Why producers need to do more with science

Like many of you, there are certain topics we avoid when our families get together for the holidays. Somehow, science has found its way into topics that should be avoided. However, the scientific method is not a religion. It’s just a way to determine what works and what doesn’t.

What is one reason why ordinary people don’t trust science? Some people are like me. The main purpose of a journalist is to serve the public, in my case the vegetable industry. But to attract advertisers, we also need to demonstrate that you’re committed to our reporting.

So you see science being used as clickbait. There are too many news articles claiming that “scientists have discovered something.” [insert something absurd here]” These reports are usually based on a single study where further research is desperately needed and where other researchers need to test the results in their own studies. However, they are a bummer for broadcasting companies hoping to increase viewership.

Most established sciences and theories (such as plant and soil chemistry, botany, etymology, pathology, and the weed science that our industry relies on) are not one-off studies but the result of long-term series of studies. is born from. These are done in collaboration with others, and each step is likely to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, with other reputable groups around the world validating the results and finding their own evidence.

Another reason people doubt science? Politics. Experts who want to attack established theories have a reliable weapon: questioning the sources. Instead of digging up dirt on political candidates, the group lays out a series of arguments about why the people doing scientific theories and research can’t be trusted.

And finally, our own egos undermine our faith in the scientific method. When research yields unpleasant results, we instinctively reject it.

This is easy to understand when you look at history. Consider how Galileo changed his life forever by reporting what he saw through a telescope. He was following in the footsteps of Copernicus, who initially accepted positively his theory that the Earth revolved around the Sun. However, decades after Copernicus’ death, church agitators campaigned against science, effectively eliminating his theories. By the time Galileo published his work almost 100 years later, it challenged the current theology that God made the earth the center of the universe.

The future of agriculture depends on a deeper understanding of soils, plants, breeding, and the general environment. Let’s embrace the scientific method to guide us.

Oh, one more thing

I would like to introduce some research that has caught my attention recently.

soil health

The Arizona-based Yuma Desert Agricultural Excellence Center (better known as YCEDA) has decided to undertake soil health research. One reason we know so little about something that has been around for so long is because of how soil health conflicts with common research methods. Most studies rely on the study of a single component. That doesn’t work because soils are interconnected. But YCEDA is trying to implement an integrated approach.

DesertAgSolutions.org/Video

A holistic approach to research

YCEDA’s approach to soil health represents a new way to address an ongoing problem. When citrus greening devastated Florida’s citrus industry, the Department of Agriculture changed its approach to the big problem. Scientists are now being sent all over the world, and many of our future diseases will come from there (citrus greening is no different). It also creates a team of scientists with different specialties, allowing for a broader understanding of the problem.

https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/usda-science-research-strategy.pdf