Know Better

This appeared in the December 3, 2020 edition of The Fish Wrap

The Morrow Plots at U of I is an experimental agricultural field which has been in continuous use since establishment in 1876. Two of the plots have been planted continuously with corn, while the other four have been planted with different rotations. The experiments have proven since inception that soil quality is a vital component of agricultural productivity. Experiments showed that fertilizers greatly increased yields and today, most of the practices of conventional farming are based on these experiments.

Professor Richard Mulvaney, from U of I, is a prominent soil fertility scientist and researcher with many published papers relating to NPK uptake in crops. His work reveals that soil provides most of the needed nitrogen, and the fallacy that applying nitrogen builds soil organic matter. He also describes the “potassium paradox”, how significant amounts of potassium are available from the soil, and the damaging cycle that is created when applying potash. These surprising findings are causing a stir with fertilizer companies.

Studying a complex system like soil leads to a wide array of interpretations and controversies. The work of agronomist William Albrecht who died in 1974 focused on the connection between declining soil fertility and human health. He was outspoken about how NPK application leads to poor quality soil, to pathological conditions in animals fed deficient foods from such soils, to poor human health. However, his work had little effect and NPK application continues to this day.

What accounts for the conflicting interpretations of experiments in The Morrow Plots? If you follow the money, you see that fertilizer companies rely on keeping fields dependent on their products. There’s no profit to be made from allowing mother nature to provide soil fertility. Maya Angelou said "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better."