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Rethinking Agriculture
Monday 6th August 2018
"The big dry" by Peter Hannam and Jessica Irvine(4.8.18) shows a sensitivity to distressed farming communities which is very welcome. They say "now is not the time to challenge" government schemes to help farmers, while signalling that these do encourage overstocking.
However, surely now is the time to canvas how future and much greater farm subsidies could be tied to new farming techniques with long term survival in mind.
Paul Hawken, in his Australian tour, said that climate change is not telling us "game over" but inspiring us to accept the challenge; "Game on!"
In "Drawdown" his top techniques which can be practised on the farm are: silvopasture, soil regeneration, pasture cropping. For those who think we are justified in flogging the land to feed the billions, he reminds rich world consumers that reducing food waste and eating a plant rich diet has the greatest drawdown potential.
In the context of the present drought NSW has seen an 800% increase in land clearing over the last three years as protective laws have been dismantled. We cannot go on this way dehydrating and denaturing the land while quoting Dorothea and saying it has always been this way.
It is a collective problem and I ask SMH/ The Age to send Peter and Jessica out to report on the solutions already being pioneered in Australia. City people need to keep the country in mind after the last bales of hay and tanks of water have been delivered.
Vivien Langford
BZE podcaster "Rethinking Agriculture."
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Monday 6th August 2018
"The big dry" by Peter Hannam and Jessica Irvine(4.8.18) shows a sensitivity to distressed farming communities which is very welcome. They say "now is not the time to challenge" government schemes to help farmers, while signalling that these do encourage overstocking.
However, surely now is the time to canvas how future and much greater farm subsidies could be tied to new farming techniques with long term survival in mind.
Paul Hawken, in his Australian tour, said that climate change is not telling us "game over" but inspiring us to accept the challenge; "Game on!"
In "Drawdown" his top techniques which can be practised on the farm are: silvopasture, soil regeneration, pasture cropping. For those who think we are justified in flogging the land to feed the billions, he reminds rich world consumers that reducing food waste and eating a plant rich diet has the greatest drawdown potential.
In the context of the present drought NSW has seen an 800% increase in land clearing over the last three years as protective laws have been dismantled. We cannot go on this way dehydrating and denaturing the land while quoting Dorothea and saying it has always been this way.
It is a collective problem and I ask SMH/ The Age to send Peter and Jessica out to report on the solutions already being pioneered in Australia. City people need to keep the country in mind after the last bales of hay and tanks of water have been delivered.
Vivien Langford
BZE podcaster "Rethinking Agriculture."