The type of agriculture we’ve been writing about for over 50 years in this magazine has gone by a number of names. The original byline of Acres U.S.A. was actually “A Voice for Cycle Agriculture” — “cycle” being intended to refer to a type of farming that cycled nutrients naturally, as opposed to being reliant on off-farm synthetic inputs.
The other adjectives that we and others have used to describe ourselves over the years are many: ecological, sustainable, organic, beyond organic, and now regenerative — just to name some of the most common ones.
Understanding the etymology and history of some of these words is insightful. “Eco” comes from the Greek oikos, meaning “household,” and logos of course means “word” or “concerning learning.” Thus, “ecological” is learning about our home — the ecosystems on our planet. The first use of this word wasn’t actually until 1879. “Regenerative” is a much older term — it dates from the 14th century — and its etymology is quite simple: re (“again”) and generare (“to create” — i.e., the book of Genesis … or the Phil Collins band).
Of particular interest for this issue — which focuses on perennial crops — is the word “perennial” itself. The Latin perennis combines the preposition per (“throughout”) with a form of annus (“year”). Without the modern context of the word, anyone told that a certain plant is one that lives “throughout the year” would likely come to the conclusion that such a plant is an evergreen — and that’s exactly how the ancient Romans used the word. A plant that was perennis simply stayed green throughout the mild Mediterranean winter.
But “perennial” started to change in meaning even in Roman times. The poet Ovid used the word to describe a spring — a water source that never ran dry. And Pliny the Younger wrote of perennial birds: those that don’t migrate but stay throughout the year in the same place.
Over time, the use of “perennial” has become even broader. We use it to describe not just plants that stay throughout the year — most North American perennials “die” (not really) in the fall and re-emerge in the spring — but those that remain with us for (hopefully) many years. This is the great hope of perennials — that we plant them once and they continue with us throughout the decades.
As always, this issue of Acres U.S.A. packs in a number of articles that highlight the innovative work being done by farmers like you. This month we feature fourth-generative Missouri farmer David Buehler, who transformed his farm into a profitable elderberry operation. We also highlight the work of Illinois row-cropper David Knop, who turned 14 of his corn/soy acres into the Midwest’s second-largest blackberry operation. And Herb Young — who for decades was very successful in the pesticide industry — has planted five acres of citrus trees in southern Georgia and has instituted a number of intensive research projects to help fellow regenerative growers.
We also cover the business side of perennial agriculture. Mark Shepard shares his opinions on the institutions that have grown up in the agroforestry space and how they can be successful allies for regenerative growers, and Harry Green discusses the business case for agroforestry: how new technology and investment opportunities can help farmers start and manage different types of tree crops.
We hope that these articles will help you not just this growing season, but throughout many years (i.e., perennially). And that’s the view from the country.
