?Perilous Bounty? explores unpredictable future of farming

by | Dec 7, 2020 | 5 Ag Stories, News

A new book that explores the unpredictable future of farming was highlighted during the Iowa Farmers Union?s annual state convention last week.

Professional journalist and former farmer Tom Philpott is the author of ?Perilous Bounty: The Looming Collapse of American Farming and How We Can Prevent It?. He was a special guest speaker during day two of the IFU convention on Friday. Philpott described his new book as an unsettling journey into the United States’ disaster-bound food system with an exploration of possible solutions.

?People now are farming in a different environment than people were farming 30 years ago,? Philpott said. ?Because these spring storms are getting more frequent and more intense. More of Iowa?s precipitation is happening in these storms. You have this explosive combination of this farming system that can?t seem to figure out how to keep its soil covered in the offseason, combined with climate change warming waters in the Gulf of Mexico and causing more evaporation and more energy, and then depositing it on Iowa at very inopportune times. You are looking at a potentially cascading soil crisis.?

Philpott says Iowa farmland is losing topsoil to runoff faster than it can be replenished. His book also highlights climate issues impacting California?s vast and productive central valley.

?Iowa is at the center of both solutions,? he said. ?Diversifying crops, or getting more crops into the rotation, especially ones that can cover big parts of fields in the winter is crucial. On the California angle, Iowa also has a big part to play. That is because one way or another, we?re not going to be getting as much fruits and vegetables from California going forward. This push in Iowa, that I know Iowa Farmers Union is involved with, of urging farmers to devote some of their land to table foods, I think that is a form of diversification that can help with this erosion problem.?

More information on Philpott?s work can be found on his official website.