October 07, 2005
Sod busters
I have been reading the High Country News, a "nonprofit media organization whose mission is to inform and inspire people to act on behalf of the West's land, air, water and inhabitants." The August 02, 2004 edition has a thought provoking feature article in entitled "The Greening of the Praire." Based on the story of Harold Miller and his wife, dry land farming on the edge of the praries near Harlem, MT the article raises some fundamental questions about what is Green.
The Millers began their farm as newlyweds, in 1998, with the help of a low-interest, beginning-farmer loan, and they’ve kept it going with relatively modest federal subsidies totaling about $48,000 in the first five years. They hope to give the farm to their daughters when they retire, or perhaps sell it to another young farm family. They would like to help stanch the flow of young people away from this remote region.During the last few droughty years, Harold Miller recalls looking south toward the Bear Paw Mountains and seeing clouds of soil fly from conventional farms. "It reminded me of the Dust Bowl," he says. "But my land wouldn’t blow. That’s one of my biggest goals, to keep the soil there."
Yet, despite their good stewardship, the Millers’ farm comes with an ecological cost. To plant their organic crops, they could have converted conventional farmland, but that would have been expensive and time-consuming, requiring at least three years for farm-chemical residues to subside and for the soil’s fertility to recover. So instead, the Millers plowed up native prairie.
While the Miller's results might be considered "Green" their methods, plowing under more native prarie, drew strong criticism from environmental organizations.
For me, the main point was that there is a stong need for local action, cooperation rather than confrontation. The full text is available here without a login (though they ask you to register.)
How should a rural green approach this? Click the comments box below and tell us.
Posted by Wes at 05:22 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack