Agriculture Design assignment – Argentina 2 / ground work
The second step consist in observing and research on the terrain to understand about all the natural resources we can count on :
- biodiversity
- the composition, the state of the soils and the dynamic of their ressources (water, nutriments, sustainability, climat evolution…) throughout a study of the boi indicative plants.
- the agriculture capacities and its’ limits natural, technical as well as human.
All these elements will constituate the basis of the specidfications needed to manage this domain, its’ needs and the adjustments to operate in priority..
The only way to work on 100 000 acres of valleys and mountains, on horses, 7 hours a day, with a gaucho as a guide. Gérard Ducerf on a horse back? Is a picture you have never seen.
- biodiversity : After two weeks, we have estimated that the domain has more than 1200 of native species, which is about one fifth of all the flora in France; amazing… Among them bromes and rubiaceas, forrage plants which have been exported in the XIXth century to feed American and European cattle.
- In general the plants encountered indicate a rich soil but fragile. A high tendency to dissociate itself immidiatly when signs of over grazing appear. A certain tendency of canyon creation because of ill-agricultural practices in places is to be looked carefully.
- The cowshit does not degrade itself: the systemic insecticide treatments of the cattle is to strong; cow shit became now an insecticide; the necrophage insects do not play their role anymore.
- A main concern is to feed the cattle in winter, when freezing temperatures and the lack of water stops the growth of the forrage. The Agronomic engineers have introduces since four years chemicals to produce genetically modified soja and corn (GMO)… as it is a common practice in Argentina.
Here is a canyon which is ready to wipe out a 1000 acres downwards and which needs to be stopped in priority.
Our specifications will turn around 3 main axis :
- stop erosion;
- bring the domain to a complete autonomy by improving the managment of the natural ressources;
- a better managment of irrigation and forrage to get rid of all chemical products and genetically modified annual plants;
- a better awareness of the richness of medicinal plants that enhance the immune defenses of the cattle, as well as rubiaceas which allows a bigger production of meat with the same quantity of forrage..
One must keep in mind that corn and soja are useless to produce meat, it is like to feed someone with only sweets.
On a field like the above, at least 4 harvest of forrage can be made. One must cut it just when the balance of proteines and cellulose is reached, it will get the best nutrition coefficient as well as a good variety of medicinal plants.