7 results for tag: sustainable agriculture

The Ecoagro Revolution in Mexico

Bernardo Castro Medina at the ECOAGRO expo in 2012. Diagram shows progressive loss of soils through erosion and remineralization as a solution.

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...

Blending Biochar with Rockdust: High-efficiency Mineral Delivery

Seedlings grown in soil treated with rock dust. 4 trays on left are commercial rock dust products; 3 on right are potential midwest region resources.   David Yarrow emphasizes that carbon is only one element in soil, and that the priority for our planet is soil regeneration through stewardship of diverse living communities and cultures. The very actions essential to put carbon, minerals, and microbes back in soils may restore authentic community to human society, wealth to community economies, health to human bodies, and true culture to our relations with the Earth as Gaia, a unified living intelligence.   Foundation fertility Rock ...

Inspiring Documentary Features Geotherapy – Dirt Rich empowers viewers to participate in solutions to reverse runaway global warming

  Dirt Rich, a new documentary by filmmaker Marcelina Cravat about geotherapy and regenerative agriculture, now has an official trailer and is making the rounds of film festivals. The film is narrated by actor Gregory Cruz and features music by Tom Rhodes. It has appeared in film festivals, including at the Green Film Fest in San Francisco, and will contribute to raising awareness of remineralization. The filmmaking team of the award winning environmental documentary, Angel Azul, is about to release Dirt Rich, a creative and ambitious first of its kind documentary as it comprehensively shifts focus on the topic of global ...

Collaboration in the Caribbean – One Island’s Volcanic Ash Could Enrich Another Island’s Soil

Student and teacher John Mussington examining eggplant fruits to determine growth differences between plants grown in soil mixed with Monserrat volcanic ash vs the control.   A review of Chapter 19 from Geotherapy: Innovative Methods of Soil Fertility Restoration, Carbon Sequestration, and Reversing CO2 Increase.   In the Caribbean, two islands face economic and agricultural challenges due to their unique geology. Montserrat suffered a major eruption of the Soufrière Hills volcano in 1995, which covered much of the island in ash and rendered the land unavailable. Two thirds of the population fled the island, and to this day over ...

Spotlight on Agrogeologist Peter Van Straaten, PhD

At the II Brazilian “Rochagem” Conference, which took place in Poco de Caldas, Minas Gerais, in May 2013, Professor Peter van Straaten gave a series of talks on the use of rock dust to increase soil health for agriculture. As a pioneer in the practice of using rocks for soil remineralization, van Straaten shared his extensive knowledge with a broad spectrum of scientists and researchers who attended the conference. An expert in agrogeology, which Van Straaten defines as “geology in service of agriculture,” he has built an international network of projects that study remineralization and sustainable agriculture in Africa. His work has helped ...

Growing Movement of Remineralization and Agroecology in Brazil

Edinei Almeida is an agroecologist and PhD student currently working to bring awareness and understanding of agroecology to small family farms in rural Brazil. As part of the Brazilian NGO, AS-PTA (Assessoria e Serviços a Projetos em Agricultura Alternativa), whose mission is to promote ecological methods of agriculture that question conventional industrial practices, Edinei works with 500 family farms in Southern Brazil to show the benefits of adding rock dust to soil. Suzi Huff Theodoro, PhD, one of the main organizers of the 2nd Brazilian “Rochagem” Conference, described Edinei as one of the foremost agroecologists in Brazil and Joanna Campe ...