Billion Dollar Drought, And An Out

by Natasha Chart · 2009-03-13 15:59:00 UTC
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Over the next two months, Texas' agricultural losses are expected to top $1 billion. Even a welcome spattering of rain came too late to save feed costs and failed crops.

California's third year of drought is expected to cost their agriculture sector $3 billion and 95,000 jobs in agriculture.

Along with European nations, Australia, Iraq, Kenya and a cast of millions around the world, US farmers are bearing the many costs of plant-killing droughts.

A drought is a shortage of water, less than expected. As climate shifts over the next century, today's droughts will become tomorrow's normal weather. Cashing in, the biotech industry and its spokespeople are claiming that new technology is needed, especially their patented, genetically engineered crops.

However, there's a cheaper, proven option for growers who can no longer (or never could) rely on plentiful irrigation water and good rainfall: ecological agriculture.

Soil conservation, mulching, cover crops, terracing, etc., these oldest school agricultural techniques, with support from today's researchers, can bring 'dead' land back to life and food security to communities without the resources to buy high tech seeds and chemicals. Some might say it's regressive, but people who lived hundreds or thousands of years ago did a few things right or we wouldn't be here.

It seems as silly to reflexively trash the past as to worship an ideal of its perfection, especially when we're in a situation where we need all the workable ideas we can get.

Natasha Chart
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