Have you heard about the Farm-A- Yard “Green Zone Project”?

Farm-A-Yard’s “Green Zone” supports the “Blue Zone” Project.

So, first of all, what is a “Blue Zone” all about?  They describe it like this:

“We spend 90 percent of our time in the same places, and that environment dictates how easy it is to make healthy choices, or how difficult. By using the Power 9®, the nine secrets of longevity, to improve where we live, work, learn, and play, we make it easier to get up and move, eat healthy, make new friends, find a reason for being—and live longer, better.”   Cities around America are wanting to make that possible and so they are learning from cities in the world where the greater percentage of people are living to 100 years and up.

Farm-A-yard supports the Blue Zone’s “9 Secrets of Longevity”.  Where Farm-A-Yard shines is not only the eating well category, but learning to grow food in the urban setting relates to and gives opportunity to fulfill all the other 8 secrets as well!

Learning to grow food in your neighborhood will support the Blue Zone Project mission which is to “transform communities across the U.S. into areas where the healthy choice is easy and people live longer with a higher quality of life.”

It doesn’t get any “easier” to have easy access to healthy food than to grow some in your yard  🙂

So, get into the “Green Zone”, for a healthy, happy, longer life!

“…we have less than a year’s supply of food for the global population on hand at any one time.” This simple fact has critical implications for society.”said David Montgomery, a professor of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of Washington.

This statement really got my attention.

Especially after hearing about what is happening, as of April, 2017 in Venezuela, where it is estimated that in the last 3 months the average citizen has lost 20 pounds because of food shortages.  Yikes!  These reports are very disturbing because they are happening in many places around the world.

This is another reason that we need a new agriculture revolution.

This is why the Farm-A-Yard Movement is critical for the times we are living in.

David Montgomery traveled to interview small farmers and found that those who restored their soil “used fewer inputs to produce higher yields, which translated into higher profits”… “No matter how one looks at it, we can be certain that agriculture will soon face another revolution … There are already enough people on the planet that we have less than a year’s supply of food for the global population on hand at any one time”…

Today we live in a “global world”, but there has never been a time more important than now to localize food systems around the earth.

We must begin to support farmers who adopt regenerative practices instead of only funding incentives for farmers that are degrading the soil!

David is confident that regenerative farming practices can prove both productive and economical.  Why? Because the farmers he met were already doing just that!

Farm-A-Yard, it’s a movement, have ya heard?

To read more: https://theconversation.com/healthy-soil-is-the-real-key-to-feeding-the-world-75364

Biodynamics farming is a growing movement. According to Demeter USA, the nonprofit certifier of biodynamic farms and consumer products, the total acreage for biodynamic farming in the US is increasing because this method, used around the world, works.

If you want to start a garden these days, the single most important and challenging aspect is the soil you grow in.

Our soils are so damaged and depleted of nutrients because commercial agriculture uses fertilizers that only give a few of the basic ingredients necessary to make the plant grow, resulting in minimal plant nutrition. The important point here is that the plants can’t have what the soil doesn’t have.

Over time the  evidence is showing up in the human population too.  After several generations we now see weakened immune systems, which are also due, in part, to exposure to toxic chemicals from current commercial agriculture practices.

Concerning the nutrient density of food, the University of Texas (UT) at Austin’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the December 2004  Journal of the American College of Nutrition,  studied the U.S. Department of Agriculture nutritional data from 1950 and 1999.

They found that 43 different vegetables and fruits showed declines in the amount of protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, riboflavin (vitamin B2) and vitamin C over the past half century.

“Efforts to breed new varieties of crops that provide greater yield, pest resistance and climate adaptability have allowed crops to grow bigger and more rapidly,”said the study researcher, Donald Davis, “but their ability to manufacture or uptake nutrients has not kept pace with their rapid growth.” Magnesium, zinc and vitamins B-6 and E likely had similar declines but they were not studied in 1950.

This study is not alone.  There have been others with similar findings. Another study summarized that it would take 8 oranges today to equal the nutrition value of one orange 70-80 year ago.

We can’t afford for this trend to continue.

What can be done? The key to healthier produce is healthier soil.

Biodynamic agriculture is the original “organic” movement in this country before there was any organic certification.

What is biodynamic farming?  How is it different from organic farming? Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner, introduced biodynamic principles in 1924.  The Biodynamic Association was established in 1938.  It is the oldest sustainable agriculture nonprofit organization in North America.

In simple terms the Biodynamic method is made up of preparations  and the activation of water and the energy in the environment.  The preparations are made from herbs, mineral substances and animal manures which are composted and fermented, much like a sourdough starter, or a kombucha culture. They are then prepared to apply as compost or compost teas which are stirred in water to activate and distribute in the field.

Does Biodynamic Agriculture work?  I have been farming using this method for over 21 years.  I can help you get started.

The Biodynamic methods can be applied effectively by urban, yard farmers and big farm alike.

BioEnergetic products are cost effective and available at:  http://farm-a-yard.com/compost-tea/