One Indiana farmer's response to weather variations

THE PROBLEM In nature, manmade solutions tend to degrade resources over time. Natural solutions tend to improve resources over time. Let's be honest. American agriculture faces some serious challenges moving forward. We are responsible for the lion's share of nonpoint source pollution causing the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. Soil erosion is continuously depositing our topsoil and nutrients into our nation's waterways. Monocultures have increased our reliance on pesticides and genetically modified organisms, causing resistant weeds, diseases, and bugs to develop at an alarming rate. Water supplies that have fueled the productivity in vast areas of our country are becoming increasingly scarce. Perhaps most significantly, we have oxidized roughly half of the native organic matter of our soils into the atmosphere.

We have continuously migrated away from diversity toward monoculture. It is a testament to the ingenuity of man and mostly to the amazing ability of our natural systems to compensate in the face of environmental adversity that we have strayed this far and remained as productive as we have. But make no mistake, you can only short-circuit nature for a little while. In the long run, she always wins.