I spent close to 50% of my adult life on the wrong agriculture boat.

There were a number of reasons for this being the case. The number one reason likely was World War II or maybe Harry Truman. When Truman assumed the presidency in March 1945 he had never heard of the Manhattan Project.

Four and a half months later the two big caps popped and the Japanese warlords decided to throw in the towel. They hollered “calf rope” and our government and much of the technical world went to peddling acidified nitrogen, phosphorus and potash (NP&K) from ammunitions production into agriculture in a big way.

Hybrid corn would out-produce open-pollinated varieties with chemical fertilization plus water. Everyone seemed to forget about organic matter and soil health. The new fertilizer was cheap, fuel was cheap, equipment was affordable, and water could be found in underground aquifers and pumped.

Grasses were introduced that loved the same program. Anything that was considered a pest could be killed. By the mid-1950s, much of the country was green year 'round with K-31 tall fescue. In our area if you owned three M-Farmalls you were digging with a big auger. We burnt the remaining soil humus into ashes with high amounts of chemical fertilizer. Dirt became the substance to hold up plants while we fed them purchased materials to make them grow and produce huge crops. Quality was based on looks and not on taste or health. Silos and concrete and feeding replaced pastures and grazing. Balancing rations with two or three feedstuffs and leftovers replaced husbandry and plant diversity.

Back in the 1920s and 1930s, the natural model had received a bunch of good attention and even some nursing care. “A Plowman’s Folly” sold something like 6 million copies 1944-1946.

But lots of agriculture started downward shortly thereafter. We were told to tear out the fences and the “green revolution” was in high gear.

Cattle, hogs and poultry were congregated. Science, medicine, vaccines and supplements would fix everything. Food got cheap -- real cheap. New diseases kept everybody busy, and profits headed south while agriculturalists moved to town to escape poverty.

Presently there are not enough farmers/ranchers left to elect a dog catcher. There are more agricultural university extension, state and federal farm related employees, and sales staff support personnel than farmers. Land grant universities and insurance companies are the major agricultural power forces in every state.

The word “sustainable” has been popularized and purchased by universities and input companies. The farm press has followed suit and the poor word no longer has a true definition. Purchased statistics are rampant.

Recently a U.C. Davis professor described his five pillars of sustainability as: