It has been a long time since I plowed a field. Plowing gave way to conservation tillage then no-til in my life time. Watching the Ken Burns/PBS documentary entitled "The Dust Bowl" has gottten me thinking alot about soil, tillage, and government. This blog post looks at the tillage part mostly.
Plows are massive and expensive
The teethe lift and shatter the soil
I recently plowed a field with what I call a chisel plow. the tool is designed to lift and shatter the soil more than turn it over in a effort to cover weeds and stalks. Vertical tillage is helpful because it minimizes the amout of "smearing" that occurs when steel is drug through a clay based soil. This smear stops the movement of air and water through the soil and in turn hurts the bioligic life that is important to the health of the soil. Think of what clay looks like on a potters wheel. The smear seals off the poors of the soil. That is not what I want to do.
Steel smears clay
the porous soil is what I like to see
What I want is a soil profile that is porous enough to allow air and moisture to move. Air and moisture promote the life of a soil, earth worms, bacteria, and all sorts of other things, not the least of which is root development. Roots are amazing things. You may have seen a tree growing on what looks like solid rock, just imaging what it can do in a porous soil.
stuck a straw completel through this worm hole in a clod
marked holes with straw sticks
Another disadvantage of the plow is the lose of "trash", old dead plant material on the surface of the field that protects the soil from erosion caused by wind, rain, and snow. This trash is a bank account full of nutrients for the coming years' crops. Plowing disturbs that flow of material back to the soil. A rain drop falls from the sky with alot more force than you might think. Something like 26,000 gallons equals a 1" rain on an acre. Think what that much wieght falling from way up in the sky does to the soil when it hits. Trash protects the soil from that impact just like an umbrella protects your head and turns the rain into a gentle water drip.
corn leaves alot of trash
beans leave some trash (notice the corn stalk from a year ago)
So why did I plow this field? Plowing destroys weeds, loosens the soil, and levels the surface. In my case I wanted to loosen and level. Weeds just aren't a reason to plow any more since modern herbicides can stop weed growth without the disadvantages of the plow. The photos don't show it well but this field had numerous channels left from where subsurface drainage tile had been installed two crops before. These channels were changing how water flowed across the surface during heavy rains, preventing it from reaching the grass waterway designed to handle those rain events, and restricted the ability of machinery to move easily across the field. Tillage became the option of last resort.
trench seen in taller stalks center running lower left to upper right
grass waterway upper center to center right and in previous picture
I hope this blog helps you understand just a little more about why I do what I do out on the farm.
I recently took some pictures of the neighbor putting lime on his field. The spreader truck that applies the lime is likely equiped with a GPS system that ties back to the soil test I described in my blog post "The Soil is Alive". Both these activities trace back to the teachings of the Soil and Water Conservation Districts that were birthed as a reaction to the Dust Bowl. A view of this history is documented in the PBS series "The Dust Bowl", produced by Ken Burns that aired recently. So much of modern agriculture reaches back to the Dust Bowl/depression generation which in affect said, "we want food to be abundant and cheap and sustainable so our kids don't have to go through this."
The process is kind of dusty, since the material (lime) arrives as a very fine powder. It is fine so that it will dissolve or interact with the soil in a timely fashion.
the lime arrives in semi-trucks, is dumped in piles in the field, then scooped up and loaded into the spreader truck by an industrial payloader. This loading takes only a couple minutes. My picture is taken as the very last scoop or two of a large pile is gathered and loaded. Lime is applied in tons per acre and a semi load will be about 24 tons. So a large field can require an impressive pile of lime.
Lime is used to control the molecular acidity of the soil. The acidity of a soil determines what plants will grow well. Soil acidity is a natural response to many environmental things. Rainfall, organic matter, drainage, macro-climate, etc. all impact the soil over time. Here are some helpful links written by experts that better explain the process. Cause and Effect of Soil Acidity and When and How to Apply Lime
This is just the tip of the iceberge of knowledge that I use daily in my stewardship of the land entrusted to me by God to protect, preserve, and sustain for the future.
One of the great responsibilities of a pig farmer is to protect the living organism which is his field. Did you realise that fields, dirt, is alive?
It really is.
Bacteria, worms, all manner of bugs, and other biologic things live in the soil. This is why, when you get a cut and it gets "dirty" you are given an antibiotic (biologic). A healthy field is teaming with healthy soil. So how do you keep a field healthy?
One basic step is the "soil test".
We (and most other farmers I know) test soils about every three years on my farm. As crops are removed a part of the soils fertility goes with it. As manure is spread on the field, in this case from the hog barn in the background, fertility is added back to the soil. The soil test is to see if those two things a in balance or not.
It can be back breaking work
The process starts after harvest with a man or women, a strong back, a big foot, and a soil core sampler.
The left overs from the crop just harvested contain nutrients that will decompose and become part of the soils nutrient profile as well. These left overs protect the soil from erosion during the winter and coming summer.
core samples are collected in GPS identified bags
These samples will be tested in a laboratory and a report produced that shows the soil conditions for each collection point. This information then is used to develop a plan for nutrient management for the next three year cycle.
Each bag has 5 cores from a GPS point to form an average at that point
You can start to see why a strong back is important. Each bag represents about 5 acres.
even this machine still gets tiresome getting in and out
The ATV is a gift from God to the people doing this work.
It is a combination of hard work and really smart soil scientist that help me manage all the nutrients of a field to keep it in excellent health. Here is an article that explains alot more about the really smart people that are working on this management issue http://ocj.com/2012/11/ohio-state-researcher-to-re-write-ohios-phosphorus-index-to-improve-water-quality/. This is an important part of how I fulfill my responsibility as a steward of the land for myself, my family, my neighbors, and the generations to come.
With the election behind us I can now turn my attention to the ins and outs of my responsibility as a farmer to use GMO seeds in a proper and approved way. Here is what came in the mail today.
From Monsanto comes this helpful educational literature.
TUG stands for Technology Use Guide and is 24 pages of topics on Insect Resistance Management, Integrated Pest Management, Weed management, Best practices, etc.
IRM is Insect Resistance Management. This is 18 pages of instruction on how to use GMO's in a way to perserve there usefulness by not creating an environment where the insects will adapt and become resistant.
The other two sheets are a cover letter and license to use technology and a quick reference card for in season use.
As a farmer, I try very hard to know and follow these management instructions because the technology is very helpful to me and I don't want to lose it through poor behavior.
When it comes to voting, and attitudes connected to voting, I can only speak for myself. I really don't know if others see these topics like I do or not. With that said I would like to share with you how voting happens where I live and vote (Clark County, Madison township (rural), Ohio). I suspect it could be quite different where you live. It would be fun to compare.
Location:
the first Presbyterian Church (behind a house used for church offices)
Our poling station is in The First Presbyterian Church on main street. Why a church? I really don't know. The "powers that be" have decided this in years past. It used to be at the elementary school library, then the Catholic meeting hall for years, now its at the First Presbyterian Church.
The door with no sill
Rumor has it that the church is used because it is one of the few buildings in town that is fully handicapped accessible. Meaning that our doorway doesn't have that little aluminum sill that so many doors have. Apparently, that sill restricted people's access to voting. Never mind that you can vote by mail from the comfort of your own home. But that is another topic.
The Funeral Home
It could be as simple as the Church parking lot is the largest paved and lighted lot in town. Or it could be the central location on Main Street between the funeral home and the AmVets hall, both of which "borrow" the lot for their big events. No one cares. Some church members are probably involved in any of those events anyway.
the Amvets hall
Location:
We vote down stairs in a basement classroom, this is new this year. We have always voted upstairs in a side section of the church sanctuary. I like the basement better. Santuaries are not really made for the contentious issues of voting.
stairs/chair lift to voting
Madison Twp rural to the left
We show our picture ID's, or a utility bill, etc. at our poling station. I don't know what happens this year since there has been such a commotion about this topic nationally. Doesn't mean much here. The election workers at the desk likely know who you are anyway. It might be a retired teacher you had in school, a coach, a local businessman, or whoever. The precinct is not so big. I voted at 9:30 A.M and was number 102. My daughter voted at noon and was number 207. Seems like turn out was very heavy. She had to wait in line for 15 minutes.
To get to the voting area you have to go past the "Election Day Salad Bar" that the church sponsors as a fundraiser for the "Womens Association". The Womens Association uses the funds for various projects around the church or community as seems reasonable to the ladies. The salad bar is one of the big reasons I don't see any reason to vote early. Why would I want to miss such a fine meal and social event? (A note to the novice: the food goes fast so get there before noon.)
big sign points to Salad bar little sign to polling station
not much store bought here
There was some excitement today, They ran out of pie! A first in the history of the salad bar. Some people shared, others went without since they had made two. One for the salad bar and one for the family. No one starved.
So that is how it is done where I live. There won't be any disturbances or heated discussions or polling place campaigning. That stuff would be rejected by everyone as pretty uncivil. You come. You vote. You eat with your neighbor. And you go home.
Trunk or Treat is one of the fun things we do in conjunction with our church each year. We take our farm's pig trailer, washed and sanitized, and decorate it for a Halloween themed fun house. This year's theme was Angry Birds.
some friends from Cedarville College helped out
there are typically several hundred trick or treaters that come to the event in two hours.
You can learn a lot about life at the farm. In my world that means I can learn alot about life from pigs. I spend hours watching and caring for pigs. Which means I have hours to think about life and how it all fits together.
Pioneers and Settlers
can you spot the difference?
Pigs naturally cluster in groups when they are resting and calm. They seem to take turns moving about as individuals. It doesn't take the group long to learn from the discoveries of the individual. The individual sounds an alarm, finds feed and water, checks the fences, attacks the weak, and fights the intruder. This has led me to an observation about people.
One observation is that there are two basic kinds of social activities. There are pioneers and there are settlers.
The pioneer is the individual that, to borrow a phrase from Star Trek, "Dares to go where no man has gone before". He is the curious one that is on the outer edge of the societal group. He is trying new things, getting into trouble, exploring, building, and in general is a restless soul that is internally motivated to seek out new things. Neil Armstrong with his "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" statement as he first stepped on the moon, exemplifies the pioneer spirit.
Neil Armstrong
Star Trek
Settlers are more numerous and follow behind the pioneers. Settlers move as groups. They organize groups into social structures that provide safety, focus, and purpose to the group. The Pilgrims seem to be a good example. They came to the Americas and set up a society that provided safety, focus, and purpose. They came as a group, lived and died as a group, and are forever known as a group ( The Pilgrims).
Mayflower Compact
A second observation is that both the pioneers and settlers have a very important role to play. Looking at pigs I learn that the lone pigs (the pioneers) will be the first to investigate and warn of danger. The pigs in groups (the settlers) are the safest and most comfortable.
some naturally investigate and others group together
What does this have to do with Republicans and Democrats?
I see Republicans as viewing the world first and foremost as pioneers. They celebrate the individual. They exalt in the freedom to explore, to investigate, to do new things. And they tend to live and die by their success or failings as individuals.
I see Democrats as viewing the world first and foremost as settlers. They celebrate the group. They see the value and strength of a group. They know that a group that stays together, best protects the individuals in the group.
I see both as necessary and equal. Not as one is right and one is wrong. Without Columbus (the pioneer) the Pilgrims (the settlers) would never have sailed. Both are needed and essential to a strong society.
To me this has been the great success of the constitutional republic known as the United States of America. We have a society that has exalted the individual (pioneers) enough to encourage and free them to go and explore, investigate, and do new things while at the same time recognizing that these activities are part of a larger group (settlers). The pioneers are constantly stretching and pulling against the organizational rules of the settlers and the settlers are constantly trying to come along behind and organize the new discoveries of the pioneers into safe communities and structures.
The great political debate of our time is, "Where is the proper balance of these two forces?" I spoke of the strength and usefulness of balanced forces in my earlier blog about bridges.
I realise this whole discussion is based off stereotypes and becomes very difficult immediately upon closer examination of individual people. The pioneers act like settlers and settlers act like pioneers. Republicans recognize the value of groups and Democrats the value of free exploration. For me at least, I am pulled internally first one direction then the other. I resort to the stereotypes to help view the issue from a general perspective.
When the president said, "If you have a business, you didn't build that, somebody else did..." or whatever the exact quote was. What happened? The pioneer in each of us jumped up and objected very stridently, pointing out that we had gone where no one else would go, had taken the risk, and overcome the troubles and challenges. The settler in each of us jumped up and cheered that someone would stand and represent the group's contribution to that effort in creating a stable and safe society.
President Obama: You didn't build that somebody else did
Neil Armstrong went to the moon individually, but he stood on the shoulders of a society to get there.
Both views seem valid to me. There is an issue of balance that must be found. Pioneers have a responsibility to live within and support the society established by the settlers. The settlers have a responsibility to create a society where the pioneers are encouraged and rewarded and can flourish.
All of this brings me to the question I have wrestled with in my understanding of the Christian view of the Church, "Does God deal with man as individuals or as groups?" or "Is God primarily righteous and just or primarily loving and gracious?" These forces are pulling against each other also. But that will have to wait for another day.
Maybe I have been spending too much time with my pigs? What do you think?
