Just Say "NO!" To the Tractor?

Yes, that's right. Say "NO" to tractors around your food!  Why?  How else will we feed ourselves without those big shiny (or in many cases not-so-shiny) tractors?  The answer is simple and so is the explanation. 

This is the first of a series regarding small-farm, regenerative agricultural practices that I will be writing about. This post is regarding tractors.  I will be following up with other dubious practices such as: Tilling, fish emulsion and other "organic" fertilizers, flood irrigation, the benefits of heirloom vegetables and more - so make sure to subscribe to our RSS feed and comment below as well!

I get asked all the time why we do not use tractors, and what is our beef with them.  There are multiple issues that I have with the tractor, the least of the reasons may shock you, and it is probably what you are all thinking:  The greenhouse gas emissions. 

Although tractors do emit enormous amounts of greenhouse gases, that is not the reason I am so adamantly against them - though it is definitely a reason, it is the smallest of them all. 

1.  Tractors compact the soil.
2.  Tractors emit particulates all over your food and soil.
3.  Tractors release heavy metals.
4.  Tractors leak.
5.  Tractors encourage a lack of land-use efficiency.
6.  Tractors encourage the use of herbicides.
7.  Tractors emit greenhouse gases - lots of them.

1.  Tractors compact the soil.

If you have been following me or our farm for a while now, you should be well aware of the problem with tilling our soil and the damage it has created to our environment and soil web.  You are also probably aware that one of the most detrimental things to soil is compaction and the lack of oxygen - not allowing the microbes and bacteria to breathe or room for roots to grow.  Whenever we use a tractor we are compacting the soil, causing major amounts of compaction and therefore destroying the microflora in that area. We are also encouraging the need for tilling.  Reference: https://www.extension.umn.edu/agriculture/soils/tillage/soil-compaction/

2.  Tractors emit particulates all over your food and soil.

This one is so obvious, yet no one thinks about it.  Everyone thinks that tractor emissions simply turn into a gas and go up into the atmosphere.  Some gases that come from the tractor do, but not all.  There are over 40 toxic air particulates that come from the exhaust of these engines.  Many (most) of these particulates are heavier than air and when they get released from the tailpipe of the tractor - where do you think they go?  That's right, on your food!  Not only is it going right onto your food, it is going in a way that acts like a foliar spray, right onto the leaves so it can't even be filter by the soil, it just gets absorbed right away into the plant...isn't that lovely?  So yea, next time you pick up that "Organic" lettuce at the store, you can think about all the toxins you most likely are ingesting. References:
https://www.osha.gov/dts/hazardalerts/diesel_exhaust_hazard_alert.html http://www.tractor.com/features/diesel-tractor-engines-and-the-epa-1630.html
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/17/farming-is-single-biggest-cause-of-worst-air-pollution-in-europe

3.  Tractors release heavy metals.

Everyone knows about the numerous studies that have been done concerning the dangers of brake dust in our cities and in our air.  Brakes, especially on older tractors and vehicles, contain major heavy metals - like even asbestos and other nasty chemicals.  Every time the brake is pressed, dust is created and that dust...yes, goes right into your food!  This is such a big issue that there are actual lawsuits over this because it causes diseases like mesotheleoma!
References:
http://www.news.gatech.edu/2017/08/25/brake-dust-may-cause-more-problems-blackened-wheel-covers
http://www.lipsitzponterio.com/jobsites-occupations-Farm_Tractor_Mesothelioma.html

4.  Tractors leak.

Have you EVER seen a tractor that doesn't leak?  Especially the older ones? Ever worked on a tractor?  What happens when you go underneath one of these tractors is that you will find that it is black and covered with oil, grease and other fluids.  Well, my friends, the absolute truth is, that vehicles, tractors, and especially the older tractors, leak  a lot!  There is no regulation for this, and all those "Organic" or "Beyond-Organic" farms that are going along with those older tractors (even new ones too!) are most likely spreading these chemicals on your food. 
References:  Simply Google "Tractor Engine Leaking Oil" and you will get 530,000 results. Don't tell me "MY tractor doesn't leak!"  Ya, right.

5.  Tractors encourage a lack of land-use efficiency. 

This is a broad topic and one that a whole book could be written about. However, the idea is an easy one to convey:  Tractor agriculture requires a large amount of space - duh!  On our farm we produce over 47,000 LBS per acre pf mixed vegetables without a tractor.  We use almost every square inch that we can, outside of the pathways.  For example:  In a 30inch bed, we can grow 5 rows of carrots.  With a tractor, we can typically grow 1 to 2 at most. 
References:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29463755

6.  Tractors encourage the use of herbicides. 

It's common sense, but it's also eye opening.  Thing about how a tractor cultivates crops:  It drags a tine down the middle of the row.  What about the weeds that are directly competing and up against that onion?  Well, the only way to get rid of these weeds is through the use of chemical herbicides. Yes, there are organic herbicides that can be used - and this IS what is used.  You can also pull the weeds by hand, and many organic and small farms do this, so it is not the rule.  However, the purpose of tractors is to minimize labor and to be able to grow on a larger space, as mentioned above.  When this happens and it is time to cultivate the crops and remove weeds, if we do it by hand it is nearly impossible to do because the tractor encouraged such a large growing area that to walk it and weed by hand is an incredible task.  However, if the farm is set up to utilize hand-labor and to make efficiency of every square foot, weeding all of a sudden become a much smaller task. 

7.  Tractors emit greenhouse gases - lots of them.

Again, this is the least of my worries, but it is still a worry.  Compared to other forms of greenhouse gases produced by agriculture, like methane from animals or GHG's from synthetic fertilizers etc. (65%), tractor use is small in comparison.  However, with agricultural emissions anticipated to increase 15% or more by 2030, why is it ok to say "the tractor and transportation of our agricultural products are only 35% of the total GHG's that agriculture produces, so it's ok!"  It's not ok.  We need to take measures in every area to reduce our need for fossil fuels, and it can start with the tractor and our means of delivery - i.e. supporting local!
References:
http://www.wri.org/blog/2014/05/everything-you-need-know-about-agricultural-emissions

Now, you may have read all of this and thought to yourself:  "That's great, Yosef, but how else are we going to feed the world?"  The answer is simple in that the overwhelming number of farms in the world do not use tractors at all.  There are currently about 2 million tractors in the world today, but there are 570 million farms in the world.  That means that 3/10ths of one percent, or .0035 of the world farms have tractors - so you can simply answer that question for yourself.

References: 
https://www.farm-equipment.com/articles/10018-worldwide-sales-of-farm-tractors-surpasses-2-million
https://www.globalagriculture.org/report-topics/industrial-agriculture-and-small-scale-farming.html

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By Yosef Camire