That would be a variant of letting the land lay fallow - the system followed by the Southern planters of the early-mid 1800s.
But yes, basic crop rotation was not cutting edge - three-field rotation had been practiced for nearly a thousand years in Europe by that point, and four-field rotation (allowing full use of all the land while maintaining or increasing fertility) for around a hundred years.
But what about the slightly reduced short-term profits from not growing all cotton on the land!? Won’t someone think of the slightly reduced short-term profits!? 😭
I don’t know how it is in the US nowadays, but here in Brazil monoculture is a terrible issue; if it weren’t for modern fertilizers a significant part of agricultural land would be completely barren.
Yeah, the advent of artificial fertilizers has allowed many places, including many in the USA, to revert to monocultures.
While some farming practices have improved and remain improved, like systems for land and water retention, monoculture is only sustainable as long as the supply of artificial fertilizer - at a profitable price - remains steady. And even then, artificial fertilizers have other drawbacks - including environmental damage from overflow (especially algal blooms) and the consumption of mined phosphates - a limited resource.
That would be a variant of letting the land lay fallow - the system followed by the Southern planters of the early-mid 1800s.
But yes, basic crop rotation was not cutting edge - three-field rotation had been practiced for nearly a thousand years in Europe by that point, and four-field rotation (allowing full use of all the land while maintaining or increasing fertility) for around a hundred years.
But what about the slightly reduced short-term profits from not growing all cotton on the land!? Won’t someone think of the slightly reduced short-term profits!? 😭
I don’t know how it is in the US nowadays, but here in Brazil monoculture is a terrible issue; if it weren’t for modern fertilizers a significant part of agricultural land would be completely barren.
Yeah, the advent of artificial fertilizers has allowed many places, including many in the USA, to revert to monocultures.
While some farming practices have improved and remain improved, like systems for land and water retention, monoculture is only sustainable as long as the supply of artificial fertilizer - at a profitable price - remains steady. And even then, artificial fertilizers have other drawbacks - including environmental damage from overflow (especially algal blooms) and the consumption of mined phosphates - a limited resource.
Just like Western lands were a limited resource. Will we ever learn?
Gods help us