VOA慢速英語(yǔ):Surviving a Drought: A Farmer's Old-Fashioned Lessons

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

In recent days the remains of what had been Hurricane Isaac moved into the American Midwest. The storm brought rain to some of the areas suffering from the country's worst drought in half a century. But the rain might have come too late to save many farmers' corn and soybean crops.

Crop insurance will help reduce financial losses for most of the farmers. Crop insurance is a tool that is not available to most growers in the developing world. The federal government helps pay the cost of the coverage against natural disasters.

But not every farmer in the United States chooses to buy crop insurance. Dick Thompson of Boone, Iowa, says he operates his farm the way farmers did in the past.

DICK THOMPSON: "I'm old-fashioned, and I'm proud of it."

He uses very little chemical fertilizer, weed killers or insecticides, and does not grow genetically modified crops. He says these practices will help him survive the drought. And he says they are already earning him more money per hectare than his neighbors who farm the modern way.

Scientists are trying to understand why his practices are working. Matt Liebman has copied many of them at his research fields at Iowa State University.

MATT LIEBMAN: "The reason we're doing this is because of what he's doing. So he was doing it before we did this. He was a good teacher. And what we're doing here is trying to understand some of the scientific mechanisms that explain the patterns that he's observed on his own farm."

Many Iowa farms today grow only corn and soybeans. Payments from crop insurance keep farmers in business when their crops do poorly, like in this year's drought.

DICK THOMPSON: "Well, I have never bought crop insurance since we started to farm."

Instead of crop insurance, he protects himself by growing other kinds of crops in addition to corn and soybeans. He raises hay and oats, along with cattle and pigs. He harvested his oat crop before the drought hit.

DICK THOMPSON: "I think it's common sense. You've got diversity. And you've got some protection there. If one crop doesn't do well, maybe the other one will make up for the difference."

That common sense used to be common practice on farms in Iowa, the heart of America's corn, or maize, production. But farmers are growing hay on only half as much land as they did twenty years ago. And oat production has fallen by almost ninety-five percent.

Livestock production has also shrunk. Dick Thompson says he will sell some of his cows and hogs, but not all of them. They provide more than money. They also provide the manure that he uses to fertilize the soil, instead of chemical fertilizers. And the manure helps the soil hold water. Iowa State University researcher Rick Cruse says that is another kind of insurance.

RICK CRUSE: "It really adds to the condition of that soil that does favor crop growth, particularly under stress conditions. And that's the kind of conditions we're experiencing this year."

These are conditions that farmers everywhere might face more often with climate change. Matt Liebman says his research shows that all farmers can learn from Dick Thompson.

MATT LIEBMAN: "Looking towards diversity, crop-livestock integration, the careful stewardship of the soil, making the best use of every drop of rain that falls. I mean, those things are all lessons that we should know here. And they're even more important elsewhere."

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report. You can read and listen to our story and watch a video about Dick Thompson's farm at 51voa.com. I'm Jim Tedder.

___

Contributing: Steve Baragona

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

這里是美國(guó)之音慢速英語(yǔ)農(nóng)業(yè)報(bào)道。

In recent days the remains of what had been Hurricane Isaac moved into the American Midwest. The storm brought rain to some of the areas suffering from the country's worst drought in half a century. But the rain might have come too late to save many farmers' corn and soybean crops.

最近幾天，颶風(fēng)艾薩克殘余轉(zhuǎn)移到美國(guó)中西部。這次風(fēng)暴給一些遭受了美國(guó)半個(gè)世紀(jì)以來(lái)最嚴(yán)重旱災(zāi)的地區(qū)帶來(lái)了降雨。但這次雨可能來(lái)得太晚，無(wú)力挽救許多農(nóng)民的玉米和大豆。

Crop insurance will help reduce financial losses for most of the farmers. Crop insurance is a tool that is not available to most growers in the developing world. The federal government helps pay the cost of the coverage against natural disasters.

農(nóng)作物保險(xiǎn)將有助于降低大多數(shù)農(nóng)民的經(jīng)濟(jì)損失。農(nóng)作物保險(xiǎn)是一種發(fā)展中國(guó)家大多數(shù)種植者無(wú)法獲得的工具。美國(guó)聯(lián)邦政府幫助支付抵御自然災(zāi)害的保險(xiǎn)金。

But not every farmer in the United States chooses to buy crop insurance. Dick Thompson of Boone, Iowa, says he operates his farm the way farmers did in the past.

但并非每個(gè)美國(guó)農(nóng)民都選擇購(gòu)買農(nóng)作物保險(xiǎn)。愛荷華州布恩市的迪克·湯姆森(Dick Thompson)說(shuō)，他和過(guò)去的農(nóng)民一樣經(jīng)營(yíng)著自己的農(nóng)場(chǎng)。

DICK THOMPSON: "I'm old-fashioned, and I'm proud of it."

湯姆森：“我老土，我驕傲!”

He uses very little chemical fertilizer, weed killers or insecticides, and does not grow genetically modified crops. He says these practices will help him survive the drought. And he says they are already earning him more money per hectare than his neighbors who farm the modern way.

他很少使用化肥、除草劑和殺蟲劑，并且不種植轉(zhuǎn)基因作物。他說(shuō)，這些做法有助于他經(jīng)受干旱考驗(yàn)。他還說(shuō)這些做法已經(jīng)讓他每畝地的盈利超過(guò)了用現(xiàn)代方式種植的鄰居。

Scientists are trying to understand why his practices are working. Matt Liebman has copied many of them at his research fields at Iowa State University.

科學(xué)家試圖了解他的做法為何有效。馬特·利伯曼(Matt Liebman)在愛荷華州立大學(xué)在自己的研究方向上復(fù)制了很多這類做法。

MATT LIEBMAN: "The reason we're doing this is because of what he's doing. So he was doing it before we did this. He was a good teacher. And what we're doing here is trying to understand some of the scientific mechanisms that explain the patterns that he's observed on his own farm."

利伯曼：“我們這樣做的原因是因?yàn)闇飞?，他在我們之前就這樣做。他是一位好老師。我們這樣做是試圖了解能夠解釋他在自己的農(nóng)場(chǎng)遵守的一些模式的科學(xué)機(jī)制。”

Many Iowa farms today grow only corn and soybeans. Payments from crop insurance keep farmers in business when their crops do poorly, like in this year's drought.

如今愛荷華州的很多農(nóng)場(chǎng)只種植玉米和大豆。來(lái)自農(nóng)作物保險(xiǎn)的賠償在農(nóng)民收益不好時(shí)幫助他們繼續(xù)經(jīng)營(yíng)，像今年這樣的干旱。

DICK THOMPSON: "Well, I have never bought crop insurance since we started to farm."

湯姆森：“從我開始種地起就沒買過(guò)農(nóng)作物保險(xiǎn)。”

Instead of crop insurance, he protects himself by growing other kinds of crops in addition to corn and soybeans. He raises hay and oats, along with cattle and pigs. He harvested his oat crop before the drought hit.

他通過(guò)種植玉米和大豆之外的其它作物來(lái)自保，而不是通過(guò)農(nóng)作物保險(xiǎn)。他種植了干草和燕麥，還養(yǎng)了牛和豬。他在干旱來(lái)襲前收獲了自己的燕麥作物。

DICK THOMPSON: "I think it's common sense. You've got diversity. And you've got some protection there. If one crop doesn't do well, maybe the other one will make up for the difference."

湯姆森：“我認(rèn)識(shí)這是常識(shí)。你獲得了多元化，也獲得了一些保護(hù)。如果一種作物收益不佳，可能其它作物會(huì)彌補(bǔ)這些差額。”

That common sense used to be common practice on farms in Iowa, the heart of America's corn, or maize, production. But farmers are growing hay on only half as much land as they did twenty years ago. And oat production has fallen by almost ninety-five percent.

這種常識(shí)在作為美國(guó)玉米生產(chǎn)核心地區(qū)的愛荷華州的農(nóng)場(chǎng)曾經(jīng)是一種常規(guī)做法。但和20年前相比，農(nóng)民只在以前一半的土地上種植干草。同時(shí)燕麥產(chǎn)量已經(jīng)下降了近95%。

Livestock production has also shrunk. Dick Thompson says he will sell some of his cows and hogs, but not all of them. They provide more than money. They also provide the manure that he uses to fertilize the soil, instead of chemical fertilizers. And the manure helps the soil hold water. Iowa State University researcher Rick Cruse says that is another kind of insurance.

畜牧業(yè)生產(chǎn)也已經(jīng)萎縮。湯姆森表示，他會(huì)賣出一些牛和豬，但不會(huì)全賣掉。這些牲畜能夠提供的不止是錢，還能提供糞便替代化學(xué)肥料用于土地施肥。同時(shí)糞便有助于土壤保持水分。愛荷華州立大學(xué)研究人員里克·克魯斯(Rick Cruse)表示，這是另一種類型的保險(xiǎn)。

RICK CRUSE: "It really adds to the condition of that soil that does favor crop growth, particularly under stress conditions. And that's the kind of conditions we're experiencing this year."

克魯斯：“它確實(shí)改善了土壤的狀況，有利于作物生長(zhǎng)，特別是在有壓力的狀況下，也就是我們今年經(jīng)歷的這樣一種狀況。”

These are conditions that farmers everywhere might face more often with climate change. Matt Liebman says his research shows that all farmers can learn from Dick Thompson.

因?yàn)闅夂蜃兓?，世界各地的農(nóng)民可能會(huì)更頻繁地面臨各種狀況。利伯曼稱他的研究顯示，所有農(nóng)民都可以借鑒湯姆森的做法。

MATT LIEBMAN: "Looking towards diversity, crop-livestock integration, the careful stewardship of the soil, making the best use of every drop of rain that falls. I mean, those things are all lessons that we should know here. And they're even more important elsewhere."

利伯曼：“展望多樣性，農(nóng)作物和牲畜結(jié)合，細(xì)致土壤管理，最大化利用每滴雨水。我是說(shuō)這些都是我們應(yīng)該知道的經(jīng)驗(yàn)教訓(xùn)。而且它們?cè)谄渌胤缴踔粮鼮橹匾?rdquo;