Wes Jackson is a genius, at least according the MacArthur Foundation. And there we were, sitting across the table from him in a “green room” before we both appeared on a nationwide radio show! I was reminded of this brush with celebrity when a good friend posted an article from the Washington Post. The article was about the organization Jackson founded in 1975, an outfit called the Land Institute. Jackson has spent a lifetime (he’s 85) researching the idea that all of agriculture, beginning with the first seed planted, has been a mistake, and lest you think that I’m exaggerating, that’s an actual quote from our conversation. Now, agriculture as it’s practiced here in the corn belt has seen some major changes during Wes’s time at the Land Institute, as no till acres have increased from around 2 million acres in the early 70s to over 100 million acres today. But we are still planting mostly annual crops, primarily corn, soybeans, and wheat. Since no-till farming relies heavily on the use of chemicals that Jackson considers poison, this is not a change that meets with his approval.
A perennial genius and me
A perennial genius and me
A perennial genius and me
Wes Jackson is a genius, at least according the MacArthur Foundation. And there we were, sitting across the table from him in a “green room” before we both appeared on a nationwide radio show! I was reminded of this brush with celebrity when a good friend posted an article from the Washington Post. The article was about the organization Jackson founded in 1975, an outfit called the Land Institute. Jackson has spent a lifetime (he’s 85) researching the idea that all of agriculture, beginning with the first seed planted, has been a mistake, and lest you think that I’m exaggerating, that’s an actual quote from our conversation. Now, agriculture as it’s practiced here in the corn belt has seen some major changes during Wes’s time at the Land Institute, as no till acres have increased from around 2 million acres in the early 70s to over 100 million acres today. But we are still planting mostly annual crops, primarily corn, soybeans, and wheat. Since no-till farming relies heavily on the use of chemicals that Jackson considers poison, this is not a change that meets with his approval.