Permaculture: The Paradigm Shift from 'Easy' Agriculture to Efficient Agriculture

Permaculture: The Paradigm Shift from “Easy” Agriculture to Efficient Agriculture

By Alexie Dietz

If you have ever driven through rural Minnesota, you are probably familiar with this scene: rows and rows of golden wheat, orderly lines of soybeans, and a farm with cows huddled around a pile of hay. The general perception has become that a farm centers around one central crop or animal, farmed by huge tractors for an enormous harvest at the end of the year. However, what would happen if we switched out these uniform rows for a melting pot of trees, legumes, grains and fruit? What if we planted crops that worked together to keep the soil healthy and make the most efficient use of the land possible? These are the principles of permaculture, or permanent agriculture: instead of planting crops in a way that makes harvest as easy as possible, what if we planned out complex agriculture systems to maximize food yield in as little space possible? In a world of constantly increasing human population, we must begin to think

of how we will be able to feed future generations on the land we have now. To do so, it is necessary to look as more sustainable agriculture options, such as permaculture.

When we think of Minnesota farming as acres on acres of corn, wheat and soy, we aren’t far off. According to Farm Journal Media, Minnesota is the “sweet spot” of the Corn Belt, a region in the U.S. that produces high yields of corn. The USDA states that in 2012, Minnesota produced 8,316,822 acres of corn, 7,005,764 acres of soybeans, 1,354,928 acres of wheat (for grain). By looking at these high yields, it seems to make sense that Minnesotans are farming these crops. However, the effects of these monocultures - farms producing only one crop in a farming system at one time - are disastrous. The repeated use of the same crop depletes the nutrients in the soil, leads to the build up of pests and potential plant disease, and requires higher use of pesticides

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and herbicides, which can lead to water pollution. Although orderly monocultures are easier to harvest and more profitable since all sales can go to one market, the overall effects are extremely toxic to the ecosystem. In order to ensure that we protect our land for future generations, as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development puts it, “the world needs a paradigm shift in agricultural development from a ‘green revolution’ to an ‘ecological intensification’ approach.”

To begin, it is important to recognize that farmers are not to blame for their unsustainable agriculture practices. Rather, it is necessary to look at the agricultural system. As Maclaine Sorden, a graduate of the Aldo Leopold Sustainable Agriculture and Landscape Architecture program at Iowa State University, says, “[farmers are] victims of a framework that is incentivizing destructive behavior”. Monocultures are currently

more justifiable and incentivized economically than sustainable agriculture practices, so farmers are just doing what makes the most sense for them economically. It is important not to demonize farmers, but instead to look at these issues from their perspective to recognize whose actions perpetuate unsustainable agricultural practices. In order to understand why monocultures have become the standard farming style in the U.S., it is necessary to look at how the government addresses agriculture. In talking to Sorden, he says that there are two government programs that support unsustainable farming practices: subsidies and crop insurance.

Farmers receive subsidies from the government in order to ensure that farmers make a profit, despite some of the weather and price fluctuations that may diminish profitability. As Daren Bakst, a Senior Research Fellow in the Agricultural Policy, explains, legislators often present subsidies as a system that supports struggling family farms. In reality, it doesn’t work out this way. Instead, subsidies benefit mainly large industrial-sized farms. The following graph shows how in 2017, large family farms owned only 3% of all farms, yet received over a third of the share of commodity payments. If these subsidies don’t actually help the small farms of America, but rather the large corporations, Bakst asks why they are necessary. Further, corn accumulates the largest sum of subsidies, receiving over $77 billion from 1995 to 2010. If subsidies encourage the use of crops like corn, then farmers tend to cultivate large monocultures of that crop in order to make the largest amount of profit possible. Corn, specifically, is extremely detrimental in a monoculture, as it requires a lot

of water and chemical support. The constant need for more fertilizer and pesticides to revitalize the soil may be costly, but the subsidies allow for this process to continue so that farmers don’t have to change to a more sustainable practice.

Crop insurance works in the same manner. Since only certain crops are covered by crop insurance, these crops are incentivized. In the Midwest, these crops are corn and soy. Similarly to subsidies, crop insurance minimizes the risk of planting these crops, allowing it to seem much more appealing to farmers. Monsanto a lot of power over farmers and, in a larger sense, over the whole agriculture industry. Rather than risk trying new sustainable practices, farmers can receive crop insurance, either from the government or from big seed companies like Monsanto. For example, in 2007, farmers paid lower premiums if they planted a majority of their corn acres using Monsanto’s genetically modified hybrid corn seeds. In order to maximize profitability, farmers turn to these companies to save money by buying their seeds. This gives Monsanto a lot

consumers ultimately dictate what crops farmers will grow: if consumers want sustainably grown food, then farmers will fulfill that desire in order to make a profit. Sorden explains that by providing the market for organic and socially-responsible sourced food, small farmers can have a niche within the agriculture system without directly competing with large, industrial farms. Through specializing by farming organically or sustainably, these farmers are serving conscious buyers who desire this type of food. If more consumers insist on wanting sustainably grown food, larger farms could also begin to change their practices in order to increase their profits.

Although monocultures are currently the most common agricultural practice, it was not always like this. In Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book “Braiding Sweetgrass”, Kimmerer recounts a time when Native Americans fostered a more symbiotic relationship with the Earth. Instead of planting to maximize profits, food was more appreciated and farmed on a smaller scale. There was also a greater sense of reciprocity between the land and Native Americans, pushing Native Americans felt a greater sense of stewardship towards the land. In “Braiding Sweetgrass”, Kimmerer tells several stories of how it is customary to say a prayer for the food that is harvested - plant or animal - and to ensure that humans do not overharvest wild plants.

Another customary Native American farming practice that Kimmerer discusses is the use of “the three sisters” - corn, beans, and squash - in farming. By planting these three crops together, they are able to thrive. As Kimmerer says, “Acre for acre, a Three Sisters garden yields

more food than if you grew each sister alone.” As can be seen in the image to the right, the corn acts as a structural support for the beans, the beans act as a nitrogen fixer for the other plants, and the squash covers the ground, acting like a mulch to prevent weed growth. From a dietary perspective, the crops also provide the perfect combination of protein, carbs, and fatty acids. Kimmerer recognizes the efficiency of this type of system in that it also creates an “ethical habitat for coexistence and mutual flourishing” of plants: or in other words, the foundation of permaculture.

Native Americans identified the efficiency of a permaculture system far earlier than any western farmer had “invented” the practice, yet Australian Bill Mollison officially coined the term in 1978. Permaculture systems, or permanent agriculture, are:

“consciously designed landscapes which mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature, while yielding an abundance of food, fiber

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and energy for the provision of local needs.”

This differs from monocultures because it aims to integrate plant systems together rather than to segregate them. With nature as a model, permaculturists plant different crops all on the same plot of land to work together to meet the soil’s needs as well as the farmer’s needs. Since its creation, permaculture has grown to become a global farming practice in countries around the world. From the U.S. to Costa Rica to Sierra Leone and elsewhere, farmers are finding ways

Photo by Lexie Dietz

to use permaculture as a sustainable agriculture system, environmentally, socially, and economically. Locally, one permaculture expert in Minnesota is Bruce Blair (pictured above). Blair is the founder of Homestead Gardens of Welch, a permaculture garden in southeastern Minnesota. Established in 1999, Blair created his own sustainable garden (see image above, to the left) that employs permaculture concepts. When Blair first moved to Welch, he recognized that much of the soil

had been deprived of nutrients due to monocropping of corn and soy. He also faced the problem of intense flooding from the nearby Cannon river. In order to deal with these issues, Blair used permaculture concepts to bring in plants to replenish the soil and mitigate the flooding effects. Blair integrates many different species to maximize efficiency through the use of chickens, various fruits, vegetables, plants, firewood and compost. In his garden, everything has a purpose and requires minimum human input. Blair also hosts permaculture workshops to educate the community about alternate forms of agriculture. He has taught his neighbors how to manage the severe flooding due to the river and how to maximize land space. He also demonstrates that permaculture is not just an Australian system, but can be used in Minnesota as well. This makes it easier for other farmers to begin to consider permaculture practices on their own farm, since Blair has proved that it can function on Minnesotan land.

Permaculture has also grown on a global scale. This past summer, I travelled to Costa Rica to learn about sustainable agriculture and talked to

Photo by Maclaine Sorden

a local farmer,Daniel Vega (pictured with his grandson to the right). Daniel previously worked on a large banana plantation that would illegally tear down huge portions of the Costa Rican rainforest and bulldoze through natural habitats, polluting waterways. Further, the extensive use of agrochemicals contaminated waterways, killed aquatic life, and had negative effects on his health. Although Daniel knew his actions were immoral, he had to continue in order to receive a paycheck to support his family.

The turning point came one day as he was bulldozing through the rainforest. While tearing down trees, Daniel spotted a monkey in one of the trees. Daniel said it seemed as though the monkey was screaming at him to stop, begging him to protect the monkey’s home. Getting down from his bulldozer, Daniel tried to move the monkey out of the way, yet the four other bulldozers behind him shouted at him to move forward. Feeling pressured, Daniel closed his eyes and continued. This scarring moment pushed Daniel and six of his friends to quit their jobs in 2007 to form their own polyculture farms. Daniel began to sustainably farm

black pepper, vanilla, and raise pigs. In 2013, Daniel became USDA Organic Certified, which helped him to be able to raise his prices to make more money.

Daniel’s story is a success story, yet he confessed to us that he constantly receives death threats from the large plantation companies. As he educates and tells his story to a wider audience, large corporations are scared that their businesses will be held accountable for their actions and lose money. Daniel believes that it is his life’s purpose to educate people on the negative effects of unsustainable monoculture farming, so he continues on, despite the fact that all of his other six friends who had also quit their plantation jobs in 2007 are now dead. His farm is currently thriving with his permaculture style of farming that combines cacao trees, pepper vines, vanilla bean vines, and pig production. To the right, you can see Daniel and his pepper vines that grew on trees that he could later harvest for wood. These plants work together in order to maintain a

Photo by Maclaine Sorden

healthy soil and requires few “inputs” - the only substance Daniel buys that he doesn’t source from the farm is calcium.

This story is an extreme one and shows the difficulties of leaving a monoculture farm. Current huge monoculture plantations have immense money and power, allowing them to “bully” small farmers like Daniel into working immorally for them in order to maximize profits. However, Daniel is also a success story, in that he escaped the system and is now helping others to break out of the chains set by huge plantation

companies. Daniel works within his community to spread his story and farming techniques with other local farmers in hopes that they, too, will start a polyculture farm.

In response to the issues of monocultures, there are many organizations and individuals working to educate farmers about the sustainable farming practices available. Locally, in Minnesota, there are people like Bruce Blair

who educate their neighbors about permaculture solutions working in their own town. There are also organizations like PRI Cold Climate that connect individuals to permaculture farms within the state to find permaculture-type solutions that work for Minnesota cold climate rather than its original Australian hot climate. Grocery stores - like Lakewinds in Minnetonka, Chanhassen, and Richfield - that sell produce from sustainable farmers in Minnesota also help promote permaculture and sustainable agriculture. By putting sustainably grown produce on its shelves,

Photo by Maclaine Sorden

Lakewinds encourages farmers to grow their food in a sustainable manner, as they reap the benefits of the Lakewinds market.

Nationally, there are permaculture organizations, like the Permaculture Research Institute that promote permaculture courses and resources to the general public. Large permaculture farms, like Restoration Agriculture Development’s farm, also demonstrate to farmers that

permaculture is a viable alternative, convincing more farmers to change their farming method. The government also promotes sustainable agriculture practices through funding subsidies for farmers to use cover crops. Cover crops are plants that are grown in farm fields during the winter to keep the soil in place, reduce runoff, and limit soil erosion. In Maryland, the government pays farmers up to $90 per acre to plant cover crops in order to reduce phosphorus and nitrogen runoff. By paying farmers, there is an economic incentive for them to try sustainable practices at low risk, then hopefully continue even after they are no longer paid. This solution is particularly interesting because it satisfies both sides: farmers make money and environmentalists see less water pollution due to runoff. The only question is if this is sustainable. The government cannot pay every farmer in the U.S. to utilize cover crops, so how else can farmers be incentivized without pushing the country into even further debt? That is the question for the next generation of environmentalists.

From a global perspective, there are many initiatives to support permaculture practicers. For example, WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities for Organic Farming) is an organization that connects volunteer farmers to international organic farms. WWOOF promotes sustainable farming practice through their support of those trying to farm organically, providing yet another reason for farmers to see permaculture as a realistic option for themselves. There are also farmers like Daniel who are pushing their community to think outside of the box to find ways to farm sustainably on their land.

There is a lot of awareness initiatives taking place for permaculture, yet there needs to be more action. One future solution could be for the government to subsidize more sustainable agriculture methods instead of corn. This will ease the pressure that farmers feel to farm huge monocultures and instead farm to support the land. Sorden also says that it is important to decentralize agricultural efforts and empower local food growers. Instead of a handful of rich seed companies controlling the agricultural industry, there needs to be more control by the farmers themselves in order to be able to realistically input sustainable agriculture practices.

Overall, what the agriculture industry needs is a paradigm shift. With the rising environmental issues and growing population, farmers will

need to adapt to these changing conditions. Permaculture proves to be a feasible solution as it maximizes land space, ensures the good health of the soil, and eliminates some of the typical agricultural pollutants that fuel environmental damage. Farms need to shift their focus from maximizing profits to maximizing productivity, even if it requires extra time to harvest. By embedding a holistic permaculture mindset into the culture of farming, farms can begin to boost their efficiency and our planet may have a chance at sustainably feeding the world.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Lexie Dietz is currently a junior at the Blake School in Minneapolis, MN. She was a participant in Sustainable Summer’s 2018 Costa Rica trip. The trip ignited her passion for agriculture and has inspired her to work within her community to see how she can help promote sustainable agricultural practices at home, at school, and beyond.