Farms – Green Hill Report

Washington (Gallant Gold Media Hill Report | Analysis | July 27, 2019)
by Noreen Wise

Farmers have a vested interest in cutting carbon emissions at breakneck speed, and are currently striving to make that happen.

The United States has experienced several intense droughts, spanning entire decades, that have uprooted entire communities, leaving ghost towns in their wake. The most recent drought plagued devastation was across the great plains in the 1930’s, termed the “Great Dust Bowl.” This heart wrenching era altered America’s DNA forever:

There were only 127 million American at the time
100 million acres were impacted, with no farming for ten years
2.5 million Americans had to relocate hundreds of miles away… 300,000 relocated to California
2 million became homeless
6,500 people died in one year, and it’s expected that each of the ten years was similar
Generally, food prices go up sharply during droughts unless the government can step in with aid

If carbon emissions continue to rise unchecked, the United States will face the existential threat of extreme droughts in the not so distant future. Farmers can look to the past, to guide them into quick action today and prevent the horrors of the past. It’s an epic opportunity.

Further, farms are major carbon emitters. If the agriculture industry can swiftly shift into new technology and updated methods, by moving away from fossil fuels, the world will be rewarded with strategic benefits at a critical, planet-saving turning point in our fight against carbon emissions.

5 Simple Changes farmers can make today, to prevent future annihilation tomorrow.

(1) Wind turbines & solar panels are ideal on farmland. Wind turbines can be installed in the same fields as the crops. The elevation enables the same quantity of crops to be grown below. The farmer is benefited by a duo harvest, energy and crops, substantially increasing the revenue generated from the same acres. Many farmers have begun placing solar panels on acres laying fallow for a year to regain nutrients, resulting in all land generating income all the time.

(2) Rethinking irrigation. Current irrigation methods use extensive amounts of fuel, and water. The new green methods will conserve water as well requires less energy, and preferably no fossil fuels at all.

(3) Soil health to increase carbon sequestration. Carbon is pulled from the air and stored in soil and water. In fact, soil stores 40% of the carbon. Soil can store more carbon if the carbon has more to feed on. Farmers are being advised to treat the soil with special compost, and planting cover crops that foster more bacteria and fungi and bacteria, as well as protozoa, etc.

(4) Increasing the amount of green on a farm by planting trees, and shrubs, forest vegetation and hedgerows. The increased green will store more carbon, further reducing the amount in the air.

(5) Managing cattle to a new higher green standard, with an awareness that cows are responsible for 15% of the global carbon level. Manure lagoons are a major culprit as well as anaerobic decomposition.