Become a farmer for 1 month and work on a sustainable world

Could it be that we as soil researchers have dug ourselves too far into the soil? Did we lose sight when we saw how beautiful the processes that take place underground were?

This question has been on my mind ever since I had to take the comment that 'all those administrators and soil researchers are concerned about environmental effects, but have lost sight of farm life'.

Indeed, farm life has become complicated. Researcher A comes by because the emission of nutrients to the surface water is too high, while policymaker B wants to prevent odor nuisance. Researcher C wants to retain extra water at the source, because otherwise flooding will occur downstream. While driver D wants to capture carbon in the soil to meet the CO2 targets. Researcher E is concerned about crop protection products and antibiotics, while researcher F strives for a thriving biodiversity in and on the soil. Will it ever be possible to be a sustainable farmer in the Netherlands?

Not for nothing
Of course, researchers and policy makers do not come for nothing. Much management on farms is driven by economic interests, while soil quality receives less attention in the long term. The improvements that have occurred in recent years in water and air quality are also more attributable to stricter legislation than to initiatives from the agricultural sector.

But wouldn't the sustainability of the agricultural sector have been a lot higher if all those millions of euros in policy-supporting research had been spent on the implementation of proven measures from Good Agricultural Practice? Real innovation only takes place if research also lands in the minds and hearts of individual agricultural entrepreneurs.

Driven by dream world
That is why I dare to say that our society, including soil researchers, is driven by a dream world in which cheap food goes hand in hand with sustainable agriculture. However, reality is too unruly to fit into this dream world: losses are inherent in producing food and sustainable cultivation techniques are not always economically justified. Management through practice-oriented research is therefore crucial.

An alternative is to pay as a society not only for food products, but also for the sustainability of their production. This gives agricultural entrepreneurs the opportunity (and incentive) to make the production process more sustainable. An additional advantage is that we can meet national and international targets for soil, water and air quality in the short term.

My advice to soil consultants: enrich your life with farming wisdom, become a full-time farmer for one month every 5 years and thus contribute to a sustainable world.

Gerard Rose

Senior project manager in soil, water and agriculture at the Nutrient Management Institute (NMI).

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