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Britain facing 'agricultural crisis' as scientists warn there are only 100 harvests left in our farm soil

Intense over-farming means there are only 100 harvests left in the soil of the UK’s countryside, a study has found.

With a growing population and the declining standard of British farmland, scientists warned that we are on course for an “agricultural crisis” unless dramatic action is taken.

Despite the traditional perception that there is a green and pleasant land outside the grey, barren landscape of our cities, researchers from the University of Sheffield found that on average urban plots of soil were richer in nutrients than many farms.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/ho ... 06353.html

No surprise to me, some of the fields I shot over in Kent looked just like the clay that came from the mixer in pottery classes. Smooth uniform colour, no weeds, just the occasional flint dragged up from the deep.

I have sources of manure from cows, horses, pigs and sheep which I will keep digging into the soil. Bocking14 comfrey pulls nutrients up from several metres down, I have only 24 plants at the moment but it can be increased via small root cuttings so I should be able to get thousands over the next few years.

I do wonder about the balance between deep ploughing to incorporate the manure and keeping existing soil structure intact, I reckon adding the manure is the best route right now, the soil will recover and hopefully when I'm too old to dig it will still be OK.

On a commercial scale there won't be enough animal manure to go around, processed sewage is already used, and I'll guess that woodland will be robbed of leaf litter. The ancient woods I owned in Kent had the most amazing soil, many feet of rich black soil that was at least 3 feet higher than the surrounding farmland. Conservation value will be ignored when the crops dry up.

If there's not enough food to go around people starve to death, just like animals in the wild.

Nature always wins in the end; better working with it than against it.

Rockdust also helps.

kenneal - lagger wrote:Rockdust also helps.

Depends what you mean by "helps"!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc1N0TFLg_c

Rock-dust discussed from 25.30, then on to forest mould...

Dr Elaine Ingham Live Teleseminar Q and A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNup_n7i7nw


http://www.soilfoodweb.com/

We must move away from ploughing and shift to perennial crops, amongst other things.

Keyline can help with conditioning.
http://permaculturenews.org/2013/02/22/ ... ltivation/

France Backs agroecology.

http://www.euractiv.com/sections/sustai ... nge-308680