UW Geology Professor Suggests Ways To Improve Farming

A geology professor at the University of Washington says the world needs to improve its farming practices to adequately feed its growing population.

“We have to figure out ways to build soil fertility as a consequences of our farming practices, rather than mining soil fertility as we’ve long done in society, in many societies around the world,” David Montgomery is author of "Growing a Revolution".

Montgomery said it’s not just a problem in the Northwest, or in the U.S., but around the world.

“We have become dependent on both cheap fuels and cheap agrochemical inputs to maintain our harvests”

So, what should be done?

“To ditch the plow, to minimize disturbance of the soil, to cover it up with cover crops in between commercial harvests and to grow a greater diversity or crops, three, four or more different crops in crop rotations,” Montgomery added.

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