I'm disappointed at the progress with biochar. Rather than increasing knowledge about the mechanisms involved all we see are political shenanigans and flowery narratives. The so called field trials don't measure and monitor enough factors to answer any questions, leaving only the wild eyed narratives of activists with agendas and their thumbs on the scales. It may be that I need to be a bit more patient, that real science is being done somewhere by someone, and that there are answers forthcoming, but it's been a long time coming. I've been yacking about it for 3 years and don't really have any more knowledge than I had then despite assiduous attention to the subject.

That's par for the course in a lot of ag commentary.

The biggest threat from climate change has less to do with rising sea levels, shifting of agricultural regions, more hurricanes in the Gulf, or why the heck it rained so much during the dog days of a Mid-South summer.

It has more to do with the idea that a green revolution could very well beget another oppressive bureaucracy sticking its nose into the private lives of its citizens. To me, the most important issue our nation and the world faces today is not global warming. It’s how successful we are keeping the government out of the process of dealing with it.

In the July 10 issue of Delta Farm Press , I wrote a light-hearted column (Gassy cows and greenhouse government) about rules the government might have implemented to mitigate cow burps, a primary source of methane, a greenhouse gas. Thankfully, the issue died right around the time I was writing it.

However, a Texas farmer who read the column on our Web site filed an objection to it. . .

“I have implemented solar, geo-thermal, natural gas, crop management, biochar (a charcoal-like material that can sequester carbon), biodiesel, crop and grazing rotation practices and other so-called ‘green’ approaches to my operations. My so-called carbon dioxide footprint is dwindling. My costs of operation are dwindling even faster.”

The writer says the upfront implementation of his green practices was manageable “and I have already, in less than three years, made my investment back . . .

“My pasture and field development, using natural organic compost and biochar has wrought virtual miracles in the amount of feed grasses and grains we produce. . .

“Make light of ‘green’ thinking,” he wrote of my column, “but it will, sooner than later, make us more competitive in world markets with our competition which survives off the subsidies of their governments, pays hands next to zero and who have crappy standards of living for their people.”

While world leaders continue to argue over who should sign on to cap and trade, which is essentially world governments’ solution to global warming, a Texas farmer has figured out — on his own — how to reduce his carbon footprint dramatically and economically. These are solutions we should look at more seriously.

Well, yes, except that it has nothing to do with green, organic, compost, or carbon footprints. All this fellow has described is what good growers have been doing for decades. Keeping costs low and paying attention to the productivity potential of your main asset, your land, is just good agronomic practice.

There are lots of ways to increase soil organic matter and that's a key to low cost production. The cheapest, fastest most effective method is to grow it on site! For example, the use of fertilizers and managed grazing will perform a pasture miracle for anyone, green or not, without the unsustainable need to haul in compost from someone elses land. Make your own.

As the land improves you get increasing returns. Ever less fertilizer is needed to grow ever more forage, especially if you have also done some clever overseeding to increase the legume content of the sward with a diverse cohort that have different seasonal performance, giving a succession of high production as the seasons change.

None of this is new knowledge. None of it is green as that word is used today. It's just good farming and good business. To achieve many of the goals claimed for such green and organic methods just do good farming and you will get more for less. Skip the superstition and do science.

It may be worth repeating that the first thing that you should do is to get your PH right. You'll get a minor production miracle from that alone, but it is also necessary to get PH right to get a correct reading of what else needs to be done since everything changes with PH.