“The Progressive Farmer” Review

This week I read "The Progressive Farmer" September 2013 issue. The caption on the front of the magazine is "Facing a Food Cliff? Agriculture is under pressure to find new sustainable solutions to feed a hungry world". The letter from the editor in this issue elaborates on the caption displayed on the cover. Chief Greg Hillyer, editor in chief of the magazine, references Jim Borel, the executive president at Dupont in explaining the upcoming world food crisis. For those of you that don't know, Dupont is a very unique company that partners with others to "tackle unprecedented challenges in food, energy, and protection now facing our world". Hillyer states that "mankind may need nothing short of a Green Revolution to meet the future food demand". Borel states that in order for farmers to meet the high demands for food due to mass population growth, food security must be reached by achieving the following goals: creating "local wisdom"science, local food- security solutions, collaborative efforts, and sustainable solutions. In the broadest sense, the movement required to take on the challenge of the upcoming food crisis will include "economic, social, as well as environmental" changes.
This issue contains many articles that address particular economic, social, and environemental issues and provide solutions.  My favorite is called "Water, Water (Not Everywhere), by Boyd Kidwell. This article is about how variable- rate irrigation lowers water costs and protects the environment. The article starts with a success story of a farmer named Preston Jimmerson in Doerun, GA that received grant money from the NRCS and SWCD to pay for the installation of a VRI, or variable- rate irrigation from Advanced Ag Systems Inc. Without VRI, Jimmerson claims that he was wasting irrigation water on 25 acres with every pass, plus overwatering. Now that he uses VRI to cut off zones of wasted water, he claims to save enough to do one extra irrigation cycle. Whereas conventional irrigation systems apply the same rate of water to all soils and areas, the farmer is able to control what areas receive water based on the hydration needs of the different soil types in those areas. In the Flint Basin, where Jimmerson farms, 15 billion gallons of water are saved per year already, since 75% of the farmers in that area have adopted VRI technology. This option is also open to South Carolina farmers, and I highly encourage local farmers to reach out to this technology. Clemson University has offered help to South Carolinian farmers in the past in the implementation of VRI. EQUIP is prepared to help South Carolinian farmers find cost- share help for this technology, as this state is a part of the NRCS Southeast Region.
http://www.dupont.com  Here is a link to the innovative and purposeful website of Dupont