Of course they could. This is our human future with the application of modernity. Understand that ignorance and poor tools really limited our capabilities in the past. In fact the effort was always to maximize a particular crop item in order to sell into an often distant cash market. There was no particular local demand to work with.
Now it is plausible to raise a crop and to properly package it as well and then deliver it to the end user even if we want. All managed by Uber. Now throw in robotic cars and free energy systems and our market reach is as far as we like.
future agriculture will naturally optimize land in three dimensions and involve as many humans and robots as needed. We have already turned the lettuce business into a seed conversion business in which a few short days produces a high nutrient baby lettuce to consume. I could do that hanging of my balcony. Twelve feet by three feet with three layers works out to be 108 square feet of production space.
That is enough to supply fifty people or so.
The real takehome is that it is all labor intensive and not land intensive. Thus planning multiple cultivars allows you to optimize your days.
Now it is plausible to raise a crop and to properly package it as well and then deliver it to the end user even if we want. All managed by Uber. Now throw in robotic cars and free energy systems and our market reach is as far as we like.
future agriculture will naturally optimize land in three dimensions and involve as many humans and robots as needed. We have already turned the lettuce business into a seed conversion business in which a few short days produces a high nutrient baby lettuce to consume. I could do that hanging of my balcony. Twelve feet by three feet with three layers works out to be 108 square feet of production space.
That is enough to supply fifty people or so.
The real takehome is that it is all labor intensive and not land intensive. Thus planning multiple cultivars allows you to optimize your days.
Could Farms Like This Change the World?
September 13, 2018
Organic Consumers Association
https://www.organicconsumers.org/blog/could-farms-change-world
Regeneration International and Kiss the Ground have teamed up to create a video series they call “Trails of Regeneration.” Their latest segment takes you to Normandy, France, for a closer look at a farm that has been highly successful over the last 12 years: Farm du Bec Hellouin.
By what yardstick do farmers Charles and Perrine Hervé-Gruyer measure the success of their farm business? For starters: yield.
Using regenerative practices, the husband-and-wife team says they can grow as much food on one-tenth of a hectare (one hectare equals about 2.3 acres) of land as neighboring farms grow on only one hectare of land! How? The organic farm, based on the principles of permaculture, uses mound cultivation, agroforestry, associated crops, animal traction, fragmented ramal wood, effective microorganisms, terra preta and more.
But better yields is just one aspect of this farm’s success. These farmers are also restoring soil fertility, sequestering carbon and cultivating biodiversity.
As the couple explains on their website:
We believe that permaculture may be the "new software" that would allow us to transform our relationship to the Earth. The vision of permaculture proposes to put trees back at the heart of the system. We are convinced that trees will save the planet. We can create edible landscapes based on fruit trees and perennial plants around our homes, towns and villages, and change our diet by consuming fewer animal products, less cereals and more fruits...
More tree-based and living agriculture is good for both people and the earth, generates fertility, produces eco-building materials, biomass and firewood, and heals the climate by storing carbon in soils and trees.
In the “Trails of Regeneration” episode featuring their farm, Charles and Perrine walk viewers through the regenerative practices they use, and why. Charles shares their obsession with increasing soil fertility and sequestering carbon in the soil. Perrine explains how they try to use as little water as possible, describing the ponds throughout their property, how they are interconnected and why that matters.
You might wonder: What might the planet look like if all farmers and ranchers were as conscientious about stewarding their land as Charles and Perrine?
If the world’s food producers adopted a regenerative, rather than degenerative, production model, could we achieve the goal envisioned by these farmers in Normandy? Which is: “the necessary transformation of our civilization from an energy-consuming and globalized society, predatory and conquering, based on the accumulation of the wealth of the planet in the hands of a minority, to a socially supportive society, sober, saving energy and resources, but ensuring the essential goods for everyone.”
Let’s hope. And let’s, as consumers, support the farmers in our own communities and regions who share this vision for a Regeneration Revolution.
Stay tuned for the next episode of “Trials of Regeneration,” for more about Farm du Bec Hellouin, one of the most productive regenerative farming systems in the world.
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