Global warming: drought and Chinese imports shape "Experiment in agriculture" for colorado
“… THOSE WHO WORK ON THE EARTH ARE THE CHOSEN PEOPLE OF GOD, IF THEY EVER HAD A CHOSEN PEOPLE, WHOSE CHEST HAS MADE THE PECULIAR DEPOSITS FOR A SUBSTANTIAL AND AUTHENTIC VIRTUE. IT IS THE FURNAL APPROACH THAT KEEPS HOLY ALIVE. OTHERWISE I COULD NOT ESCAPE THE EARTH. ” Thomas Jefferson, 1789
Ethno-agricultural
According to the book “The History of Agriculture in Colorado”, the primitive plows that were used to break the soil in the first agricultural settlements of Colorado (San Luis Valley) were made of pine nut wood for its superior strength. El Piñón was life for our farming communities, and more than a few early parts of exploration in the Rockies, both Spanish and American, were saved from starvation by Pinyon and his nuts. The pinion pine, pine nut, and human settlement in Colorado have a history dating back to the basketwork culture under the Pecos classification system. Piñón 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 consensus that the first human settlements in Colorado were the result of Piñon Nut providing a source of winter protein, which supported life when game animals were scarce, allowing man to build the first societies (Cliff Dwellings) in Colorado.
Farming in the east beats western agriculture
Currently, more than 80% of the $ 49 million in Pine nuts consumed in the US market is IMPORTED FROM CHINA, with no benefit to Western landowners. “We have thousands of American households that buy and eat pine nuts, not knowing their true Chinese origin.” Pine nuts (Piñon Nuts) provide an important source of protein, at levels exceeding even walnuts and walnuts, with significant amounts of vitamin A, riboflavin, thiamine and niacin, “they really have no nutritional rival in the world of walnuts”. Additionally, pinion trees naturally function as a “great carbon sink” for the planet by removing carbon. “Certainly, as consumers discover that they are unknowingly getting more protein from eating ‘cloned beef protein,’ the idea of adding a natural, wild protein to their diet, such as that found in Piñon Nut’s, is attractive to health and environmental awareness. “.
This project involves an “experimental dryland agriculture” in the creation of a pine nut improvement program. Walnut pine improvement programs may involve four main steps: 1) Selection of superior trees – (ie “plus trees”) – from natural stands; 2) Grafting of these plus superior trees in orchards to produce genetically improved seeds (nuts); 3) Field tests of these plus trees to identify the best trees and improve the orchard seed (cone and nut size) by eliminating inferior trees; and 4) Continuous improvement and development of even better varieties by crossing 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 pine nut production, as does dry weather and high temperatures, regardless of tree genetics. And tree size, an important determinant of cone growing potential, is heavily influenced by soil type, climate, pest history, competition, etc. There are so many factors that affect the ‘phenotype’, you see, that the only way to determine the ‘genotype’ characteristics of a tree is to have offspring grow from its seeds in progeny tests.
Arid zone agriculture in relation to pinion 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 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 Consider the environmental and socioeconomic characteristics given as negative obstacles that must be overcome.
or see as many as possible of them as positive resources to be used
Vision of the Future – Colorado Pine Nut Orchards?
Looking to the future, it is possible to see an increasing number of farmers and landowners throughout the Southwest value the benefits of now managing their own arid and unprofitable Piñon forests as active “pine nut orchards”. Developed tree breeding, pollination and cultivation practices, which are already used to improve crop yields in walnut, walnut and apple orchards, can be applied for economic benefits in a pine nut orchard. “A farmer can create a seed orchard for transplants or seedlings, or improve the productivity of native Piñón trees already on the ground,” said Alan Peterson, who is a pioneer in the research. And with pine nuts selling for over $ 15 a pound, this truly represents a new “Business Model for the Environment.”
“THE GROWERS OF THE EARTH ARE THE MOST VALUABLE CITIZENS. THEY ARE THE MOST EFFECTIVE, THE MOST INDEPENDENT, THE VIRTUOUS, AND THEY ARE TIED TO THEIR COUNTRY, AND MARRIED TO THEIR FREEDOM AND INTEREST, BUY THE MOST DURABLE BONDS. LONG-LASTING BONDS. THE MOST DURABLE BONDS. FIND A JOB ON THIS LINE, I WOULD NOT TURN THEM INTO SAILORS, CRAFTSMEN OR ANYTHING ELSE … “Thomas Jefferson, 1785
Introduction to the Pinion
Of approximately (14) species of walnuts grown in the United States, the Piñón remains to be cultivated.
The ancestor of the pinion pine was a member of the Madro-Tertiary Flora, (a group of species resistant to drought), which starting 60 million years ago, its host climate began to change from humid to dry.
Piñón (Pinus Edulis) grows slowly to a small, drought-resistant, and fairly long-lived species native to the southwestern United States. Its common name is derived from the Spanish piñón and refers to the large seed of the pine (pine). Other common names are Colorado Piñon and Pine Nut. Existing forests, where Piñón is the main species, cover about 36 million acres combined in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona, but drought and the resulting attacks by pine beetles and various pathogens have had a considerable effect on the Piñón stands.
Piñón trees thrive in areas with annual rainfall ranging from a low of 10 “annually to more than 22” inches, and where temperatures from an extreme low of -35 Celsius exist, all within just 90 frost-free days per year. . At its highest elevation range and northernmost latitude, Piñón’s native growth can be found in a variety of depths and soil textures, from rocky gravels to fine, compacted clays, and at elevations of 4500 to 7500 feet of height, with isolated specimens up to 9400 feet.
From the research on the most desirable locations of the Piñón orchard (i.e., low land values, good elevation + rainfall, existing high-producing native Piñón stands), it stands out that the rural communities most in need of any stimulus were found in the vicinity of these parameters. . Therefore, Piñón orchards would be of great value for their establishment and collection of nuts, especially in those areas that are currently considered unsuitable for traditional agricultural crops. It is to be expected that a small rural community will ‘Brand’ itself around a growing collection and consumption of pine nuts, that is … by hosting a theme of the ‘Festival of Pine Nuts’, basic nut products of piñón (sweets, menu items and their resulting establishment of Mejorado, Huertos de Piñón Therefore, the joint location of the active crop of Piñón in the vicinity of rural areas that need some economic stimulus, may turn out to be one of the most beneficial benefits exciting.
Economic benefits of increased pine nut production
The beneficial effects for a local economy develop from several different channels: the sale of nut crops would impact the economy directly, through the purchase of local goods and services, and indirectly, since those purchases in turn generate purchases. intermediate goods and services from other related sectors of the economy. In addition, these direct and indirect effects increase employment and income, increasing the purchasing power of the economy in general, thus inducing higher spending on goods and services. This cycle continues until spending eventually seeps out of the local economy as a result of taxes, savings, or purchases of goods and services not produced locally.
Barriers to the commercial cultivation of Piñón
o The complexities of water use, water rights, and water availability in Colorado and all of the western drylands.
o Piñón (seed) production is cyclical and good harvests can be produced at 2- to 7-year intervals, but the average harvest has occurred at 4.1-year intervals from a 58-year study.
o Slow growth rates in typical specimens, unless placed under intense cultivation or grafting practices.
o Existing limited knowledge on cross pollination and walnut size and improvement of walnut yield from cultivated or native Piñón plantations in the United States.
o Limited existing knowledge or studies on the success of grafting on pinion or other pine nut species.
o Possibly the most drought resistant characteristics of any nut producing plant, increasingly important in a climate of ‘global warming’.
o Higher protein by weight than all nuts except cashews.
o Piñón has adaptability to the widest range of soil types.
o Piñón suffers little damage from “browsing” by deer, elk, rabbits, and rodents throughout its range.
o Greater and better use of arid lands than beef cattle with protein production per acre. (Pine nuts = 123% more protein efficient per acre than beef.)
o Few concerns about disease and herbivorous insects.
Historically, walnut pines have had little academic focus as crop growers. 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, walnuts, etc.) first in good soil. Pines will be used for the driest slopes when people of … a hundred years from now begin to complain about the high cost of living. “
… “No sentiment is more recognized in the family of farmers than that the few who can afford it must bear the risk and expense of all improvements and give the benefit freely to the many more restricted circumstances.” Thomas Jefferson, 1810
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