We travelled to Perth last Thursday/Friday. Up through fields and fields of drying wheat, rye and canola. Through a canvas of parched land and 5 inch crops. The land looked dead and beat. Ironically there was a very light sprinkling of rain as we passed through Wandering and there were in fact fields that were greening up. Obviously after some unseasonal precipitation. I think its too late though. It looks like its going to be a terrible, terrible harvest this year.
I couldn't figure it out. I'm not a farmer. But just looking at it all has me thinking there has to be a better way and I'm sure permaculture holds some answers. It's not mainstream thinking for the families that work on the land, but I'm sure there are key approaches to reaping a harvest that may at first be a much smaller one, but which would carry through the generations simply building on the wealth that comes when a part of the land is looked after and the soil is built up.
Instead it simply appears that farms are just getting bigger in order to cut costs and make some sort of profit. How big does a cancer get before you decide it isn't doing any good and something should be done?
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