Texas cotton farmer “agvocates” for regenerative practices, nutrient stewardship
Published: August 8, 2020
Category: Regenerative Agriculture, The Organic & Non-GMO Report Newsletter
Jeremy Brown grows cotton near Lubbock, TX. He decided in 2013 to farm differently from his dad and granddad’s way. His 4,000-acre operation, Broadview Agriculture, produces cotton, wheat, rye, and corn using regenerative practices including no-till, cover crops and rotations, reduced fertilizer inputs, livestock, riparian buffers and more.
“[A] key philosophy… is that if we take care of the soil, it will take care of us,” Brown said.
Mimicking nature is a practical thing to do. “Sometimes in farming it’s hard to put a dollar figure on what you’re doing,” Brown explained. Neighbors may get better yields, but Brown can decrease inputs and cover his soil and net the same amount of profit. “I know these things will make me more money in the long run,” he says.
Brown was the first cotton farmer to receive the 2020 4R Advocate award by the Fertilizer Institute for his immersion in nutrient and soil restoration. With commodity prices fixed and input costs rising, precision and soil integrity are paramount. In 2017, he traveled the U.S. as one of the 2017 Faces of Farming and Ranching, spreading his practical farming protocols.
Broadview uses pesticides only as needed; one-third of the cotton produced is organic. Brown maintains that GMOs can be useful depending on the farmer’s situation. “Broadview” connotes not only the wide-open view on the Texas plains but a broader, longer-term perspective on farming—something Brown considers it his duty to spread to other farmers.
Sources: High Plains Journal; Landscapes
To view source articles, visit:
https://www.findfarmcredit.com/landscapes-articles/beyond-his-fences/
