Soil fertility in the U.S. Midwest
Zach Baum is a Sophomore at Pitzer College.
The Midwest is the heart of the United States agricultural industry, containing 57 percent total cropland and providing 46 percent of the total value for the U.S. agricultural products.[1] The Midwest is also largely synonymous with what is known as the Corn Belt, or what some advocate should be called the Corn-Soy Belt, as it contains 87 percent of all corn and 84 percent of all soy grown in the US. [2] The prolific agricultural productivity of this region has been supported by the fertility of the deep, loamy tallgrass prairie soils. Michael Pollan aptly describes the Midwestern soil as “some of the richest soil in the world, a layer of cakey alluvial loam nearly two feet thick.” [3] This astounding fertility is the result of a complex interplay of geological, biological, and chemical histories, which include glacial sediment deposition, the evolution of deep-rooted grasses, and the behavioral patterns and movement of bison herds.[4] However, the soil fertility of the Midwest is rapidly eroding due to the destruction of prairie habitat and the mismanagement of agricultural lands. Defying principles of sustainable soil stewardship, conventional farm practices such as heavy tillage and intensive agrochemical and fertilizer input have mined and degraded Midwestern soil fertility for decades. Since the colonial era, Midwestern soil organic matter (SOM), a proxy for soil fertility and health, has declined from six percent to three percent. [5]
To protect agricultural productivity in the Midwest, this proposal centers on the establishment of a national trust protecting the vital resource of Midwestern soil fertility. To protect and recover the trust res, the Midwest’s soil fertility, for the benefit of present and future generations, this trust will promote the conservation and restoration of well-balanced and biologically rich soils with high SOM content. The trust will consist of, (1) the establishment of the Midwest Soil Protection Agency, a new federal agency to execute the duties and uphold the interests of the trust, and (2) a board of trustees to oversee the offices of the trust and hold them accountable. The offices of the Midwest Soil Protection Agency include the Office of Administration, the Office of Research and Outreach, the Office of Protection, Monitoring, and Enforcement, and the Office of Finance. The structuring of the trust intends to maximally enforce fiduciary obligation and reverse patterns that endanger soil health such as regulatory capture.
This trust will encourage farmer adoption of regenerative principles. Practices recommended by the trust include no-till, leaving crop residues to cover soil, integrating cover crops, designing complex crop rotations, addition of soil amendments such as biochar, increasing farm biodiversity, inclusion of prairie strips, reintegration of livestock using principles of holistic management, and incorporation of perennial crops. Additionally, the trust will discourage farmer reliance on intensive fertilizer and pesticide input. These practices build soil fertility and thus protect and build the res of the trust. This trust will create incentive structures to aid farmer transition to a farming paradigm centered on building soil fertility. By promoting soil fertility, this trust will ensure food security for present and future generations, increase carbon sequestration of soils, thus mitigating climate change, restore balanced ecosystem functioning, and increase nutrient density of food crops, supporting public health.
[1] Cox, C., Hug, A., & Bruzelius, N. (2011). Losing Ground. Environmental Working Group.
[2] Id.
[3] Pollan, M. (2007). The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. Penguin Books. NEED PAGE NUMBER
[4] Barber, D. (2014). The Third Plate: Field notes on the Future of Food (pp. 43–44). New York: Penguin Publisher.
[5] Montgomery, D. (2017). Growing a revolution: Bringing our soil back to life (First ed.). New York: W.W. Norton & Company.