RODALE INSTITUTE. A Journey Into Our Food System: Looking Beyond Short-Term Yields To A Regenerative/Organic System. Jeff Moyer Executive Director

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1 RODALE INSTITUTE A Journey Into Our Food System: Looking Beyond Short-Term Yields To A Regenerative/Organic System Jeff Moyer Executive Director

2 Healthy Soil = Healthy Food = Healthy People Written on a blackboard in 1942 J.I. Rodale Robert Rodale

3 Soil The Essence Of Life

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5 US Erosion in the Gulf of Mexico 2008 Soil From Iowa in the Gulf of Mexico Over 2 million acres lost 20 tons or more of top soil

6 Soil Loss Half of the topsoil on the planet has been lost in the last 150 years. Nationwide, the U.S. lost 1.7 billion tons to erosion. Spread this soil out to a depth of one inch, the amount of soil lost during this period would cover the states of Massachusetts and Vermont and fill more than 15.6 million railroad cars. States experiencing the largest total soil losses in 2010 were (in tons): 1. Texas 225,044, Iowa 146,768, Minnesota 140,241, North Dakota 132,950, Kansas 101,618,510

7 Our Broken Food System When Only Yields Are Considered

8 Effects of a Broken Food System April 12 th 2011

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10 Elizabeth Guillette, PhD; University of Florida

11 And Then 50 % The Food We Produce Is Wasted

12 Childhood Obesity is Epidemic High Yields of What?

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14 The global market for organic products reached $72 billion in 2013, according to U.K.-based, market research firm Organic Monitor. The United States is the world s largest organic market with 2013 sales of $28 billion, an 11.5 percent increase. Germany is second with $8.6 billion in sales and France is third with $5 billion in sales. Organic Monitor said 2013 official market data was for the first time ever published for China $2.7 billion, making it the world's fourth largest organic market. The highest per capita spending on organics in the world was in Switzerland at $ and Denmark at $ The U.S. spend ranked eighth at $ T he global average spend on organics is just about $10.

15 So could we make do without the chemical plants? Inspired by a field trip to a nearby organic farm where the farmer reported that he raised an amazing 27 tons of vegetables on six-tenths of a hectare in a relatively short growing season, a team of scientists from the University of Michigan tried to estimate how much food could be raised following a global shift to organic farming. The team combed through the literature for any and all studies comparing crop yields on organic farms with those on nonorganic farms. Based on 293 examples, they assumed that every farm regardless of location would get only the lower developed-country yields. The second applied the yield ratio for the developed world to wealthy nations and the yield ratio for the developing world to those countries. "We were all surprised by what we found," said Catherine Badgley, a Michigan paleoecologist who was one of the lead researchers. The first model yielded 2,641 kilocalories ("calories") per person per day, just under the world's current production of 2,786 calories but significantly higher than the average caloric requirement for a healthy person of between 2,200 and 2,500. The second model yielded 4,381 calories per person per day, 75 percent greater than current availability-and a quantity that could theoretically sustain a much larger human population than is currently supported on the world's farmland. (It also laid to rest another concern about organic agriculture; see sidebar at left.)

16 EPA survey data available, U.S. pesticide amount used in both 2006 and 2007 exceeded 1.1 billion pounds annually U.S. pesticide expenditures totaled more than $11 billion annually in both 2006 and 2007

17 2015 International Year of Soil The multiple roles of soils often go unnoticed. Soils don t have a voice, and few people speak out for them. They are our silent ally in food production. To achieve our food security and nutrition goals, to fight climate change and to ensure overall sustainable development. Host at least one quarter of the world s biodiversity, key in the carbon cycle, help us to mitigate and adapt to climate change, and play a role in water management and in improving resilience to floods and droughts. - José Graziano da Silva, UNFAO Director-General

18 The Carbon Problem M C 20 inches 50 mm 10 inches 25 mm FST - Growing topsoil in decades rather than centuries.

19 What does Solving the Carbon Problem do? Ø Mitigates climate change while helping crops thrive under climatic uncertainty. Ø Increases\Improves: 1. biological activity growth and diversity of microflora 2. water infiltration, holding capacity, quality, and efficiency of use 3. soil tilth and structure 4. natural fertility nutrient cycling and storage and capacity to handle manure 5. cation and anion exchange capacity 6. adsorption of pesticides Ø Decreases\Reduces: 1. soil erosion 2. soil compaction 3. air pollution C Carbon is the hub, each spoke is an environmental benefit which adds strength and support to the wheel to maintain environmental quality. -Courtesy of Don Reicosky, ARS retired

20 The Brown Revolution Principles Regenerative Organic Agriculture 1. MINIMIZE SOIL DISTURBANCE reduce tillage; use cover crops, compost, and mulch; manage livestock Keeping not Adding Carbon Soil is the Heart of the System 2. ENERGIZE WITH DIVERSITY diversify and lengthen rotation; use cover crops and compost Adding and Diversifying Carbon 3. KEEP THE SOIL COVERED reduce tillage; retain residue; use cover crops, compost, and mulch Keeping, Adding, and Diversifying Carbon 4. MAXIMIZE LIVING ROOTS diversify and lengthen the rotation; use carefully chosen cover crops; manage livestock Adding, Keeping, and Diversifying Carbon 5. INSERT LIVESTOCK manage animals including insects for soil Adding, Keeping, and Diversifying Carbon

21 Interactive Carbon Economy Ø Plants trade carbon to fungi and bacteria Mycorrhizal fungi Rhizobium N fixation P-solubilization Aggregate formation Porosity Soil structure Ø Nematodes and Protozoa eat bacteria and fungi and release plant-available N Ø Microarthropods prep residues for bacteria

22 Water Use Efficiency Ø Porosity - 45% increase in porosity equals infiltration increase of 167% 25 mm (1 inch) and 650% 50 mm (2 inches) -Karlen et al., 1998 Ø Water holding capacity doubles when soil organic matter increases from 0.5-3% depending on soil texture Hudson, 1994 Conventional Organic Ø Water used for nutrition W.A. Albrecht, University of Missouri, 1950 s Unfertilized corn needed nearly 5 times the amount of water as the fertilized corn. Achieve efficient fertility biologically rather than chemically. Wheat fields at Rodale Institute s Farming Systems Trial after a rain event.

23 FST Corn During 1995 Drought Organic 134 bu/a 2.14 kg/ha Conventional 102 bu/a 1.62 kg/ha Water percolation volumes were 15-20% higher

24 And Discover New Solutions

25 Replace Chemistry & Bio-Technology

26 With Biology

27 Same Resources Different Philosophy

28 Production budgets for corn Organic Tilled vetch+ corn Organic No-till vetch+ corn Conv Tilled corn Conv No-till vetch+ corn Expenses fertilizer herbicide seeds custom haul labor fuel repair & maintenance interest on op.capital fixed expenses Total Expenses ($/acre) Profit ($/acre) 100 bu/a yield bu/a yield bu/a yield 1,340 1, Break-even price 100 bu/acre bu/acre bu/acre These production budgets were calculated using the free on-line Mississippi State Budget Generator (MSBG), developed by the Department of Agricultural Economics at Mississippi State University, ( When available, input and price data were taken directly from data collected at the Rodale Institute ( ), otherwise default values from the Budget Generator were used. * The 3-year average price for organic corn was $8.36/bu, for conventional corn $4.15/bu.

29 . Nature May 10;485(7397): Head Line Reads: overall, organic yields are typically lower than conventional yields. But Comparing the yields of organic and conventional agriculture Seufert V, Ramankutty N, Foley JA Department of Geography and Global Environmental and Climate Change Center, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H2T 3A3, Canada. Abstract Numerous reports have emphasized the need for major changes in the global food system: agriculture must meet the twin challenge of feeding a growing population, with rising demand for meat and high-calorie diets, while simultaneously minimizing its global environmental impacts. Organic farming a system aimed at producing food with minimal harm to ecosystems, animals or humans is often proposed as a solution. However, critics argue that organic agriculture may have lower yields and would therefore need more land to produce the same amount of food as conventional farms, resulting in more widespread deforestation and biodiversity loss, and thus undermining the environmental benefits of organic practices. Here we use a comprehensive meta-analysis to examine the relative yield performance of organic and conventional farming systems globally. Our analysis of available data shows that, overall, organic yields are typically lower than conventional yields. But these yield differences are highly contextual, depending on system and site characteristics, and range from 5% lower organic yields (rain-fed legumes and perennials on weak-acidic to weak-alkaline soils), 13% lower yields (when best organic practices are used), to 34% lower yields (when the conventional and organic systems are most comparable). Under certain conditions that is, with good management practices, particular crop types and growing conditions organic systems can thus nearly match conventional yields, whereas under others it at present cannot. To establish organic agriculture as an important tool in sustainable food production, the factors limiting organic yields need to be more fully understood, alongside assessments of the many social, environmental and economic benefits of organic farming systems.

30 Head Line Should Have Read: With very few research dollars, organic production nearly that of conventional! Private Sector $3.8 billion USDA Conventional $1.8 billion USDA Organic $15million (year 2000)

31 Head Line Reads: Stanford Scientists Cast Doubt on Advantages of Organic Meat and Produce By KENNETH CHANG Published: September 3, 2012

32 Head Line Could Have Read: Stanford Scientists Report: Two studies show significantly lower urinary pesticide levels among children consuming organic versus conventional diets The risk for contamination with detectable pesticide residues was lower among organic than conventional produce The risk for isolating bacteria resistant to antibiotics was higher in conventional than in organic chicken and pork

33 RODALE INSTITUTE Farming Systems Trial (FST)

34 Main cropping systems in FST Organic-manure based Tilled manure system No-till manure system (added in 2008) Organic-legume based Tilled legume system No-till legume system (added in 2008) Conventional-chemically based Tilled conventional system No-till conventional system (added in 2008)

35 Areas of research in FST Yields Soil health Water quality and quantity Energy analysis Economics

36 FST Soil Results organic conventional organic conventional Soils of the organic systems have a more active soil biological community à higher levels of glomalin (a glycoprotein that acts like glue, binding organic matter to mineral particles), à greater populations of mycorrhizae (a fungus that forms a symbiotic relationship with its host plant: the fungus receives carbohydrates from the plant, which in return gains access to water and nutrients). This leads to improved soil structure and enhanced carbon sequestration.

37 Energy budgets for corn Organic Tilled Organic No-till Conv Tilled Conv No-till vetch+ vetch+ vetch+ corn Energy inputs corn corn corn Nitrogen fertilizer 0 0 9,875 4,942 Phosphorus fertilizer Potassium fertilizer Lime Seed 2,559 2,559 1,182 2,468 Herbicide 0 0 1,055 1,509 Transportation of inputs Equipment Diesel fuel 5,359 3,046 2,725 2,201 Labor 1, Total energy (MJ/ha*yr) 10,150 7,283 17,372 13,429 This analysis was performed using the Farm Energy Analysis Tool (FEAT)3

38 Production budgets for corn Organic Tilled vetch+ corn Organic No-till vetch+ corn Conv Tilled corn Conv No-till vetch+ corn Expenses fertilizer herbicide seeds custom haul labor fuel repair & maintenance interest on op.capital fixed expenses Total Expenses ($/acre) Profit ($/acre) 100 bu/a yield bu/a yield bu/a yield 1,340 1, Break-even price 100 bu/acre bu/acre bu/acre These production budgets were calculated using the free on-line Mississippi State Budget Generator (MSBG), developed by the Department of Agricultural Economics at Mississippi State University, ( When available, input and price data were taken directly from data collected at the Rodale Institute ( ), otherwise default values from the Budget Generator were used. * The 3-year average price for organic corn was $8.36/bu, for conventional corn $4.15/bu.

39 FST Summary Over the 30 years of the trial, yields were the same between organic and conventional systems. Soil organic matter and soil structure improved in the organic systems while they stayed the same in the conventional system. Conventional systems used 45% more energy and production efficiency was 28% higher in the organic systems. The organic systems emitted 40% less GHG than the conventional systems. The organic systems were 3-4 times more profitable than the conventional systems.

40 Energy Required? Chemical Synthetic N Fertilizer The production of 1 kg (2.2lbs) of chemical N fertilizer, using the industrial Haber-Bosch process burns the equivalent of 1 L (1.05 Qt.) of oil and 17.6 cubic feet of natural gas, releasing a great deal of carbon and other greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere

41 Cover Crops 78% of our atmosphere is Nitrogen Tap root Root nodules housing Rhizobia bacteria

42 How Green Is My Orange? New York Times, Jan PEPSICO/ Tropicana

43 Carbon Footprint

44 Tillage has it s Drawbacks

45 Organic No-Till

46 Animals Belong On Farms Not In Feed Lots Not in Feed Lots

47 We Need To Meet The Challenges

48 There Is Great Hope Kentucky has 13 million acres of farm land Sources: 2012 Census of Agriculture and the 2012 National Resources Inventory Rodale Institute s CSA feeds 225 families on 6 acres Kentucky could feed 487,500,000 Families of (4) 1,950,000,000 people

49 Changing The Way People Think

50 How We Produce Food Does Make A Difference

51 Turn Public Support into Public Policy

52 While the farmer holds the title to the land, actually it belongs to all the people because civilization itself rests upon the soil. Thomas Jefferson

53 Thank You! Jeff Moyer