David Montgomery kicked off the 54th Nobel Conference, Living Soil: A Universe Underfoot with a lecture on conservation agriculture, encouraging the three pillars of soil conservation: ditch the plow, cover up, and boost diversity.
“It is not a question of organic versus conventional farming but of understanding ecology,” says Montgomery. By practicing no-till agriculture, utilizing cover crops to prevent soil erosion and bring nutrients back to the earth, and planting a diversity of crops, Montgomery makes the case for an agriculture that is both economically viable and ecologically responsible.
About David Montgomery
David R. Montgomery is a MacArthur Fellow and professor of geomorphology at the University of Washington. He is an internationally recognized geologist who studies landscape evolution and the effects of geological processes on ecological systems and human societies. An author of award-winning popular-science books, he has been featured in documentary films, network and cable news, and on a wide variety of TV and radio programs, including NOVA, PBS NewsHour, Fox and Friends, and All Things Considered.
His books can be found here.