented as an antibiotic... No good bacteria in the soil means no nutrient content for the plants to up take.
We will see a dramatic soil collapse in North America due to all the toxins we have spread all over the farmland.
Great post!
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There was a time when I was very much into nutrition and I always heard that our soil is not what it used to be. You used to be able to get a ton of nutrients from the soil so that the potatoes and corn you pulled out of the ground would already be rich in nutrients just from the dirt.
In this way vegetarians were able to actually get the B vitamins that they need. Nowadays they have to take pills in order to get those vitamins and that's most likely because the soil is not rich in nutrients anymore.
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Another trend I have seen cropping up is the use of chemical preservatives to elongate the shelf life of crops, for instance soaking vegetables in chlorine to extend their life by a day or two especially if they are being transported over long distance or the use of chambers with low oxygen to slow down a fruits ripening process.
Technology can help reduce some of these issues, a farmer can only harvest when there is need from a customer, and a customer can get directly from a farm whatever they need, when they need it.
Thank you for the articles, full of information and well researched. SteemOn!
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thanks for your feedback and for checking out the post 👍😄
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This is such an important issue, thank you for such a well written article on the subject @doitvoluntarily. I have noticed many farmers back where I come from in the UK using cover crops that are then grazed by herds of sheep. Not sure if they till afterwards but it's a great sign from a county that was one of the worst for ripping out hedges. @h-perkins wrote a brilliant article recently about the benefits of using seaweed for garden plots https://steemit.com/homestead/@h-perkins/free-garden-fertiliser-collecting-seaweed
Not so applicable on the agri-business scale but still really handy for us homesteaders and smallholders
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Thanks for the write-up. This same problem was discussed frequently by James C. Scott in his book Seeing Like A State. He ascribed soil depletion to narrow-minded optimization techniques that sought to maximize one or two variables (eg. yield per acre.)
Turns out that the purportedly disorganized Third World farmers who farmed the old-fashioned way (eg. multicrop) were better maintainers of the soil than the purportedly efficient factory-style farmers.
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it's amazing what technology can do. Who would even think of an app to analyze soil data???
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Amazing...please vote @hazard87
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I mean is the most respectable work of the work in the concept of food production.But a farmer do not got enough for country arrangement.Otherwise a business man get.
But we always try to respect this work.And i do it
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Its the foundation the soil where the roots grow!!! The local carrots are insane with flavor compared to the organic bulk carrots that are grown with minimal nutrients and depleted soil!
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a great post! thanks..
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Great article. i'm starting my own garden. (professional activity), i feel really concern about my soil. I'm working to improve it. I really appreciate this article. :)
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Great information about soil, thank you @doitvoluntarily.
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good nwes
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you work hard, to grow food from soil,
and your farming is awesome,
keep farming, and keeping writing
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Afforestation and Refforestation is totally the hope of humanity in creating a more stable and less harmful ecosystem
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Really fertile land comrades produce fertile and nutritious plants for health.
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Go #organic, go #highbrix! Cure the soil, cure the environment!
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we must see how we advance with technology, although I am sincere before the quality was better than the one of now greetings
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Best post
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Thank you for sharing this. It's an issue I care very much about. Wouldn't it be nice if produce came with labels of origin and what chemicals have been used?
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Very nice pic .showing hard labour of farmer .
Really soil health is vitally important . Thanks for share . Have a good day.
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nice post brother 🤗🤗 @doitvoluntarily
please upvote back brother..
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woi is very beautiful. i hope you can vote me and I invite you to vote me!! Awesome upvote?
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