33 results for tag: agriculture

Moving Beyond Academia: Rock Dust Local Founder Promotes Remineralization Research

Tom Vanacore with some of Rock Dust Local's rock dust products. Image from video by Learn Organic Gardening at GrowingYourGreens Remineralization proponents really should publish their own research for peer review, moving away from reliance on academic validation to convince policymakers and the public, says Rock Dust Local founder Tom Vanacore. From left to right: Ted Dobson, Tom Vanacore and Ben Dobson, with a delivery of Rock Dust Local's biochar at Stone House Farm “Most of the enhanced-weathering academic papers being published are either too highly technical to be understood by most people, or the protocols they’re using are all ...

Rock Dust as a Sustainable Amendment in Northwestern European Agriculture

Glacial deposit in Greenland Introduction The EU is the world’s leading exporter of agri-food, supplying 20% of world food and drink (Matthews, 2021; EEA, 2020). In 2020, more than 40% of Europe’s acreage was used for agriculture. 61% of this agricultural area was operated by high to medium intensity farms in terms of fertilizer and pesticide cost. The considerable growth in crop and livestock has caused environmental impacts that call for sustainable solutions. Northwestern Europe There are several initiatives currently focused on sustainable agricultural practices in Northwestern Europe. The European Commission has announced several ...

IV Congresso Brasileiro de Rochagem: Highlights from the Presentations in Portuguese

(Clockwise from top right) Dr. Magda Bergmann, Prof. Suzi Huff Theodoro, and Dr. Antonio N. Zamunér Filho. “I was converted,” confessed agronomist Antônio Bizão. Listening to Bizão’s skepticism of stonemeal was the highlight of the IV Congresso Brasileiro de Rochagem (which translates to “IV Brazilian Congress of Stonemeal”). Bizão talked of his intention, years ago, to denounce professionals who defended the use of silicate rocks for agriculture, before conducting experiments himself and obtaining replicable positive results. We were listening to a stonemeal Saul of Tarsus and the moment allowed me a glimpse of a community of farmers ...

Love Your Neighbor: Texas philanthropist makes remineralization part of his Christian mission

‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ is not only the Second Great Commandment as cited by Jesus Christ in the New Testament, but it’s the mantra by which David Munson operates — both when he’s booking guests on his Dallas-Fort Worth-area TV show, as well as when he advocates on behalf of remineralization to politicians. “There’s a fight between good and evil going on in this world,” he says. “You can either be on the good side or the bad side. You can either be working to make the world a better place, or you could be pulling it down and mining it and just living for immediate pleasure.” As for his digital program (available on the ...

Planting a Trillion Trees to Save Earth? Remineralization Can Help

Reforesting the Earth with a trillion trees may be the best way to fight climate change, and remineralizing the Earth with crushed rock dust is perhaps the best way to ensure those trees take root, grow and prosper. A recent study from scientists with Crowther Lab in Switzerland found 223 million acres (900 million hectares) of global tree restoration is the most effective climate change solution, as those trees (about a trillion) would store about 205 billion tons (186 tonnes) of carbon, or roughly two thirds of the carbon emitted since the Industrial Revolution. Unfortunately, decades of poor agricultural practices, desertification and simple ...

Upcoming Conference “Regenerating Vitality: Realizing Nature’s Potential”

The 8th Annual Soil and Nutrition Conference will come to to Southbridge, MA this December 1 - 2, with a pre-conference event on November 30. The title for this year’s conference is “Regenerating Vitality: Realizing Nature’s Potential.” This event will bring together many leading members of the growing movement around quality. The event will have 29 featured speakers -- including successful farmers, cutting-edge researchers, enlightened health practitioners, and pioneers of food quality -- sharing their collective knowledge of the broader food and environmental movements. The organizers describe the conference as “the nexus of ...

The Leverhulme Centre for Climate Change Mitigation – Advancing remineralization into the mainstream

Responding to climate change is one of the most complicated and one of the most long-term projects humanity has ever undertaken. If we're going to manage this challenge, it's going to involve new policies, new laws, and new ways of behaving. We have to think not of ourselves (that in itself is a challenge for human beings); we have to think of future generations. Oliver Morton, The Economist   The grand challenge A new paradigm for research has taken shape in a ground-breaking effort to mitigate climate change, and remineralization is the focus of this unique new approach. The Leverhulme Centre for Climate Change Mitigation was founded ...

Pioneer Spotlight: Acknowledging the contributions of sustainable agriculture consultant Steve Diver

Long-time agriculture and horticulture specialist Steve Diver has been an active proponent of the remineralization movement for many years. His scholastic training focused on the areas of horticulture, botany, plant physiology, and soil science, and in the years since, he has become a sought-after expert in those areas of study and the agriculture industry as a whole. Diver has spent his career thus far working in various agricultural capacities, including an 18-year stint with the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) as a specialist with the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (ATTRA). With ATTRA, Diver particip...

Documenting Reasons for Optimism: Mitigating Climate Change through Soil Restoration

It is important to document reasons for optimism, focusing on the future we want to achieve. Several trends, in particular trends regarding soil regeneration, support optimism about the environment. We need to build upon these positive trends, while resisting the negative ones. For years while I was in Geneva, Switzerland, I published and edited the Worldwatch Institute’s World Watch magazine and annual State of the World report. Worldwatch was founded by Lester Brown, who also founded the Earth Policy Institute, and it has done a remarkable job monitoring the environmental crisis and promoting solutions to it. It promoted ...

Jon Frank and the Quest for Nutrient Dense Food

International AG Labs Farm in Fairmont, MN Recently, RTE’s Emily Schaefer conducted an interview with Jon Frank. He was excited to share his knowledge and experience with us. The following article is based on that interview.   As a four-year old, Jon Frank spent his days tending to his own garden. As a teen, he was an ardent student of soil-tending techniques and an avid reader of Acres U.S.A. magazine. Jon has always described himself as a man of the soil. Today, he is a co-owner of International AG Labs and the founder of Grow Your Own Nutrition, a project that helps gardeners mineralize their soil to grow nutrient dense foods. ...