we need sustainable systems. a system that exploits cheap labour or one that destroys soil/environment or is overly dependent on fossil fuels will fail the sustainability test. i see swarms of robots in the future doing automated tasks. having said that, all tasks cannot be automated. harvest automation, for example..is very tricky.
the age of farmers is going up and very few young people get into farming. they are farming. there are smaller sustainable farms, but the burn out rate is going to be very high.
land is getting scarce and we have a need for urban farms. it will be easier to automate many small urban farms because of connectivity. also..concentration of large farms in some areas will cause leaching, soil degradation, environmental pollution etc. when you distribute these, the damage is easily managed and can be rectified. already, central valley and gilroy/salinas areas in northern california have very compromised water tables. the sacramento politics is very subtle, but powerful.
at some point, we might have robots that are connected to the cloud and will be able to make decisions based on weather or soil conditions or even demand. but right now, making small manual tasks automated and create robots that will work with smaller farms is better than automating 1000 acre farms.
eventually, we must form grids and the entire food system will have to be local.of course, exotic produce can be flown in, but they are that..and should be priced as such. designing agriculture systems need a paradigm shift.
to take care of all the needs of 1000 people, i would say about 50 acres. Maybe even less, but sustainable agriculture would mean leaving some parts of the land fallow for a season and rotate crops. it wouldnt be possible to grow all the grains and cereals you need. you cant farm every inch of the soil every day. water management is also important. even if the customer is vegan, it would be good to have some animals in the farm for grazing. it is an effective weed management system and the manure can be used to feed the soil. it should also include an orchard. in my farm(which some people who are not from california call a large 'garden'), i grow food, medicine, herbs, flowers, lavender and i have an orchard. i could easily do a 30 person CSA from just 1 acre, but i didnt because the sheer labour was overwhelming for a single worker-farmer. i keep bees and would like to have some chicken or goats. (but cant currently because i lease some fo it). in the last two years, my only inputs are kelp and fish solution that i use in the greenhouse. the farm is mostly reduced-till. i am a big believer in mulching. i do buy compost, but eventually i hope to create my own compost and make it a closed loop farm with all the inputs being created at the farm itself.
the age of farmers is going up and very few young people get into farming. they are farming. there are smaller sustainable farms, but the burn out rate is going to be very high.
land is getting scarce and we have a need for urban farms. it will be easier to automate many small urban farms because of connectivity. also..concentration of large farms in some areas will cause leaching, soil degradation, environmental pollution etc. when you distribute these, the damage is easily managed and can be rectified. already, central valley and gilroy/salinas areas in northern california have very compromised water tables. the sacramento politics is very subtle, but powerful.
at some point, we might have robots that are connected to the cloud and will be able to make decisions based on weather or soil conditions or even demand. but right now, making small manual tasks automated and create robots that will work with smaller farms is better than automating 1000 acre farms.
eventually, we must form grids and the entire food system will have to be local.of course, exotic produce can be flown in, but they are that..and should be priced as such. designing agriculture systems need a paradigm shift.
to take care of all the needs of 1000 people, i would say about 50 acres. Maybe even less, but sustainable agriculture would mean leaving some parts of the land fallow for a season and rotate crops. it wouldnt be possible to grow all the grains and cereals you need. you cant farm every inch of the soil every day. water management is also important. even if the customer is vegan, it would be good to have some animals in the farm for grazing. it is an effective weed management system and the manure can be used to feed the soil. it should also include an orchard. in my farm(which some people who are not from california call a large 'garden'), i grow food, medicine, herbs, flowers, lavender and i have an orchard. i could easily do a 30 person CSA from just 1 acre, but i didnt because the sheer labour was overwhelming for a single worker-farmer. i keep bees and would like to have some chicken or goats. (but cant currently because i lease some fo it). in the last two years, my only inputs are kelp and fish solution that i use in the greenhouse. the farm is mostly reduced-till. i am a big believer in mulching. i do buy compost, but eventually i hope to create my own compost and make it a closed loop farm with all the inputs being created at the farm itself.