24 March 2016 Troy

Today I went to see the farm Garcia ( http://www.fattoriagiuntoli.it/ ), to understand what kind of agriculture are.
Sow in sodo, i.e. without plowing. Because? Because the ploughing free CO2, carbon dioxide, contained in soil. In addition, with frequent plowing, the Earth tends to lose the nutrients inside, for exposure to meteorological factors (Sun, wind, water). When it rains, ploughed soils tend to be washed: all organic substance leaves with water and remains an impoverished land. Obviously, No plowing it doesn't. This technique of no-tillage was proposed by Japanese microbiologist Masanobu Fukuoka (told in the book "The straw revolution" ( HTTPS://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masanobu_Fukuoka ), which was inspired by the Spanish later Emilia Hazelip ( HTTPS://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emilia_Hazelip ) creator of synergistic gardening, a cross between the Permaculture and ideas of Fukuoka.
Anna and Santino welcome me and start chatting. Santino explains me: "You know the wheel that you use to make the ravioli?Here's, that we use to make the gap of two centimeters into the soil and then the semen is deposited in the Groove. " [I'll see later in the tractor on which are assembled these "rotellone" and the tanks with seeds that are dropped into the Groove].
Then tells me: "Since you're the environmentalist, I tell you that of course we use glyphosate as weed killer. " At the moment I'm surprised, probably because I connected this technique of no-tillage (in English called No-till IE no tillage, without ploughing) a very natural approach. Start to listen carefully. Anna and Santino are both agronomists, are people prepared and I am interested to know their approach to agriculture. Tell me Santino that glyphosate (or gliphosate), the active ingredient of Monsanto's Round Up, is fotolabile in 24 hours, that is, in 24 hours of exposure to the Sun disappears. Tells me that this is the method that everyone uses and that sooner, When not using the herbicide, you he dug all by hand, "the biting", as it was called before this technique. Santino adds: "We say that with 100 Euro weeding 1 hectare. With 100 Euro, barely two days pay workers, that still would not be able to hand to eliminate all weeds in a hectare. " We agree that natural agriculture is possible, but on small plots of land. Wonder if there remain traces of glyphosate on soil or on plants, or at least if there is danger. I replied that it has not been established. Besides, the studies in this regard are different. According to research by March 2015, commissioned by the World Health Organization at IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) There is talk of a probable cause cancer, the same level of French fries and mate, or at least detected human cases are called limited ( http://www.wired.it/scienza/medicina/2015/03/24/diserbante-glifosato-potrebbe-causare-cancro/ ); According to a study in November 2015 commissioned by EFSA, European food safety authority, the German BFR (Federal Institute for risk assessment) We talk about an unlikely cause cancer.
It should also be said that glyphosate is ascended to the headlines having been associated with the use of genetically modified plants, tricking the resistance to this herbicide.
About GMOs, interesting what Santino and Anna reported that a consideration of the son, He also agronomist: "If we remain No-GMO, Maybe in 20 years we will have a commercial advantage, If most countries have instead GMOs. If for example the genetically modified corn merged with some wild wheat varieties, We have a corn herbicide-resistant. "

In short, the use of glyphosate is very common for large scale agriculture. All a matter of management costs. To have more natural farming should exist thousands upon thousands of farmers to cultivate small plots, but also prices in agriculture should be higher. The free exchange of goods that enter make a keen competition for Italian products. The European Union keeps alive the old world agriculture through grants awarded regularly by the European Commission. I ask Santino if they could not serve protectionist measures to protect Italian products. Answer me: "I can accept that there is free trade, But if a product is Italian, on the label it says manufactured in Italy, But if it's Tunisian or Turkish then you can't write the same. And then if one works fine, meets all safety standards, hygiene is penalized if they come on the market products which do not have the same requirements. "
Speaking then of harvesting tomatoes I discover the existence of a MATURING: a substance that you spray on tomatoes when they are red and green. Within a short time will ripen all at once and then the collection will not be built in several stages, seizing time to time ripe tomatoes, but you estirperà the entire plant scrollandola in the cells to make you fall tomatoes.

The company also produces meat, He calves for slaughter and sheep that are raised and sold.
We speak of abatement techniques of Heads. I am told by Anna that if the animal realises he's dying, the adrenaline the invades the body and flesh would become inedible, full of toxins. Then, is in the interests of the owner of the company, is in the interests of those who want to buy meat, It is important that there are precise procedures to follow. Adds Santino that the animal is done live in peace, quiet, outdoors or indoors if there is bad weather; you used to enjoy, the walks, to enter in different environments. Therefore, on the day of the last walk, you will not find anything unusual or worrying. Once in particular point, will receive a gunshot in the cerebellum, that will make him lose consciousness, as if he had a brain injury. At that point, It can scan and drain the blood. In the case of sheep, You can use an electric shock to a fraction of a second which produces the same loss of senses. This is the condition required by the standards of the European Union, or that the animal should not be conscious at slaughter. Carryover as dettomi by whom this work does so according to all the rules laid down.

I conclude the round farms by visiting the stables, deposit with tractors, that work with GPS satellite. You can then set the path and work even at night, without seeing anything around him. And if you work in the daytime, having to sow on fields where the plants grew to two meters and more, then there is oriented with the paths get to your computer and the tractor can be set to make a given path. Adds Santino: "On these tractors can't go up if you don't know at least use a computer…Earlier in the campaign there was the last wagon wheel, Now you have to be more and more specialized. "

Returning on foot to Troy, I switched from Skantinato 58, a nice literary cafe: you eat and well, You can read interesting books and you can buy small local publishers, You can organize cultural and musical events.

Dinner and walk, but there was a nice wind. I also met the hooded procession! Good weather is expected tomorrow!