It sometimes seems that there is only bad news about the environment, how soils are being depleted, water is running short, and we are on the edge of catastrophe, so it is really welcome to see this film from the Living Soil Institute about the changes being made right now in the USA to educate and use more organic means to protect the soil, and bring health back to the lands.
The film opens with the devastating droughts in the 30s, and Teddy Roosevelt’s words about helping the farmers recover from that situation, and proceeds to look at how the farming practices since the 60s have steadily eroded the soils and crops, and how that is changing through a new found partnership between the environmental groups, scientific research and the farmers who are trying to make a living.
Besides anything else this film is beautifully shot by Chelsea Wright, and includes very intelligent interviews with the people who work the land and make a living off of it, and how their attitudes have changed when they have seen the results of new practices like introducing cover crops, and getting back to old practices like leaving fields fallow and using rotation to rebuild the soil.
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to see an album of stills click here