Nature Farming

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Nature Farming & Effective Microorganisms

By Steve Diver, Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas,

Fayetteville, Arkansas

Nature Farming is the main ecological farming system in Japan. More recently Nature Farming has received increased attention in the United States for its emphasis on food quality and soil health.

An outgrowth of Nature Farming is the development of a special culture of beneficial microorganisms known as Effective Microorganisms, or EM, which are used as an innoculant to promote healthy soils, treat livestock odors, and compost food wastes as one part of a holistic system.

Nature Farming is a natural farming system first advocated in 1935 by Mokichi Okada (1882-1955), a Japanese philosopher and holistic health advocate, as an alternative to modern chemical farming practices. Nature Farming parallels organic farming in many ways. Both systems advocate soil quality as the fundamental basis for healthy crops and healthy people. Nature Farming differs from other organic agriculture systems primarily in its philosophical origin, and amongst some branches of the movement, for its adoption of Effective Microorganisms as a tool in promoting healthy, productive soils managed with organic amendments.

Nature Farming encompasses five requirements:

1. It must produce high quality food to enhance human health.

2. It must be economically and spiritually beneficial to both farmers and consumers.

3. It must be sustainable and easily applied.

4. It must conform to nature and protect the environment.

5. It must produce enough food for the world population.

The philosophy of Nature Farming is that "the harmony and prosperity of human beings and all other life can be assured by conserving the ecosystem while conforming to the laws of nature and by fundamentally respecting the soil" (1).

The relationship of Nature Farming to the philosophy of Mokichi Okada becomes clearer when it is viewed in the broader context of Okada's views on nature, man, and the divine. Okada believed that the spiritual forces at work in the universe, which he referred to as "universal life force", are manifested in human beings and in nature. He said that nature is our teacher of these great laws, and if we trust the power of nature and follow her example, we can find true happiness. Further, Okada believed in the creation of a new, harmonious civilization on Earth. To facilitate this "heaven on Earth", Okada said that people should engage in one or more of the following activities:

1. Johrei, a subtle-energy medical healing art from Japan;

2. Nature Farming, or the production of healthy foods by natural farming methods

3. Art and Beauty, or the arrangement of flowers and painting

Thus, Nature Farming is one form of right livelihood and service to humanity that Japanese adherents to Okada's spiritual philosophy practice. In the United States, Nature Farming is more readily identified as an ecological farming system; though some Nature Farmers study Okada's philosophy and practice the healing art of Johrei, it is optional. Johrei, or "purification of the spirit", is based on the root word Reiki, which means "spirit energy." Health and the New Civilization, an 84-page book by Mokichi Okada, provides an introduction to Okada's philosophy on Johrei and Nature Farming (2).

Nature Farming is similar to Biodynamic Farming, see http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/biodynamic.html in that it recognizes and tries to enhance the life force in soils and crops, and because it integrates the use of microbial inoculants with organic amendment-based agricultural production systems.

As one studies Nature Farming, it is helpful to know there are two organizations that promote Nature Farming in the United States, and secondly, that each conduct separate research and education programs:

* MOA Nature Farming is associated with the Mokichi Okada Association (MOA) (3) in Japan. Since the late 1980's, MOA and the World Sustainable Agriculture Association (WSAA) (4) have combined efforts to promote MOA Nature Farming, and sustainable agriculture in general, around the world.

* Kyusei Nature Farming is associated with the Nature Farm Research and Development Foundation (NFRDF) (5) in Lompoc, California. Since 1989, NFRDF has co-sponsored four international conferences on Kyusei Nature Farming. Kyusei Nature Farming is the group promoting the use of Effective Microorganisms, or EM. The word kyusei in Japanese means saving, and broadly interpreted Kyusei Nature Farming means saving the world through natural or organic farming methods.

In light of the preceding discussion on the philosophy of Nature Farming, it seems useful to place Nature Farming in the broader context of the sustainable farming movement in the United States.

1. Nature Farming is an ecological farming system based on sound agronomic husbandry. It is the predominant certified organic farming method in Japan, and is gaining recognition around the world for its emphasis on food quality and soil health. Having existed as an alternative farming system for several decades prior to the emergence of the sustainable farming movement in the mid-1980's, Nature Farming contributes substantial experience to the growing body of knowledge associated with sustainable farming systems.

2. The Effective Microorganism system is but one tool in Nature Farming. It is the series of humus management practices akin to all organic agricultural systems -- cover cropping, green manuring, specialized tillage implements such as spaders and chisel plows, reduced tillage, mulch, cover crop residues, composts, microbial inoculants, humates, grazing, urine, permanent bed vegetable production systems -- that make up Nature Farming as a whole. EM can be used separately from Nature Farming, by conventional as well as organic farmers, and Nature Farming can be practiced with or without the use of EM. The decision as to which practices and products are used will depend on local conditions and farm management goals.

3. Microorganisms are necessary to every agriculture system. "Beneficial microorganisms" is a generic term for a large group of microorganisms that contribute beneficial soil effects such as nitrogen fixation, mineralization, humus formation, disease suppression, and decomposition. "Effective Microorganisms" is a term used to denote specific mixed cultures of known, beneficial microorganisms that are being used as microbial inoculants.

4. Mokichi Okada's Nature Farming is a separate movement from the natural farming methods advocated by Japanese farmer and philosopher Masanobu Fukuoka. Famous for his book One Straw Revolution published in 1978, Fukuoka emphasized a no-tillage system with mulches and undersown clovers. Natural farming, according to Fukuoka, is characterized by four principles:

* No cultivation

* No chemical fertilizer or prepared compost

* No weeding or tillage or herbicides

* No dependence on chemicals

Though separate farmer-philosophers living in separate decades, the philosophy of Mokichi Okada and Masanobu Fukuoka are similar in origin, the Oriental view that man learns from Nature. Fukuoka's ideas are elegantly summarized in his books One Straw Revolution (6), The Road Back to Nature (7) and The Natural Way of Farming (8). Kyusei Nature Farming and Effective Microorganisms. Since the 1980's Kyusei Nature Farming has gained wider recognition for its innovative use of microbial preparations known as Effective Microorganisms, or EM. EM was developed by Dr. Teruo Higa, a research horticulturist at the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa, Japan.

EM consists of mixed cultures of beneficial and naturally-occurring microorganisms that can be applied as inoculants to increase the microbial diversity of soils and plants. The culture contains selected species of microorganisms including photosynthetic and lactic acid bacteria, yeasts, actinomycetes, and fermenting fungi.

EM inoculation has been shown to improve soil quality, soil health, and the growth, yield, and quality of crops. However, EM is not a substitute for other management practices. Rather, it should be combined with best management practices such as crop rotations, use of organic amendments, conservation tillage, crop residue recycling, and biocontrol of pests.

In the United States, EM technology is being used by organic farmers, by confinement livestock operators, by home gardeners, and by food processing waste handlers. EM can be used as microbial innoculant for green manure residues prior to plough down, as a compost innoculant, as an irrigation water innoculant, in the treatment of kitchen food wastes, as an odor abatement with animal manures, as a probiotic addition to livestock water, as a foliar spray to compete with plant pathogens, and as a direct soil treatment, among others. It is applied in both dried and liquid forms.

EM microbial inoculants and instructions on how to use them are available through EM Technologies (9) in Tucson, Arizona.

According to Dr. Higa, the beneficial microorganisms contained in EM create optimum soil microfloral populations which decompose organic amendments (e.g., crop residues, animal manures, mulches, food wastes) and create soils that are disease suppressive, fix nitrogen, and enhance soil quality. Under poor environmental conditions these same organic amendments can lead to anerobic conditions leading to putrefaction and disease inducing soils.

The two leading researchers on Kyusei Nature Farming methods in the United States are former USDA soil scientists Dr. James Parr and Dr. Sharon Hornick.

Dr. Parr and Dr. Hornick have a long standing interest in organic amendment-based farming systems such as Nature Farming, organic farming, and sustainable agriculture. In "Agricultural Use of Organic Amendments: A Historical Perspective," (10) they summarize the historical use of organic amendments in agriculture, introduce the soil quality concept of modern agronomy, and discuss strategies for using organic resources more effectively to achieve a sustainable agriculture.

In "Factors Affecting the Nutritional Quality of Crops," (11) Dr. Hornick provides a comprehensive review of agronomic, cultural, and post-harvest factors that affect nutritional qualities of food. Her paper was published in a special issue of American Journal of Alternative Agriculture containing the Proceedings of a Conference on the Assessment and Monitoring of Soil Quality.

In "Soil Quality: Attributes and Relationships to Alternative and Sustainable Agriculture," (12) Parr, Papendick, Hornick, and Meyer review the different chemical, physical, and biological properties of soils that interact to determine the fitness or capacity to produce healthy nutritious crops.

To further research and extension work relating to EM and organic amendment based agricultural systems, Dr. Parr has been instrumental in organizing international conferences on Kyusei Nature Farming. Papers on the practical and scientific aspects of Kyusei Nature Farming and Effective Microorganisms are recorded in the proceedings of these international conferences. In fact, these proceedings are the most comprehensive source of information on Kyusei Nature Farming and EM technology; since the technology is new, few books have been published on this topic. See the resources section below for further details.

NaturFarm (13), a commercial certified organic vegetable farm in Lompoc, California, is a prominent example of Kyusei Nature Farming techniques; it also serves as a research site for Nature Farming Research and Development Foundation (NFRDC).

Agronomic husbandry practices employed at NaturFarm include: permanent wide-row (80-inch) vegetable beds; cover crops; green manures; composts; EM inoculation of green manures and composts; EM inoculation of irrigation water; use of a spading machine as a specialized tillage implement; cultivation for weed control; zero pesticide use; reliance on healthy soils and biological controls for pest control.

In addition to Kyusei Nature Farming practices and EM inoculants, NaturFarm has gained notoriety for its use of pest control habitat strips to attract beneficial insects. The implementation of pest control habitat strips is a natural outgrowth of NaturFarm's zero pesticide use -- coupled with the Nature Farming emphasis on achieving balance through an emphasis on ecology instead of purchased inputs.

The use of cover crops as insect refugia to enhance natural biological control is a practice known as farmscaping. The pest control breaks at NaturFarm are managed through periodic mowing to induce migration of biocontrol agents into the adjoining vegetable fields. In some instances, D-VAC insect vacuums are used to collect beneficials for augmentative releases.

See the ATTRA publication Farmscaping to Enhance Biological Control, http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/farmscape.html for an introduction to this topic and accompanying resources.

Biological Control of Insect Pests Using Pest Break Strips is a 39-page booklet that summarizes the research into pest break strips at NaturFarm. The research was sponsored by the California Energy Commission, and led by biocontrol pioneer Dr. Everett Dietrick. The booklet is available for sale through EM Technologies in Tucson, Arizona (9).

Nature Farming Research and Development Foundation (5) conducts field and greenhouse research at NaturFarm; produces research papers, educational publications, and videos; hosts workshops and field days; and promotes Kyusei Nature Farming in general.

Life in the Soil is an award-winning video produced circa 1994 by the Mokichi Okada Association and Sakura Motion Picture Company in Japan. The video uses advanced photography to capture underground images of root growth, soil microflora, soil microfauna, and the all-important root rhizosphere. The video demonstrates the benefits of above-ground Nature Farming management practices - such as green manuring and compost application--on the complex ecosystem underneath the soil surface. "Life in the Soil" is available for $50 through WSAA (4).

Summary-Viewpoint-Conclusion

Nature Farming is an organic agricultural system with roots in the Oriental philosophy that man learns from Nature. Special emphasis is placed on health of the soil and production of nutritious foods. Kyusei Nature Farming is a branch movement that utilizes beneficial cultures of microorganisms to create ideal soil microflora conditions for the decompostion and mineralization of organic amendments, disease suppression, and enhance soil quality in general.

Nature Farming is unique in that it recognizes and tries to enhance the life force of soils and crops. In this respect, Nature Farming is similar to Biodynamic Farming. Quantifying vital energy in biological systems is not an easy task and therefore it is still mostly a concept. While agricultural scientists seem to be skeptical of subtle energy agriculture, the vibrational modality is an accepted medical practice in the holistic health field.

Separate from soil-based agricultural production, EM is gaining increased attention in microbial remediation of livestock manure odors and as a compost innoculant for food wastes. Unlike field trials which can take a growing season or longer to evaluate, immediate results can be ascertained from treatment of manures and food wastes.

Microbial inoculants are a new feature of organic agriculture systems and show promise as a means to facilitate or enhance the microbial processes in the soil. However, they are still rather new and research results are limited geographically. Like any biologically-based farming system, there are many factors that influence performance and therefore the conditions under which these microbial inoculants will enhance yield and/or soil conditions will vary widely. Nevertheless, results at NaturFarm and other locations have shown the Nature Farming methods improve soils and produce healthy, nutritious crops.

References

1) Nature Farming International Research Foundation. 1988, Guidelines for Nature Farming Techniques. NFIRF, Tawarahon-cho Atami Shizuoka, Japan . 38 p.

2) Okada, Mokichi. 1991. Health and the New Civilization. Church of World Messianity, Los Angeles, California. 84 p.

3) Mokichi Okada Association, c/o Pacific Cultural Center, 1835 Vancouver Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822, (808) 595-6344, FAX: (808) 595-8014.

4) World Sustainable Agriculture Association, 3510 Nuuanu Pali Drive, Honolulu, HI 96817, (808) 595-6344, FAX (808) 595-8014.

5) Nature Farm Research and Development Foundation, 6495 Santa Rosa Rd., Lompoc, California 93436, (805) 737-1536, FAX: (805) 736-9599

6) Fukuoka, Masanobu. 1978. The One-Straw Revolution: An Introduction to Natural Farming. Rodale Press, Emmaus, PA. 181 p.

7) Fukuoka, Masanobu. 1987. The Road Back to Nature: Regaining the Paradise Lost. Japan Publications, Kodansha International-USA through Harper & Row, New York, NY. 377 p.

8) Fukuoka, Masanobu. 1987. The Natural Way of Farming: The Theory and Practice of Green Philosophy, Revised Edition. Japan Publications, Kodansha International-USA through Harper & Row, New York, NY. 284 p.

9) EM Technologies, 1802 W. Grant Rd., Suite 122, Tuscon, Arizona, 85745, (520) 629-9301, FAX: (520) 629-9039, emtechnology@yahoo.com, http://www.emtech.org/

10) Parr, James F., and Sharon B. Hornick. 1992. Agricultural Use of Organic Amendments: A Historical Perspective. American Journal of Alternative Agriculture.

Vol. 7, No. 4. p. 181-189.

11) Hornick, Sharon B. 1992. Factors affecting the nutritional quality of crops. American Journal of Alternative Agriculture. Vol. 7, No. 1-2. p. 63-68.

12) Parr, J.F., R.I. Papendick, S.B. Hornick, and R.E. Meyer. 1992, Soil Quality: Attributes and Relationships to Alternative and Sustainable Agriculture. American

Journal of Alternative Agriculture. Vol. 7, No. 1-2. p. 5-11.

13) NaturFarm, 6495 Santa Rosa Rd., Lompoc, California 93436, (805) 737-1536, FAX: (805) 736-9599.