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==Reception== In the preface to the US editions of ''The One-Straw Revolution'', [[Wendell Berry]] wrote that Fukuoka's techniques are not "directly applicable to most American farms", but ultimately concludes that it would be "a mistake to assume that the practical passages of this book are worthless..." suggesting that Natural Farming would require farmers to have fresh eyes and the right kind of concern for their land in order to come up with methods relevant to their own farms. Fukuoka's techniques have proven difficult to apply, even on most Japanese farms, and have been described as a sophisticated approach despite their simple appearance.<ref name="Kato Nagoya-U" /> In the initial years of transition from conventional farming there are losses in crop yields. Fukuoka estimated these to be 10% while others, such as Yoshikazu Kawaguchi, have found attempting to strictly follow Fukuoka's techniques led to crop failures and require many years of adaption to make the principles work.<ref name="Kato Nagoya-U"/> In the early 2000s, Theodor Friedrich and Josef Kienzle of the [[Food and Agriculture Organization]] (FAO) opined that his rejection of mechanisation is not justifiable for modern agricultural production<ref name="Friedrich and Kienzle">Friedrich, Theodor and Kienzle, Josef (2008) [http://www.fao.org/ag/ca/CA-Publications/ACSAD%202007.pdf Conservation Agriculture: Impact on farmers' livelihoods, labour, mechanization and equipment]; in: Stewart, B.I., Asfary, A.F., Belloum, A. Steiner, K., Friedrich, T. (eds): Conservation Agriculture for Sustainable Land Management to Improve the Livelihood of People in Dry Areas; Proceedings of an international workshop, 7β9 May 2007 in Damascus, Syria, Damascus/Syria, pp 25-36.</ref> and that the system cannot interact effectively with conventional agricultural systems.<ref>Sustainable agriculture and environment: globalisation and the impact of trade liberalisation Andrew K. Dragun, Clement Allan Tisdell 0 Reviews Edward Elgar, 1999. p.111</ref> More recently however, the FAO (along with multiple research universities and organizations such as the [[Union of Concerned Scientists]]) have found conventional industrial agriculture systems to be rooted in unsustainable practices that ignore basic biology and the needs of ecosystems.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hidden Costs of Industrial Agriculture {{!}} Union of Concerned Scientists|url=https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/hidden-costs-industrial-agriculture|access-date=14 November 2021|website=www.ucsusa.org|language=en}}</ref> Many of Fukuoka's principles are now being incorporated into modern forms of farming that are more biodiverse, less reliant on chemicals and machines, and which produce similar yields while increasing the health of the soil and surrounding environment.<ref>{{Cite web|date=8 January 2018 |first=Ryan |last=Maher |title=No-Till Organic Relay Cropping in Kentucky|url=https://smallfarms.cornell.edu/2018/01/no-till-organic-relay-cropping/|access-date=14 November 2021|website=Cornell Small Farms Program|language=en-US}}</ref> In particular, the concepts of non-tillage, relay cropping, cover-cropping, and plant biodiversity have been shown to prevent soil loss, reduce or eliminate the need for pesticides or fertilizers, and reduce flooding, while increasing water retention, and providing habitat for insects that contribute positively to both crop and ecosystem health.<ref>{{Cite web|date=8 April 2019|title=Farmers Are Excited About Soil Health. That's Good News for All of Us.|url=https://blog.ucsusa.org/karen-perry-stillerman/farmers-are-excited-about-soil-health-thats-good-news-for-all-of-us/|access-date=14 November 2021|website=The Equation|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Linking ecologists and traditional farmers in the search for sustainable agriculture {{!}} FAO|url=https://www.fao.org/family-farming/detail/en/c/386165/|access-date=14 November 2021|website=www.fao.org}}</ref> In Japan, where Fukuoka had few followers or associates,<ref name="Scheewe 2000 Nurturing the Soil" /> his critics argue that the "inner world and the connection between humans and nature does not, however, exhaust reality" and that he did not give sufficient attention to interpersonal relationships or society.<ref name="Scheewe 2000 Nurturing the Soil" /> These criticisms were in some ways addressed by the next generation of natural farmers in Japan such as [[Yoshikazu Kawaguchi]], who started a movement of widespread free schools, and yearly conferences to help spread the mindset of natural farming. There are now over 40 learning sites and more than 900 concurrent students in the Japanese natural farming network.
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