Excerpt
IN the late 18th century, Edmund Burke wrote in Reflections on the Revolution in France, “The most wonderful things are brought about, in many instances, by means, the most absurd and ridiculous.”
Current, widespread interest in sustainable agriculture would indicate that Burke may have been right. Who would have believed that a handful of ridiculous and absurd farmers, acting contrary to conventional wisdom by raising crops without chemical inputs and introducing diverse cropping systems that reduce their government payments, would start a revolution in agriculture?
An Agricultural crossroads
Today, we stand on the threshold of two potential revolutions in agriculture. Either, or both, could determine the shape of mainline agriculture in the decades ahead. One, started by a small group of tenacious farmers, is variously described as “alternative” agriculture, “biological” agriculture, “eco-agriculture,” or “agroecology.” This type of agriculture was recognized in the National Academy of Science's study, Alternative Agriculture, as having great …
Footnotes
Frederick Kirschenmann is an owner and operator of Kirschenmann Family Farms, Rural Route I, Windsor, North Dakota 58493.
- Copyright 1991 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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