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September News
MEGO! My Eyes Glaze Over!
I read this acronym in an article in the September issue of National
Geographic. It is an article on dirt. Now, I know what you’re asking.
“What would a rancher know about dirt?” I admit, not much.
However, what amazed me in the article was a map of the world, highlighting
in shades of green and brown, the most fertile soils on the globe.
To my surprise, one of the most fertile regions of soil in the US
runs right through Central Texas! There it was, a strip of dark green
swash running from just above Austin right down to the border. Oh,
you say (MEGO!).
Well here is another surprising fact. “Today more than six billion
people rely on food grown on just 11 percent of the global land surface.
Even less ground – a scant 3 percent of the Earth’s surface - offers
inherently fertile soil.” That’s us! And think about this;
• By 2030, there will be approximately 8.3 billion people in the world.
• By 2030, the farmers of the world will need to be growing 30 percent
more grain than they do now to feed the increasing population.
• In this last century, humans have managed to destroy 7.5 million
square miles (think the US and Canada combined) of land – much of
it in those very green swashes!
MEGO!!! Isn’t there enough to worry about already? Global warming!
The economy! The war! The polar icecaps melting! Gasoline prices!
The presidential election! Leave me alone – I can hear you saying.
Dirt is the least of my problems!
But here’s something to think about. If we worry about dirt, we actually
can solve some of the other problems! Take global warming. Healthy
soils actually absorb and sequester carbon dioxide. And grass and
crop covered soils, and forest absorb heat actually lowering the temperature
of the surrounding area.
I can attest to the last. I’ve noticed that when I drive from Austin
back to Bastrop, as I go deeper into the country, my car thermostat
will drop two degrees. Meanwhile, local family farms and ranchers
– the real stewards of the land – are moving to natural fertilizers
that enhance the fertility of the land (think micros munching feeding
roots absorbing carbon dioxide!). They in turn are beginning to sell
at the local farmers markets (and here’s where you come in!), where
local citizens are buying local, sustainable foods! All this leads
to less use of gasoline for transporting food and for people traveling
long distances to buy it! When you buy locally (don’t forget the local
coop and grocery store!), you encourage an ever increasing circle
of local providers. These people stay on the land and grow or raise
foods that enhance and preserve that great big green swash of fertility
running through Central Texas.
Add to that, that the money you spend stays in the local economy and
creates more jobs! Those people, in turn, can spend their money locally.
Hey some of them will probably even put up a few solar panels or use
wind energy!
So now instead of MEGO, you begin to see where your actions are actually
having an impact on saving and creating DIRT! And dirt is good.
Hey, stick with me here. We’ve now begun to solve five of the six
issues listed above. OK, dirt doesn’t do anything for the presidential
election (just think, if we could find a way to sequester them, what
a jump in fertilizer!). But think about it. You buy a locally grown
tomato (or meat!) and the small drop in the sea has a ripple effect.
So save the dirt. It needs your help. Everything else will follow.
Thanks for your attention!
Pati
Bastrop Cattle Co. |
