From David Knaus’s talk at the 2023 Acres U.S.A. Healthy Soil Summit:
When you look at what was happening back in the 1950s, just coming out of World War II, the ag systems that were implemented were a miracle back then. But that miracle has shifted to some degree — it’s headed in a direction we don’t want.
And so it’s really important for us to take the outcomes of the innovations that are happening in the ag tech industry and make sure that they’re implemented in a proper way, so that those outcomes don’t become like the ones from the 1950s that we’re experiencing today: soil health degradation, environmental pollution, declining nutritional content, etc.
There are a lot of solutions out there. Every day, practically, I’m impressed by something that farmers are doing to move the needle in a positive direction. But we have to start adopting, as a country, some of what we’re learning out there in the field. I see the most profound things happening when I work with farmers directly — the skills and tools that they develop once they start to engage in regenerative technologies and techniques. Farmers can oftentimes bring insights that other industry professionals never would.
Figure out how you can innovate so you can be a part of the change — to make a new paradigm for yourself, for your family, for your customer base, and for your country.
