The use of artificial fertilisers
There is no doubt that the use of artificial fertilisers, in particular nitrogen, has led to increased crop yields throughout the world since the 1950s. Before mankind was able to artificially produce nitrogen substances the main sources came from animal manure and plant material generally. It has been known for a long time that nitrates in the water systems are not good for animal  or human life as well as causing great ecological problems with ecosystems.
 
Recent research has revealed an estimated £280 billion is spent each year in Europe alone to clean up the problem of nitrate pollution which equates to some £650 for every man woman and child. The agricultural sector is thought to be responsible for up to 2/3rds of this pollution.
Artificial nitrogen fertiliser, being generally extremely soluble, if not immediately taken up by the plant to be used to make proteins substances  can be leached into the water table. There is also a certain amount of evaporation of this nitrogen substances in the form of ammonia. Further there is the release of the very toxic nitrous oxide which although is released in relatively small amounts is a greenhouse gas ,300 times more concentrated than carbon dioxide.
Research has also suggested that if we had not used artificial nitrogen  to enable plants to grow more efficiently, then half of the world's population would not exist today. These kind of scenarios are difficult to get one's mind around . As Christians is clear that God very often gives humankind the ability to learn from nature, to mimic it, indeed to harness its very energy. Nitrogen phosphorus and potassium to name three of the most important chemicals that are necessary for the establishment, growth and development of plants that we need to eat, being artificially manufactured is in itself an example of mankind's God-given ability to copy that which is good in the natural world. Yet like so many things in life it is getting the right perspective on matters and not using things excessively when not necessary or even I would suggest when not ethically right to do so.
 
An example of this would be how even though it is possible to grow one particular crop (called monoculture) through the continuous use of artificial fertilisers, the effect on the environment can be dramatic. Very often what can be left is not really a soil as such but very often a clay or sand substrate acting as an anchor for plants roots and artificial chemicals causing the plants to grow. For a long time, certainly since the 1950s this was seen not to be a real problem because as long as there was sufficient oil available to be used in the manufacture of these chemicals the greatly improved yields certainly brought plentiful food supplies for needy populations as well as in many developed countries vast amount of profits for farmers. The lack of a living soil organic matter (that is both dead and living plants and animals both the size of Beatles and worms as well as their microscopic counterparts) led to an absence of good predators such as the Ladybird to help keep under control outbreaks of such things as aphids, to use a very basic and simple example. Yet  for  modern farming this did not become a problem for the use of pesticides and herbicides enabled the eradication of such pests with though unfortunately any remnants of organisms still left in the soil which could be termed beneficial, like the Beatles and the Ladybirds  also being wiped out.
 
It seems to me that this is an example of things going too far with nature being manipulated in ways which are not pleasing to God who has placed within the natural world solutions to such things as disease and infestations of harmful creatures which damage and destroy crops.
 
Simply farming in and all organic way is not though going to be able to produce sufficient food to feed the billions of people which are currently being fed through  very high yields associated with artificial fertilisers. It is true to say that if we ignore God's answer to a need or get detracted  problems can arise. As an example we can look at the area of Egypt where for thousands of years the flooding of the Nile deposited large amounts of nutrient rich silts onto the farmland giving amazing crop yields, in fact, comparable to some of the high yields associated with modern agriculture using artificial means. But now Egypt is one of the country's that uses a very high amount of artificial fertilisers and why? The reason why is because the all-important flooding of the Nile delta area has been impeded, in many ways through the damning of this mighty river using a dam system not particularly conducive to allowing this natural process to benefit this country.
 
If we look at countries like India we see a high dependence on artificial fertilisers used to produce crops such as rice, which though is totally understandable considering there are hundreds of millions of people to feed, yet also has clearly an environmental impact on the peoples and the ecosystems around them in ways similar to Europe.
 
We know that the biblical encouragement to "go forth and multiply" has often led to greatly increased populations throughout the world and with advancements in health care, medicines etc, people are living much longer and infant mortality rates have come down dramatically. When Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden our Lord God said clearly that it would be by toil that man would work the ground to produce crops and throughout  the history of the world this has certainly been the case even since the time of our saviour Jesus coming with a new covenant. Powerful artificial herbicides and pesticides and fertilisers have sought to address this problem, but I would argue with consequences by going at times too far without proper consideration for the Earth and God's creation.
 
For those of you who are farmers reading this then you will be able to testify to very often the beneficial results from using such chemicals mentioned above and in no way am I saying you are wrong to do so. Having families to feed and without suitable alternatives then it is natural to be accepting that which is before us which often can be giving such dramatic results.
 
Although not advocating stopping using all artificial things I do believe that there is a need to return to more natural ways of farming and when we do so I believe that this will indeed bring God's blessing. For farmers in the UK animal manure and plant waste can often stay in a manure heaps and not properly used to put back substances such as nitrogen phosphorus and potassium back into the soil (after having these substances taken up through the roots and incorporated into the harvest crop) with instead  often total reliance on artificial alternatives. The traditional practice of composting plant and animal material has often been completely neglected.
At the beginning of this article I spoke of the financial estimations that have been associated with the clearing up of pollutants coming from just nitrogen alone that is artificially been put onto the land.
 
Clearly what I shared will be food for thought and I would welcome your thoughts and opinions on this subject. Yours in his grip
farmer Andy