Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["John D'hondt" <dhondt@eircom.net>]



 

----- Original Message -----

From: henry walden

To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org

Sent: Saturday, May 12, 2012 5:04 PM

Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] We already grow enough

At the risk of setting myself up, I would like to respond to this. This "horse race" between conventional vs organic farming is useless. The question has to first be posed to our host, namely Mother Earth, "how do you feel about supporting 10 billion human inhabitants?"  You won't force her to do it, she'll shake us off like a December flu. Never the less here we are on the down side of the bell curve giving it a go.

Hear,hear!

john

 

And I could say more. Was listening to a farmers program here in Ireland and the story was grass fed beef. (supposedly that is good) How important it is to get a cow back in calf two weeks after calving since every day she is not in calf costs about $11. There is now a machine available that you put on the cow which releases hormones to get the cow in season and will time exactly when AI is best given. Every minute counts.

And of course the grass is fertilised to the hilt. Cows are grazed on paddocks and it is extremely important that they "finish" every last blade of grass before they are moved because otherwise the farmer will have to go in with a mower to top and that costs $25 per acre.

It is all about pennies and money and supreme efficiency because that is where the penny profits are.

 

We are told as farmers that efficiency is everything for even when you make 2 cent of profit per broiler chicken that you rear, you will still have a good income if you can finish a million of the poor suckers every day. Same with every other "commodity", pork and beef and potatoes.

And we are supposed to improve that efficiency further to feed 10 or 12 billion people. (really to be able to compete in the free market)

 

Really, this is all just an effect of cheap oil and when oil is no longer cheap the merry-go-round stops.