Bobcat © Susan C. Morse
Farming with the Wild — Best Practices
The following list was
compiled to offer general guidelines and observations about the
farming with the wild movement. Rather than attempting to establish
a rigid template that landowners could follow to design a wild
farm, per se, included below are general principles that can help
to frame the broader concept of establishing agricultural systems
that are compatible with healthy ecosystems. This may mean rethinking
old boundaries, striving to make new connections, and even rethinking
some of the very foundations of agriculture and its place in the
ecological community. Every farm, and every farming region, will
find its own solutions.
- Farming with the wild is dependent upon place. A wild farm exhibits
a sense of beauty and uniqueness of place. On arable lands, farm
systems attempt to mimic the surrounding natural systems, such
as pasture operations in grasslands and forest-type cropping
in forested areas. Marginally productive lands are restored to
the wild, with an emphasis on native habitat.
- Attempts are made to limit long-term negative impacts or tendencies.
Through place-adapted strategies, measures are taken to limit soil
erosion, protect native habitat, and avoid depletion of local resources
through excessive watering, overgrazing, or the use of off-farm
synthetic inputs. Farm and ranch operations revolve around cycles
of activity and rest, with working areas that are frequently rotated
and allowed to recover.
- The presence of wildlife on the farm is encouraged. At their
best, farms and ranches function as buffers, corridors, and even
key habitat for certain species. By limiting productive areas only
to what is necessary, by respecting seasonal nesting and brooding
cycles, by optimizing wild habitat, agricultural operations can
accommodate resident and migratory wildlife. Outside citizen monitoring
groups can provide essential assistance and skills in mapping,
observing, and documenting on-farm biodiversity.
- Farms should be viewed within the broader context of adjoining
lands and ultimately connected to the larger landscape. Farms working
in isolation may not be enough to restore fully functioning ecosystems.
Connecting habitat patches and corridors within farming regions
is an essential goal.
- Agricultural operations should be viewed within the context
of pre-settlement conditions. Developing place-appropriate agricultural
systems that work with rather than against Nature requires an understanding
of native species and local ecosystem processes prior to European
settlement and agriculture. Baseline studies, remnants and fragments
of native habitat, and other specific linkages can provide invaluable
inputs for restoring wild habitats in farming areas.
- Farming with the wild moves away from an eradication ethic.
Rather than attempting to eliminate undesirable species in order
to conduct agriculture, landowners work in partnership with native
species. Nonlethal controls are favored to prevent predator losses.
Native habitat corridors are established to reduce weed pressures
or attract pollinators and beneficial insects. Other disturbance
regimes, such as flooding or fire, are sometimes incorporated into
the agricultural operation.
- Farming with the wild begins with conservation-minded communities.
The most effective and impressive examples of farming with the
wild have begun with communities talking together in search of
common solutions to common problems. Inclusive meetings, farm tours,
and other gatherings lead to the formation of management teams,
the establishment of best practices and science-based monitoring
procedures, and the commitment to a better quality of life.
- Farming with the wild represents a leading-edge consciousness.
Farming with the wild requires extreme dedication, courage, and
altruism. Embracing rather than vilifying endangered species and
relinquishing a sense of historical agricultural entitlement represent
acts of true leadership in society that require both an open heart
and an open mind.
- Farming with the wild is not static, but a continual work in
progress. Restoring wild habitats requires an ongoing interplay
between the landscape, farm, and the local community. The reestablishment
of native plantings requires an active farming approach at least
in the short term, to be adapted and evolved as time passes. A
wild farm is engaged in a continual effort to develop ever more
profound ways to become “naturalized.”
- Farming with the wild requires an interdisciplinary approach.
Successes at the farming region level will require the collaboration
between sustainable agriculture practitioners, conservation biologists,
restorationists, and others. Research and on-the-ground models
are urgently needed to explore the values and possibilities for
integrating wild habitats in production areas.
- Consumers and citizens have key roles to play in determining
the food system. Our food choices reflect our values and directly
impact our visions and expectations for agriculture and the land.
Everyday purchases can be used to bring land stewardship issues
to the home, restaurant, workplace, and conference center. This
can include supporting producers for protecting biodiversity as
well as actively avoiding products that threaten native species
or habitat. Voting power, particularly toward influencing the outcome
of Farm Bill conservation and agricultural subsidy policies, has
a critical bearing on private land use in the United States.
- We have the resources to leave a legacy of conservation-based
agriculture. There are many viable alternatives to the present
model of industrial monoculture which dominates world food and
fiber production at increasing costs to the natural world. While
it will not be easy in any way, and this occurs at a time when
many farmers, ranchers, and others are struggling to survive economically
in rural communities, we still have the chance to devote the resources
and establish the systems necessary to develop an agriculture that
is compatible with wild Nature. Our future, and the future of biodiversity,
depends on our ability to fundamentally change the way we perceive
agriculture and its place in the ecological community.
Excerpted from Farming with the
Wild: Enhancing Biodiversity on Farms and Ranches, by Daniel
Imhoff, A Watershed Media Book published by Sierra Club Books
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