Masanobu Fukuoka may be one of the most farsighted and downright radical farmers to have ever lived! Why? Because over the past 30 years, he gradually abandoned most conventional agricultural practices in order to return control of his land to the most skilled grower of all … Nature herself! In return – he claimed – he has reaped both bumper crops and a peace that surpasses understanding.
On August 16, 2008 Masanobu died, but not without leaving behind some of the most important farming lessons known.
Look at this grain! I believe that a revolution can begin from this one strand of straw. Then take a look at these fields of rye and barley. This ripening grain will yield about 22 bushels (1,300 pounds) per quarter acre. I believe this matches the top yields in Ehime Prefecture (where I live), and therefore, it could easily equal the top harvest in the whole country since this is one of the prime agricultural areas in Japan. And yet . . . these fields have not been plowed for 25 years!
