Can Agriculture Regenerate Damaged Land?

Darren Doherty keyline cacao agroforestry in Viet Nam

Keyline Agroforestry, Viet Nam

I am seeking actual examples of properties where regenerative agricultural practices have restored damaged land and increased their property values. Specifically, projects that used permaculture, holistic management / planned grazing, organics/biodynamics, soil foodweb / biofertile soils, and other regenerative agricultural practices. I want to find examples to support the growth and acceptance of these tools as potential means to create resilient, just, and sustainable human communities on the planet. To see some examples, keep reading below the fold.

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Carbon Farming: Concepts, Tools & Markets

Carbon Farming: Concepts, Tools & Markets

Here we are in winter farming conference season – I presented this talk at the 2010 Northeast Organic Farming Association’s  Winter Conference (Massachusetts), and got some great feedback on the idea of local carbon markets. I’ll be presenting again next weekend (January 23rd) at the NOFA NY conference – you can learn more and register here: www.nofany.org. Scroll down below the slideshow to download the handouts.

Anyone interested in starting a local carbon market? Let me know in the comments.

[slideshare id=2935355&doc=carbonfarmingpermacultureforfarmers201-100117110433-phpapp01]

handout

Carbon Farming: Concepts, Tools & Markets Handout

Economic Projections for Ecological Agriculture


Over the past 2 years I’ve been developing an economic design tool for ecological agriculture enterprises.

It creates ten to fifty-year profit and loss projections based on hand-collected & collated hard research data on the following ag enterprise areas:

• Permaculture food forests, forest gardens & agroforestry areas;
• Mixed-fruit orchards;
• Small fruits, berries & hardy kiwi + grape vineyards;
• Organic annual & perennial vegetable production w/ no-till beds & greenhouses;
• Rotational grazing layouts & keyline patterns for larger livestock
• Chickens, ducks, bees and other micro-livestock;
• Composting, worm composting, and aerated compost tea production;
• Short-rotation coppice biomass production for heating & biofuels;
• Gourmet and medicinal mushroom production;
• Wetland agriculture, aquaculture & pond polyculture systems.


Pilot farms using the tool’s projections are being developed in the Hudson River valley, integrated with residential and institutional developments. For an example farm prospectus created with the tool, click here.

Anyone interested in collaborating? Contact me: ethan[at]appleseedpermaculture.com and http://twitter.com/ethanappleseed