Speaking to a near full house last night, Wes Jackson, founder and president of the Land Institute in Kansas, spoke passionately about the current and historic practices of agriculture and their inherent destructiveness to one of our most precious resources, soil.

In a quote from the Land Institute’s website, Jackson explains the problem in a nutshell: “The world’s farms, heavily reliant on non-renewable resources, are turning out more food than ever in history. At the same time, agriculture unintentionally but tragically worsens the global ecological crisis. These two faces of agriculture—productivity and destructiveness—do not arise from the conscious decisions of fuel, fertilizer, or pesticide salespeople, or of farmers, government officials or grocery shoppers. They are inherent in the way humans have practiced agriculture for 10,000 years.”

Jackson says that all of nature’s ecosystems feature perennial plants growing in species mixtures and that they build soil. Agriculture reversed that process nearly everywhere by substituting annual monocultures. As a result, ecosystem services—including soil fertility—have been degraded.

He explained in great detail how the problem of modern agriculture contributes to the degradation of the “Ecosphere,” as he puts it. The issue at stake is that grains, which are annual plants and occupy the lion’s share of tilled land, are poor managers of soil and water. Frequent tillage, months of off-season exposure to wind and water, and shallow root systems of annual plants all contribute to significant soil erosion. The solution to this problem, according to Jackson, is perennial grains.

Although a great deal of attention is focused on sustainable farming devoted to vegetables/fruits, the majority of agricultural acreage is devoted to grains. “We talk a lot about sustainability but ignore grains,” Jackson said.

Jackson claims that perennials can out yield annuals while preserving the integrity of the soil and allowing more natural processes such as fire and grazing to manage the fields. He cites native prairie land as the ideal model for true sustainability.

He proposed a 50 year Farm Bill whereby a gradual systemic change in agriculture would take place with specific changes taking place over 10 5-year periods. Some features of the 50 year bill include cutting fossil fuel dependence to zero and reducing toxics in soil and water.

It was an eye-opening lecture and provided much food for thought on a subject that does not get the attention it deserves in current sustainability discussions. I hope that someone in our region will learn about perennial grain cropping and give it a try. Jackson buttered up the audience by telling us we were one of the hippest, smartest places around. Audience members responded by with chuckles and chortles, but I hope we live up to this praise and take him up on his challenge.