Global warming: drought and Chinese imports shape a "Experiment in Agriculture" for colorado

“…THOSE WHO WORK ON EARTH ARE GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE, IF HE EVER HAD A CHOSEN PEOPLE, IN WHOSE BREASTS HE HAS MADE THE SPECIFIC DEPOSITS OF SUBSTANTIAL AND GENUINE VIRTUES. IT IS THE FOCUS IN WHICH HE KEEPS WHAT IS ALIVE SACRED FIRE WHICH OTHERWISE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO ESCAPE FROM THE EARTH”. Thomas Jefferson, 1789

ethnoagriculture

According to the book “The History of Agriculture in Colorado” the primitive plows used to break the earth in the first agricultural settlements of Colorado (San Luis Valley) were made of pinyon wood for its greater resistance. The piñón was the lifeblood of our farming communities, and more than one of the first exploration parties in the Rocky Mountains, both Spanish and American, were saved from starvation by the piñón and its nuts. The pinyon pine, pinyon nut, and human settlement in Colorado have a history dating back to the culture of basket makers under the Pecos classification system. Piñon ecosystems have had subsistence, cultural, spiritual, economic, aesthetic, and medicinal value to Native American peoples for centuries and continue to be widely studied in their past and present areas. Among ethnobotanists and archaeologists, there is a consensus that early human settlement in Colorado was the result of the pinyon nut providing a winter protein source, sustaining life when game was scarce, allowing man to build the first societies (Cliff Dwellings) in Colorado.

Eastern agriculture outperforms western agriculture

Currently, more than 80% of the $49 million worth of pine nuts consumed in the US market is IMPORTED FROM CHINA, with no benefit to Western landowners. “We have thousands of American households buying and eating pine nuts, not knowing their true Chinese origin.” Pine nuts (pinion nuts) provide a significant source of protein, at levels that surpass even walnuts and walnuts, with significant amounts of vitamin A, riboflavin, thiamine and niacin, “really unrivaled in the food world.” walnuts”. Additionally, pinyon trees naturally function as a “great carbon sink” for the planet by removing carbon. “Certainly, as consumers realize that they are unknowingly getting more protein by eating ‘cloned beef protein,’ the idea of ​​adding a wild and natural protein to their diet, such as that found in Piñon Nut’s, is attractive to people concerned about health and the environment.”

This project involves ‘dryland experimental agriculture’ in the creation of a pine nut breeding programme. Improvement programs for stone pines may involve four main steps: 1) Selection of superior trees (ie “plus trees”) from natural stands; 2) Graft these superior plus trees into orchards to produce genetically improved seeds (nuts); 3) Field trials of these plus trees to identify the best trees and improve orchard seed (cone and nut size) by removing inferior trees; and 4) continuous improvement and development of even better varieties through the crossing of the best trees. It is known that the size of the pine nut crop is strongly influenced by the environment and that pests and health are important. For example, tip moth activity depresses pinyon cone production, as does dry weather and high temperatures, regardless of tree genetics. And tree size, an important determinant of cone crop potential, is greatly influenced by soil type, climate, pest history, competition, etc. There are so many factors that affect ‘phenotype’, you see, that the only way to determine a tree’s ‘genotype’ characteristics is to breed offspring from its seeds in progeny tests.

Arid zone agriculture in relation to pinyon pine

“As an area of ​​research and development, arid zone agriculture, or desert agriculture, includes studies on how to increase the agricultural productivity of lands dominated by a lack of fresh water, an abundance of heat and sunlight, and, generally, one or more of Extreme winter cold, short rainy season, saline soil or water, strong dry winds, poor soil structure, overgrazing, limited technological development, poverty…” Wikipedia…

Two basic approaches to solutions are

o view given environmental and socioeconomic characteristics as negative obstacles that must be overcome

o see as many of them as possible as positive resources to be used

Vision of the Future – Colorado Pinon Nut Orchards?

As we look to the future, it is possible to see a growing number of farmers and landowners throughout the Southwest evaluating the benefits of now managing their own arid, unprofitable Piñon forests as active “Piñon nut orchards.” Developed tree reproduction, pollination and cultivation practices, already in use to improve crop yields in walnut, walnut and apple orchards, can be applied to economic benefits in a pine nut orchard. “A farmer can create a transplant or seedling orchard, or also improve the productivity of native pinyon trees already in the ground,” said Alan Peterson, who is pioneering the research. And with pinon nuts selling for over $15 a pound, this really represents a new: “Business Model for the Environment.”

“THE CULTIVATORS OF THE LAND ARE THE MOST VALUABLE CITIZENS. THEY ARE THE MOST VIGOROUS, THE MOST INDEPENDENT, THE VIRTUOUS, AND ARE TIED TO THEIR COUNTRY, AND MARRIED TO ITS FREEDOM AND INTEREST, THEY BUY THE MOST LASTING LINKS. WHILE THEY CAN FIND EMPLOYMENT IN IN THIS LINE, I WOULD NOT MAKE THEM SAILORS, CRAFTSMANS, OR ANYTHING ELSE…” Thomas Jefferson, 1785

Introduction to pinion

Of approximately (14) species of cultivated nuts in the United States, the pinyon remains to be cultivated.

The ancestor of the pinyon pine was a member of the Madro-Tertiary Flora, (a group of drought-resistant species), which beginning about 60 million years ago, its host climate began to change from wet to dry.

The pinyon (Pinus Edulis) grows slowly into a small, drought-resistant, and fairly long-lived native species of the southwestern United States. Its common name is derived from the Spanish piñón and refers to the large seed of the pine (pine) tree. Other common names are red pinion and stone pine. Existing forests, where Piñon is the primary species, cover about 36 million acres combined in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona, but drought and resulting attacks by pine beetles and various pathogens have had a considerable effect on forests. Piñon stands.

Pinyon trees thrive in areas with annual rainfall from as low as 10″ a year to more than 22″ inches, and where temperatures exist from an extreme low of -35 degrees Celsius, all within as little as 90 frost-free days. year. At its highest elevation range and northernmost latitude, native Piñon growth can be found in a variety of depths and soil textures, from rocky gravels to fine, compacted clays, and at elevations from 4,500 to 7,500 feet. elevation, with isolated specimens up to 9400 feet.

From the investigation of the most desirable Piñon Orchard locations (i.e., low land values, good elevation + rainfall, existing high-producing native Piñon stands), it stands out that the rural communities most in need of any economic stimulus were found in the vicinity of those parameters. . Therefore, Piñon Orchards would have significant value from their establishment and nut harvest, especially in those areas currently considered unsuitable for traditional agricultural crops. It is encouraging that a small rural community ‘brands’ itself around an increasing gathering and consumption of pinon nuts, that is…by organizing a ‘Pinon Nut Festival’ theme, the staples of the piñon nut (sweets, menu items, and the resulting improved establishment, Piñon Orchards. Therefore, co-locating active Piñon cultivation in close proximity to rural areas in need of some economic stimulus may prove to be one of the more exciting benefits.

Economic benefits of increased pinyon nut production

The beneficial effects for a local economy play out from several different channels: the sale of nut crops would impact the economy directly, through purchases of goods and services locally, and indirectly, as those purchases in turn generate purchases. of intermediate goods and services from other, related sectors of the economy. In addition, these direct and indirect effects increase employment and income, improving the purchasing power of the economy in general, thus inducing greater spending on goods and services. This cycle continues until spending eventually trickles out of the local economy as a result of taxes, savings, or purchases of goods and services not produced locally.

Barriers to Commercial Pine Nut Cultivation

o Complexities of water use, water rights, and water availability in Colorado and all of the drylands of the West.

o Piñón (seed) production is cyclical and good harvests can be produced in intervals of 2 to 7 years, but the average harvest has occurred in intervals of 4.1 years in a 58-year study.

o Slow growth rates in typical specimens, unless subjected to intensive culture or grafting practices.

o Limited existing knowledge of cross-pollination and nut size and nut yield enhancement of cultivated or native pinyon plantations in the United States.

o Limited existing knowledge or study of grafting success on pine nuts or other stone pine species.

o Possibly the most drought-resistant characteristics of any nut-producing plant, increasingly important in a ‘global warming’ climatic ‘start’.

o More protein by weight than all nuts except cashew.

o Piñon has adaptability to the widest range of soil types.

o Piñon incurs little damage from ‘brushing’ by deer, elk, rabbits and rodents throughout its range.

o Greater and better use of drylands than cattle ranching at a protein yield per acre. (Pine nut = 123% more efficient protein per acre than beef.)

o Little concern for diseases and insect herbivory.

Historically, nut-bearing pines have had little academic focus as crop producers. In (1917) Dr. Robert T. Norris (NNGA) recognized the potential (and future) of pine nuts: “I presume that extensive planting of pines for food purposes will have to wait until we have advanced to the point of putting other types of nut trees (walnuts, pecans, etc.) on good soil first. The pines will be employed for the more arid slopes when the people of… a hundred years from now begin to complain about the high cost of living.”

… “No sentiment is more recognized in the farming family than that the few who can afford it must bear the risk and expense of all improvements and give the benefit freely to many in more restricted circumstances.” Thomas Jefferson, 1810

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