DIRTy compromises

The other day I watched the video, "Dirt," and was fascinated and with questions, so this morning I met with a colleague, Priscilla, a Phd Agronomy candidate from Cameroon, West Africa, to get her expert advice. Here are a few highlights of what I learned!

• Most chemical nitrogen fertilizer we put into the soil is NOT used by plants (The video said 80% is unused). It leaches into the soil, runs off, or is used by micro-organisms (in the soil).
  
• Implication: (1) chemical fertilizer is expensive for farmers and (2) uses a lot of a non-renewable resource - oil
  
• As crop production increases, it reaches a point at which the crop has lower nutritional value.
• Implication: 2 tomatoes, one mass produced = low nutrition, one produced carefully, higher nutritional value, yet there is NO market incentive in place to produce a healthier tomato (organic is also mass produced) i.e. it should have more value but it doesn't
• Plants and micro-organisms use oxygen for energy (to more electrons). When areas are soaked with water, micro-organisms switch to nitrogen for energy
• Implications: (1) N20, nitrous oxide, a greenhouse is released into the atmosphere, and (2) valuable nitrogen (plant food) is released into the air

Takeaway: in order to feed the world (high production), we are making great compromises to our life-sustaining soils. Some of these we can avoid, some we can't.

Why learn these things as an Ag Economist? I am researching corn production in South Africa, specifically 5 different types, and I figured it was important to learn every aspect of Agriculture possible. So glad I'm at a prominent Ag school like K-State!