Restoration Agriculture - Real-World Permaculture for Farmers

196 Pages·2013·6.17 MB·English

by  Mark Shepard

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR
RESTORATION AGRICULTURE
“This book, written from real experience of working with the land and referencing real results of experience over time, will be invaluable and is
destined to be a permaculture classic. This will be a reference book of great value for anyone interested in using permaculture design in a
farming operation and valued by future generations.”
Geoff Lawton, managing director, Permaculture Research Institute of Australia
“In Restoration Agriculture, Mark Shepard convincingly makes the case for no-tillage, perennial agriculture. He draws inspiration from J.
Russell Smith, Bill Mollison, Masanobu Fukuoka, his father, his grandfather, his neighbors and others who showed him that trees are the key
to productive and sustainable agricultural systems. Shepard shares his practical knowledge and hard-won wisdom gleaned from years of
experience growing up on a farm in central Massachusetts and later transforming a barren overgrazed landscape in western Wisconsin into a
richly productive polyculture. The discussions include rotational livestock management, beekeeping, soil and water management, plant
breeding, turning a profit on a small farm, and many others. This book is well organized with lots of delightful and informative personal
anecdotes.”
Larry Korn, translator of The One Straw Revolution and Sowing Seeds in the Desert and student of Masanobu Fukuoka
“What a great story and a fun read … a wonderful history of man’s intervention. It’s not just the ‘reasons’ we need to change land
management, it’s the ‘model’ to follow … a call to action.”
Gary Zimmer, president, Midwestern Bio-Ag
“I’ve never been a big fan of permaculture, that is, until encountering Mark Shepard and his work. Restoration Agriculture describes the
reasons why permanent agriculture is needed, the ecological systems behind farm-scale permaculture, and the step-by-step of how to get there.
His message is reality-based, down-to earth, and a call for new pioneers!”
Faye Jones, executive director, Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES)
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Restoration Agriculture
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Restoration Agriculture
© 2013 by Mark Shepard
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without written permission except in cases of brief quotations embodied in
articles and books.
The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without guarantee on the part of
the author and Acres U.S.A. The author and publisher disclaim any liability in connection with the use or misuse of this information.
Cover photography credits:
Blueberry cluster (front cover) © Erik Shepard
Pine cone © Brand X Pictures
Blackberry, raspberry & blueberries (back cover) © Stockbyte
Orange willow leaf © Goodshoot
All other images © Thinkstock
Back cover author image © Praveen Mantena
Interior photography credits appear on page 313
Roundup® and Roundup Ready® are registered trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC.
Acres U.S.A.
P.O. Box 301209
Austin, Texas 78703-0021 U.S.A.
512-892-4400 • fax [phone]
[email protected] • www.acresusa.com
Printed in the United States of America
Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication
Mark Shepard, 1962-
Restoration agriculture / Mark Shepard. Austin, TX, ACRES U.S.A., 2013
xxii, 330 pp., 23 cm.
Includes index and bibliography
ISBN 978-1-60173-035-0 (trade)
1. Permaculture. 2. Tree crops. 3. Fruit — culture. 4. Nuts.
I. Shepard, Mark, 1962- II. Title.
SB170.S54 2013 634.04
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Contents
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
1 The Perennial Agriculture Vision
2 Our Present Reality
3 Standing on the Backs of Giants
4 Challenges Facing Agriculture
5 Turning Things Around
6 Farming in Nature’s Image
7 The Steps Toward Restoration Agriculture
8 Other Biomes
9 Livestock & Restoration Agriculture
10 Including Bees
11 About Nutrition
12 Nutrition & Perennial Agriculture
13 Getting Started
14 The Transitional Strategy
15 Managing a Healthy Farm Ecosystem
16 Plant & Animal Breeding
PHOTO TOUR OF NEW FOREST FARM
17 Making a Profit
18 Creating Permanent Agriculture: A Call for New Pioneers
APPENDIX
RESOURCES
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Acknowledgements
EVERY book, I suppose, needs to include some sort of acknowledgement of the multitude of people who were an
instrumental influence on its author. Although writing a book may seem like a solitary task, it is not. There may only
be one monkey pounding on the keys, but there is a whole host of support behind and around any author as they go
through the process of writing and publishing a book.
It would have been impossible on several levels for you to read this book if it wasn’t for my Mom and my Dad. Aside
from the obvious, they provided me with an incredibly dynamic way of interacting with the world. My Mom was a
displaced Vermont farm girl who taught her children Yankee thrift and ingenuity, how to garden, and more importantly
how to cook, can, freeze, pickle, dehydrate and jam just about everything that is edible (and some things that turned out
not to be edible!). My Dad was a displaced Maine woodsman who instilled in his three sons a love of nature, a desire for
constant learning, plant identification, and how to piece together a ramshackle tool with little more than bubble gum, duct
tape and a generous application of WD-40, and to love the physical exertions of living a rural life. His never-ending
planting of food trees, and his (unintentional) neglect of those trees helped me to see perennial plants in a different way
than the main stream would.
The forest and the farm are part of who I am and they have become one in restoration agriculture.
Indirect inspiration came from many directions, of course, but most significantly J. Russell Smith, Masanobu Fukuoka
and Bill Mollison. I may never get to meet Bill Mollison in person, and even if I do I don’t know whether I’d like him or
not, but Bill has begun a revolution on this planet in founding the international permaculture movement. Because of his
work and charisma, millions of people worldwide have dedicated themselves to earth care, people care and equity. The
world is and will be a better place because of Bill Mollison. If nothing else, millions now live lives of meaning and
purpose within the wreckage of the industrial, materialistic global economy that has left them behind.
More directly I would like to thank all of those who have coached me through the years directly and indirectly and
have helped me to come to the point where I would write all this down. To all of the workshop participants, course
students, consulting clients and to folks who have come on tours of New Forest Farm, I thank you for helping me to
understand that I actually do have something of value to share, and thank you for helping me to hone my message so as
to be able to communicate it (I hope!) clearly enough for non-experts to understand.
Thank you to Fred Walters, when I was in a challenging phase in my life, for suggesting that I write a book, and thank
you for the Acres U.S.A. staff who have helped me through the process. Especially to Anne Van Nest and Maggie
Voss, my editors, who have somehow been able to remain calm, level-headed and polite even when I am not. There must
be a dark side to them somewhere!
Thank you to my “research team,” the board and staff of the Restoration Agriculture Institute: Peter Allen (Executive
Director), Ron Revord, Kevin Wolz and Brandon Angrisani. Thanks for feeding me with the ecological research that
confirms my on-the-farm discoveries. Thanks also for reviewing and commenting on the manuscript before sending it off
to Acres U.S.A. Thank you also for the ongoing conversations and arguments that have helped to clarify the message,
and thank you for working with these systems in your private lives as well as your careers.
Special thanks have to go out to Julie Gahn who was my backup during the most challenging chapters of this book.
Julie tirelessly researched and compiled all of the nutritional information that is included throughout the book, but
especially in the About Nutrition and Nutrition & Perennial Agriculture chapters. The nitty-gritty details of those chapters
seemed so unimportant to me at the time compared to the overall system and I never would have survived writing those
chapters without Julie keeping me on task. Yippee, we did it, Julie!
Thanks to Anna Lappé, a dynamic and tireless advocate for social justice and sanity in a seemingly insane world. An
online recording of Anna giving a presentation to a group of college students where she mentioned New Forest Farm,
was the first time that I had ever heard anyone positively acknowledge the work that I have been doing. Thank you
Anna for helping me to trust that what restoration agriculture farmers are doing is good, right and a noble occupation.
Thank you also for reinforcing my view that food is the central theme and can be the catalyst for the broad changes that
need to ripple through all levels of society if humanity is to thrive as a species. We are what we eat and our planet looks
like it does because of how we get our food.
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One person deserves special recognition here who has been largely behind the scenes at New Forest Farm except at
the beginning; Rand Burkert. In a sweaty sauna at 2 a.m. at a permaculture design course in Colorado in 1993, he and I
decided to give our thoughts about Permanent Agriculture a form, and to put them into practice. With the initial down-
payment from Rand, the land for New Forest Farm was purchased, for which I am forever grateful. Namaste, my
friend!
Finally (aside from those whom I have forgotten or intentionally ignored) I would like to thank my immediate family:
Erik (who took most of the photographs in this book) and Daniel for growing up so apparently well-adjusted while living
with a Dad who, for so many years, could have been considered seriously strange. You two have experienced something
that very few people on this planet have. You have seen hundreds of acres of bare dirt and pastures transformed into an
abundant food-producing ecological paradise. I hope now that you can see the wisdom of restoration agriculture and its
power to change the world. I hope that you will help others to do the same, and will help to convince them how easy the
transition can be. You two are the first generation of temperate “mid-succession” restoration agriculture farm managers.
I know how to transition from annual crops to perennials, but how will we manage the system for the next 50, 100 or 200
years when I’m gone? You and the next generations will be the ones to learn how. At least we’ve provided you with
some resources to work with.
Last on this list, but definitely not least, I have to acknowledge Jen, my best friend, lifemate, lover and companion
through thick and through thin. “Wife” is such a small and shallow word for something that is as vast as the entire
universe. Thank you for your patience, your forgiveness, your understanding, your encouragement and all of what it is
that constitutes LOVE. I may not have a “nice job” and a Porsche; my grubby Carhartts and long sleeve white shirts
may have holes in them, but I love you. All of what I do, this book included, points to the fact that I love you, and to the
fact that there is some sort of grand mystery unfolding in all of our lives. Behind the outer appearances of this material
world, there is an invisible pattern, being or “field.” There are invisible forces finding fulfillment in the visible drama that
is life on earth. I stand with the “grand unfolding” and will strive to do my part to take care of The Garden.
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FOREWORD
Hope for a Hot Planet
Nature includes us … We are in it and are a part of it …
If it does not thrive, we cannot thrive.
Wendell Berry
STALKS of shriveled corn in Iowa. Colorado residents trying to stay cool in 115-degree heat. Farmers in 1,369 counties
across 31 states holding out for disaster aid. The record-breaking heat of 2012 is a hot, dry taste of global warming-
induced weather: unpredictable and extreme.
I read farmer Mark Shepard’s visionary book with this summer’s weather front-page news. In the context of our new
climate reality, I am reminded how urgently we must rethink how we farm — and what an important tool this book is for
doing just that.
I got my own peek at Mark’s vision several years ago when I visited his 106-acre farm, nestled in the verdant valleys
of western Wisconsin. That summer the state was hit with its own extreme weather event — powerful rainstorms had
devastated farmland and left the state footing a bill for millions of dollars in flood relief. By the time I pulled onto the dirt
road curving up to Mark’s farm, I’d driven by enough flooded fields to have a knot in my stomach: I assumed Mark had
faced the same fate. Imagine my surprise when I parked in front of his wind-powered cider house to find Mark and a
farm intern joking around, grinning from ear-to-ear. These were not the faces of farmers in despair. While New Forest
Farm had been pelted with the same rain that had crushed neighbors across the road and left dark brown gullies in its
wake, Mark’s fields were relatively undamaged. In fact, a few of his crops had never been better.
How did Mark prosper while his neighbors suffered? I was eager to know, because the answer, I believed, could hold
a key for rethinking farming in a climate-unstable world. The answer, as you’ll discover in these pages, is a fascinating
vision for recasting our relationship with nature and the land. As Mark shares in this book, it’s a vision built on the
inspiration found in a lineage of ecological farmers, including J. Russell Smith (Tree Crops: A Permanent Agriculture),
Masanobu Fukuoka (One-Straw Revolution), and the originators of permaculture, including Australia’s Bill Mollison.
And it’s a vision Mark has tested on his own fields often with incredible results.
Restoration agriculture, as Mark calls it, is a vision of agriculture that taps into the inherent abundance in nature.
Consider the sun. As Mark writes, “Sunlight is the ultimate energy source of all agricultural systems.” Crops are merely
vessels of stored sunlight — as Mark puts it, farmers and ranchers are in the “solar energy collection” business. The
American corn and soy farmer is doing lousy business. A monoculture field — planted with just one annual crop the way
the vast majority of American farmland is — captures the least possible sunlight a field could.
Restoration agriculture does the opposite: It maximizes the amount of sunlight captured. Mark gives us a glimpse when
he says, imagine a piece of paper as an acre of farmland. This flat paper is like a monoculture field; it captures an acre
worth of sunlight. But take another sheet of paper, and another and another. Fold them into tents of triangles, large and
small, and lay them on the same 8½ x 11 footprint. Place them over and under each other — just as crops grow in
nature, some thriving under the canopy of trees or the shade of bushes. Do so and you’re tapping the abundant sunlight
for all those crops now thriving. Do so and you’re quadrupling, quintupling, or more, the surface area!
Go to Mark’s farm and you see this solar energy collection business at work: the chestnut, oak, black walnut and
hickory trees growing tall above the hazelnuts; down close to the ground the raspberries and blackberries. And that’s just
in one spot on the farm.
Restoration agriculture asks a lot of us — not only to rethink our relationship to the sun, but to recast the relationship
between farmer and insect, too. Of the 1.1 billion pounds of active ingredient pesticide used on American farmland every
year, much of them are used to deal with the weeds, nematodes, fungus and insects that routinely go after our main
commodity crops.
But what if we saw insects not as nuisances to eradicate, but as essential members of a flourishing farm? If you’re a
chemical farmer, as soon as you get an economically harmful threshold of a pest, you spray some chemical or another.
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But if you let the population run naturally, you start getting new populations of insects who arrive to eat, and thrive, on
those original so-called pests.
“Eventually you find a certain stability,” says Mark. That’s why he likes to call himself a population ecologist. Mark is
not in the bug-killing business. Go to his farm and you sense it immediately: New Forest Farm is alive with buzzing bees,
fluttering butterflies, predatory insects, soldier and dung beetles.
In the pages of this book, you’ll learn more about Mark’s vision of agriculture — and the potential it holds to feed us
well in a resource-compromised future.
By latest count, this summer broke 2,312 temperature records across the United States. The U.S. Department of
Agriculture downgraded the bushels of corn coming off an acre by 12 percent. And Arctic ice melted faster than even
many of the most dire scientific estimates had predicted.
This is indeed a remade planet; how will we feed ourselves here? That question should be on everyone’s minds and
Shepard’s answers should be on everyone’s lips.
Anna Lappé
Brooklyn, New York
August 2012
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