Protecting our soil with perennials: national acreage goals 7/4/2018 Protecting our soil with perennials: national acreage goals www.landinstitute.org Little over 150 years ago there were more than 1 million square kilometers of tall-grass prairie in the US and nearly Hans Jenny estimated. By 1935 only about 90% remained. Today only 1-2% remains. Wes Jackson, President of The Land Institute, earned a B.A. in biology from Kansas Wesleyan, an M.A. in botany from University of Kansas, and a Ph.D. in genetics from North Carolina State University. He established and served as chair of one of the country's first environmental studies programs at California State University-Sacramento and then returned to his native Kansas to found The Land Institute in 1976. He is the author of several books including New Roots for Agriculture and Becoming Native to This Place and is widely recognized as a leader in the international movement for a more sustainable agriculture. He was a 1990 Pew Conservation Scholar, in 1992 became a MacArthur Fellow, and in 2000 received the Right Livelihood Award (called the "alternative Nobel prize").Life magazine named Wes Jackson as one of 18 individuals it predicts will be among the 100 "important Americans of the 20th century." In November 2005, Smithsonian called him one of "35 Who Made a Difference." Wes Jackson, President, The Land Institute, Salina, Kansas ESA Symposium_Albuquerque-Aug09

Five-year farm bills address: Exports Commodities Subsidies Some soil conservation measures Food programs

A 50-Year Farm Bill would be a program using 5-year farm bills as mileposts, adding larger, more sustainable end goals to existing programs

50-Year Farm Bill Protect soil from erosion Cut fossil fuel dependence to zero Sequester carbon Reduce toxics in soil and water Manage nitrogen carefully Reduce dead zones Cut wasteful water use Preserve or rebuild farm communities

Five-year farm bills: Exports Commodities Subsidies Some soil conservation measures Food programs 50-Year Farm Bill: Protect soil from erosion Cut fossil fuel dependence to zero Sequester carbon Reduce toxics in soil and water Manage nitrogen carefully Reduce dead zones Cut wasteful water use Preserve or rebuild farm communities

Erosion in Iowa Iowa cornfield, June 2008

Flint Hills Prairie Kansas Native Prairie, June 2008

7/4/2018 ESA Symposium_Albuquerque-Aug09

ESA Symposium_Albuquerque-Aug09 7/4/2018 Protecting our soil with perennials: national acreage goals Half a century of concerted investment in research, education and incentives to conserve soil with deep-rooted, long-lived perennial crops could increase the protected acreage from 20 to 80 percent.   Pastures and perennial forage crops area already available either in permanent stands or in rotations. We propose incentives which would maintain the present perennial acreage and increase perennials in rotations. When perennial grains become available, they will require no financial subsidy, since they would represent a compelling alternative. The chart projects what is possible if we assume that the following are achieved in the 5-year periods shown above. A, 2009 Hay or grazing operations will continue as they exist. Preparations for subsidy changes begin. B, 2014 Subsidies become incentive to substitute perennial grass in rotations for feed grain in meat, egg and milk production. C, 2019 The first perennial grain, Kernza™ (a wheat) will be farmer-ready for limited acreage. D, 2029 Educate farmers and consumers about new perennial grain crops. E, 2044 New perennial grain varieties will be ready for expanded geographical range. Also potential for grazing and hay. F, 2054 High-value annual crops are mainly grown on the least erodible fields as short rotations between perennial crops. ESA Symposium_Albuquerque-Aug09

7/4/2018 Changes in USDA program priorities to increase the productive lifespan of US cropland Estimates—changing over time as annual grains are replaced by perennial crops—of the remaining productive life of U.S. agriculture are shown on the left-hand axis. Colored areas and captions in italics refer to change in USDA priorities (right-hand axis) as the result of new policies in the next ten farm bills. ESA Symposium_Albuquerque-Aug09

7/4/2018 Conclusion: Production at the expense of conservation OR Conservation at the expense of production. ESA Symposium_Albuquerque-Aug09

Erosion in Iowa Iowa cornfield, June 2008

Conservation as the consequence of production is possible Conclusion: Conservation as the consequence of production is possible

Flint Hills Prairie Kansas Native Prairie, June 2008

THE LAND INSTITUTE SALINA, KANSAS www.landinstitute.org 7/4/2018 ESA Symposium_Albuquerque-Aug09