I'm currently reading a book on silviculture (mixing crops, grass and trees), and "restoration agriculture" as I'm trying to increase my cattle grazing acres by thinning out some trees from woodland and adding some trees to a pasture/hayfield with no shade for grazing cattle.

The author brings up the point that everyone in agriculture, no matter what your crop(s) really in in the solar energy collection business, with sunlight fueling the photosynthesis occurring in leafy, green growing crops. Photosynthesis is really the key to ag production and profitability. 

He writes about how our ag system being based on short-lived annual crops really limits the amount of sunlight we can harvest.

Driving back from town I took this picture of a field with corn, beans and hay and it was striking as to which crop was collecting sunlight and using it in photosynthesis.  Even on another recently harvested corn silage field where a cover crop had been planted, the new plants were just coming up and most of the soil surface was bare.

The book's author was discussing permaculture's benefits and profitability. 

Just food for thought. Here's a photo from today. The corn and beans haven't been gathering sunlight nor producing sugars and oxygen for quite a while now. 

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