Journey to Planet; Earth

A. Major funding for Journey to planet Earth was provided by. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA's Earth Sciences enterprise dedicated to understanding the total earth system and the effects of natural and human induced changes on the global environment. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation as part of its continuing work to build a more sustainable food system. The Arthur Vining Davis Foundation's. Continental Airlines in 38 countries worldwide. The World Bank. Additional funding was provided by the Rockefeller Foundation American Honda Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture sustainable agriculture and research program. Joe and Bill are in the middle of an arm around the clock 40 days sprint

a race against time to bring in their corn and soybeans before the weather turns. And early frost or hail storm could ruin their entire crop. Joe works in air conditioned comfort at a steady six miles an hour. His brother bill maintains the pace receiving the grain that will eventually be trucked to nearby storage silos. Their farm is about as far from China as you can get. Almost half their harvest will make its way to the burgeoning markets of Asia. Basically the farm in the Midwest is a protein factory and the whole idea is to produce as much protein per acre as we possibly can to feed the United States and the rest of the world. From late September through early November Iowa's annual cycle of

harvest never seems to end the continuous demand for food is at the heart of a major environmental dilemma. In the process of helping to feed the world. Are we in danger of depleting the soil of our nation's heartland. At first glance Northern Iowa is a vision of agricultural stability row upon row of corn and soybeans stretch and the sleek towards the horizon. The rich black earth of these farms the earth that nurtures their crops. Is actually a gift. Left behind from the last ice age. Ten thousand years ago nearly a third of Iowa was covered with glaciers. Over time the climate changed.

Temperatures rose. And the ice slowly began to retreat. Left behind with some of the youngest and most fertile soil in the country. The history of the tall grass prairie's is legendary. A place where the natural interaction of wildfires and grazing herds of buffalo enriched and replenished the soil renewed each year into an exquisitely balanced at the system. With the coming of the pioneers native grasses were ripped apart in less than a hundred years the tall grass prairie's were transformed into America's corn belt. By the end of World War One it was becoming the bread basket of the nation. In haste to reap the rewards of this naturally fertile soil

farmers worked the land hard. It was left unprotected and vulnerable to the elements. Then a prolonged drought hit the Midwest. What followed was the country's worst environmental disaster. The dust bulls of the 1930s. It started when the seasonal winds began to blow creating massive dust storm. Thousands of farmers packed up and fled westward. Bill and Joe Grant's father tried to take out. But eventually he gave up and left the grounds and started over in Iraq. I don't know how we existed through those years. I guess we didn't know much about anything else out there and there was no money what would we do when we go. Joe and Bill who ran our corn belt farmers of the new millennium. Like the early pioneers. They grow similar crops work similar

land worry about the same uncertainties of weather. What separates them from previous generations however is technology. It's kind of frightening the speed that things are changing these days. We went from a generation ago with my grandfather. Harvesting a hundred bushels a day by hand with a team of horses having him feeling like he had a really good day to where my brother and I now can harvest routinely twenty five thousand bushels. It isn't because we work any harder it's because of the technology that we have available than the machinery we have been able today. There are no longer teams of horses in Iowa. Like the small villages of France left behind are the skeletons from another time another. Quiet reminders that the mechanisation of Agriculture. Means fewer

people are needed to farm larger tracts of land. At the turn of the 20th century farmers were nearly 35 percent of the population. Today fewer than 2 percent of American families work the land. But there is technology. And it is rapidly changing the face of Agriculture. High above a network of military satellites scan the landscape not to pinpoint targets but to tell farmers their exact position coupled with yield information from previous years. Farmers can now manage their land by the square foot instead. Joe rounds onboard computer is linked to the satellites have called Precision farming. He now knows exactly when and where to apply chemicals.

Since the government has loosened up a little bit on some of the global positioning equipment that they've had. We have gone to more of a site specific management system. We apply fertilizer and herbicides where needed as needed. We live here our kids live here. We drink the water we breathe the air. We we try and be as good stewards of the soil as we can. Steve and Elias Crofts day begins with a leisurely cup of coffee. At least 15 boxes of. It's a quiet moment in their busy schedules a time to discuss the day's activities. Yeah yeah I want to learn the process. Well it sounds like we have a fifth and sixth

generation Mennonite farmers. Steve and his father are deeply attached to the land. They're one hundred seventy five acre vegetable farm is located in the gently rolling hills in southern Pennsylvania. Lancaster County is a community grounded in a strong work ethic. Dating back more than two hundred and fifty years. To the time when Amish and Mennonite immigrants came from Europe in search of religious freedom. Their way of life has changed very little over the years. The more orthodox Amish cling to a lifestyle abandoned by the modern world. They do not drive cars. And use mules and horses to pull their plows. The more liberal Mennonites rely on more contemporary means of

transportation. Both see themselves as the custodians of one of the most productive non irrigated counties in the United States. But reminiscent of the dust bowl days. Their precious land is can. Be exposed to the elements. Each year more than four million tons of land. CASTOR county's richest earth. Are washed away into nearby streams and rivers. Most of the loss takes place during severe rain storms. It's not uncommon for an inch of rain to fall in less than 30 minutes. The damage on most farms is both dramatic and costly. Once these farms averaged 16 inches of the best

topsoil in the world now it's barely eight inches. The rest lies somewhere on the bottom of the cesspool Hanna river or the Chesapeake Bay. The devastating cycle of topsoil loss does not exist on the graph farm. When Steve joined the family business he brought dramatic change instead of plowing the land. Each fall he plants a cover crop that is rolled on the land to form a protective carpet. Some of my fields have not been filled in any fashion for about 15 years. The reason I got away from plowing the soil was because I saw too much Sawyer was washing away when we had rain. And so its soil is my number one asset I want to try to manage in such a way to keep my saw in place.

Called no till farming. Steve never exposes the soil to the elements. In the final step of the process a specially designed tractor. Places the seeds for the vegetable crops directly into this natural mulch. The soil is never turned up. Several months later. The land is ready to be harvested. This is when Steve grabs faith in no till farming is justified news. When his grandfather started farming tomatoes on this land the yield was 15 tons to the acre. Today the farms tomato yield is 40 tons per acre. And equally important soil erosion has been cut by over 90 percent.