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Group Info
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Areas of Focus
Permaculture | Agroforestry | Greenhouse Gases | Farm Ecosystem Management | Agricultural Water Conservation and Management | Sustainable Livestock Husbandry | Lakes and Ponds | Groundwater | Water and Sustainable Development | Land Restoration | Land Stewardship | Natural Resource Conservation | Rural Farming Communities | Natural Resource Education | Restoration Ecology | Soil Ecology | Appropriate Technology | Dams | Watershed Management | Rural Development | Sustainable Agriculture | Land Use Policy | Climate Change | Sustainability Education | Soil Conservation and Management
About
Keyline design is similiar to Permaculture Design yet with specific to broad-acre scale and water and soil restoration.
We are undergoing the new formation of a Keyline Design Institute for North America, This group is for all those who have in their hearts and minds the need for Keyline Design Techniques. We are hoping to engage and instigate this conversation across the US to include all of those who have joined us on the KDC's we have been fortunate to hold. Initiated by Darren Doherty of Australia on his Keyline Design educational tour this last spring and in the fall of 2007.
What
is biological wealth? Healthy forests, fertile soils, abundant
waterways and seas---has any great nation been built without these? As
we degrade and treat them as throw-aways can we expect a prosperous
future for our families and children? Is a sustainable system for
agriculture possible that enhances rather than depletes our natural
environment?
Keyline Design is a complete design system for landscapes. It is applicable to both rural and urban designs. It is a unique combination of water conservation and soil building, with great appeal to both farmers and ranchers, as it has the ability to build and regenerate degraded soils rapidly, and sees the use of grazing animals as beneficial to this process.
Keyline systems were developed in Australia during the 1950’s by P.A Yeomans ( www.yeomansplow.com.au) as a response to increasing desertification and erosion he observed on the Australian landscape as it related to agriculture. His book Water For Every Farm, A Keyline Plan is an important work describing a set of principles and techniques based on a holistic approach that works with natural patterns to restore and increase the depth and fertility of the soil, while increasing its water holding capabilities. Yeomans realized that conventional agriculture totally ignored the biological aspects of the soil. He created a “sustainable agriculture” system before the term was coined, and for the first time in human history, methods were developed that could produce rich fertile soils in relatively short periods. A permanent and lasting agriculture Yeomans believed, must materially and financially benefit the farmer, and benefit the land and soil.
Keyline Design integrates terraces, ponds, tree plantings on contour, and a special cultivation technique using the Keyline plow, to infiltrate water into the soil efficiently and hold it on the land as long as possible. Water harvesting strategies employed by Keyline Design provide drought-proofing for farms with very low maintenance using gravity fed irrigation systems, with a huge reduction in water lost to evaporation. In contrast, up to 80% of water is lost to evaporation using conventional overhead sprinklers. Farms using Keyline Design have amazing records of deepening the topsoil by 3-6” in 3 years, in contrast to nature’s process, which can take hundreds or thousands of years.
The term Keyline comes from the reference to a “keypoint” on the watershed, which is the interface between collection and distribution of water on the landscape, where ridge meets the valley. Keyline is a philosophy and technique that doesn’t pit the needs of farmers against environmentalists trying to protect wildlife and fish habitat, and with carbon sequestering techniques used, helps to address aspects of global warming and climate change.
Keyline Plow maximizes fertility with minimal Soil Disturbance
compared to traditional and conventional plowing techniques
Keyline Design is a complete design system for landscapes. It is applicable to both rural and urban designs. It is a unique combination of water conservation and soil building, with great appeal to both farmers and ranchers, as it has the ability to build and regenerate degraded soils rapidly, and sees the use of grazing animals as beneficial to this process.
Keyline systems were developed in Australia during the 1950’s by P.A Yeomans ( www.yeomansplow.com.au) as a response to increasing desertification and erosion he observed on the Australian landscape as it related to agriculture. His book Water For Every Farm, A Keyline Plan is an important work describing a set of principles and techniques based on a holistic approach that works with natural patterns to restore and increase the depth and fertility of the soil, while increasing its water holding capabilities. Yeomans realized that conventional agriculture totally ignored the biological aspects of the soil. He created a “sustainable agriculture” system before the term was coined, and for the first time in human history, methods were developed that could produce rich fertile soils in relatively short periods. A permanent and lasting agriculture Yeomans believed, must materially and financially benefit the farmer, and benefit the land and soil.
Keyline Design integrates terraces, ponds, tree plantings on contour, and a special cultivation technique using the Keyline plow, to infiltrate water into the soil efficiently and hold it on the land as long as possible. Water harvesting strategies employed by Keyline Design provide drought-proofing for farms with very low maintenance using gravity fed irrigation systems, with a huge reduction in water lost to evaporation. In contrast, up to 80% of water is lost to evaporation using conventional overhead sprinklers. Farms using Keyline Design have amazing records of deepening the topsoil by 3-6” in 3 years, in contrast to nature’s process, which can take hundreds or thousands of years.
The term Keyline comes from the reference to a “keypoint” on the watershed, which is the interface between collection and distribution of water on the landscape, where ridge meets the valley. Keyline is a philosophy and technique that doesn’t pit the needs of farmers against environmentalists trying to protect wildlife and fish habitat, and with carbon sequestering techniques used, helps to address aspects of global warming and climate change.
Keyline Plow maximizes fertility with minimal Soil Disturbance
compared to traditional and conventional plowing techniques