THE AMAZING NATURAL FARM OF MASANOBU FUKUOKA

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THE ONE-STRAW REVOLUTION, BY MASANOBU FUKUOKA

Look at this grain! I believe that a revolution can begin from this one strand of straw. Then take a look at these fields of rye and barley. This ripening grain will yield about 22 bushels (1,300 pounds) per quarter acre. I believe this matches the top yields in Ehime Prefecture (where I live), and therefore, it could easily equal the top 'harvest in the whole country . . since this is one of the prime agricultural areas in Japan. And yet . . . these fields have not been plowed for 25 years!

To plant, I simply broadcast rye and barley seed on separate fields in the fall . . . while the rice is still standing! A few weeks later, I harvest the rice and spread the straw back over the fields from which it came.

It is the same for the rice seeding. This winter grain (rye and barley) will be cut around the 20th of May. About two weeks before these crops fully mature, I broadcast rice seed over them. After they have been harvested—and the grains threshed—I spread the resulting rye and barley straw over the field.

I suppose that using the same method to plant rice and winter grain is unique to this kind of farming . . . but there is an even easier way! As we walk over to the next field, let me point out that the rice there was sown last fall at the same time as the winter grain. In fact, the whole year's planting was finished in the field by New Year's Day!

You might further notice that white clover and weeds are also growing in these fields. Clover seed was sown among the rice plants in early October (shortly before the rye and barley). I do not worry about sowing the weeds . . . they reseed themselves quite easily!

So the order of planting in this field is as follows: In early October, I broadcast clover among the rice . . . followed by winter grain in the middle of the month. In early November, the rice sown the previous year is harvested. Then I sow next year's rice seed and lay straw across the field. The rye and barley you see in front of you were grown this way.

In caring for a quarter-acre field, one or two people can do all the work of growing rice and winter grain in a matter of days!

This method completely contradicts modern agricultural techniques. It throws "scientific knowledge" and traditional farming know-how out the window. With this kind of farming—which uses no machines, no prepared fertilizer, and no chemicals—it is possible to attain a harvest equal to or greater than that of the average Japanese farm. The proof is ripening before your eyes.

This way of farming has evolved according to the natural conditions of the Japanese islands, but I feel that "natural farming" could also be applied in other areas . . . and to the raising of other indigenous crops.

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