Just so that it's clear, I am one of those farmers. The farm pays my wages.
We haven't used pesticides/herbicides in our operation since we started
farming in 2000, and we know a lot of other folks who don't use them either.
We keep our customers very well fed, thank you, at prices that they can
afford to pay us and we can afford to live on. Am I feeding the world? No.
Am I feeding a number of families in my immediate community? Yes. I'm not
sure how any of that makes me a snob lecturing from a high horse taking pot
shots at agriculture. I was simply trying to point out that
pesticides/herbicides are not necessary for our diversified operation, or
for many of our fellow growers. And lest you come back with "well, that's
nice that it works for you but it wouldn't work here", I'm pretty sure that
regardless of where you may be, there are folks just like us somewhere
within range that could confirm they're doing it too. Sorry if that break
from chemical-dependent agriculture somehow offends you.
Kathryn Kerby
Frogchorusfarm.com
Snohomish, WA
-----Original Message-----
From: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of charles Linder
Sent: Saturday, December 06, 2014 1:04 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [BEE-L] nsecticides which show the least toxicity to bees
The fact that they have to continue
to pour so much money into marketing should be the dead giveaway that
they're working really hard to sell us something we don't actually need.
Unfortunately that's incorrect. The advertising is an attempt to steal
market from other suppliers, not sell you something you don't need. While
there are salesmen that push extra chems, they generally fall on deaf ears.
There is a LARGE group of uniformed and snobbish people trying to make the
general farmer and AG companies out to be a villains When in fact nothing
could be further from the truth. These Natural farmers (organic) are so far
from feeding the world its hilarious. If 8.00 a bushel for corn works
maybe. NONE of these farms are producing huge surpluses of grains for the
worlds consumption. Most grown many diversified crops in smaller quanties.
I am all for them... Bravo... good job.
But get off the high horses..... When you make enough to feed your county,
at a price they can afford then tada!
In the mean time. Farming is a HUGE capitol expense with little cash
reward, and more risk than the average person can even fathom. The Men and
women feeding the nation walk the crops constantly, and do not poor
unneeded chems out for fun. DO you even have a clue what input cost are
per acre?? Of what a dose of say Sniper cost to spray in furrow? Do you
really think that these guys write 50K checks to chem. Companies for fun???
It's a strange world we live in. Vast areas of monoculture bred grounds for
vast areas of pest. Unfortunately when you plant 4 million acres in corn,
or any other crop. That's a lot of area for certain pest to breed. And
they must be managed. Part of the worlds AG efficiency is large scale
production. It's a force to be reasoned with. Ammonds for example would be
a lot more expensive if they were all grown everywhere and more mills will
needed to process them. Instead we process most of the worlds supply in a
small area to maximize efficiency of that equipment. So it is with most
crops. Bananas, strawberries, melons the list goes on. Localized mass
production. Without it you can but those wonderful organic crops at 3 times
the price.
As the US and the world has grown, so has AG. The average Midwest farm
feeds over 1600 people. At a rate they can afford, and have a huge surplus
to send to other countries. These men and women at the worlds demand have
figured out the ways to get the most yields possible from every acre of
ground. Yields per acre are again at all time highs. Numbers that our
grandfathers never even dreamed of.
In the mean time, a farmer used to make a living on 180 acres in the late
60's now due to asinine tax laws, and the demand to keep prices low, if
your not farmer 1000 acres you are not capable of making a living at it. Do
you know what the capitol cost of 1000 acres is? Right now its around 3
million, with another million in just BASIC equipment. Average input cost
of around 279 an acre, in the hopes of making 350.00 per acre...
Would you invest 4 million dollars in the hopes of clearing 80k a year???
And when you do you really believe the goal is to destroy the land????
Drive down the Sacramento valley sometime. Head out thru the Midwest and
actually get out of the car and talk to someone. Should you muster up the
courage, you will find men and women devoting their lives to the land and
crop production, and one of the most marvelous miracles of the world. In
the mean time quit treating them like you have the worlds answers and they
are idiots.
Sorry if I offend, but real tired of cheap shots directed at those who allow
us to forage our bees on there lands.......and narry a peep of protest.
Charles
***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|
