Cost of organic grain

[FarmRanger]

Hehe parsley, you must have a part time job in communications. Another way to phrase your 2 choices would be:

1. Farming 101 System 
 
Never replenishists.
Mine your soil for a half dozen or so years until production gets low, and then "deep root mine" the soil by a forage for the next half dozen years. Leave hard to manage areas as waste ground and spend as little as possible everywhere else. Extract the maximum revenue as possible locally. Avoid others.
 
2.Farming 102 System 
 
Replenish nutrients back into soil that you've taken out with your crops. Make use of crop rotations to keep disease down, and diversity in the system. Carefully manage your crop protection inputs and find industry partners who will work with you to help increase production and profits. Make use of government expertise and programming to smooth out periodic downturns due to circumstances beyond your control.

Same thing you said, but with the spin going the other way.

;-)

[parsley]

I loved your response. Thanks. Best part of my day.

However, I'm a woman, in case you forgot or didn't know, and I have this gentic need to get in an additional word or two.

Farming 101 System

"Mine your soil for a half dozen or so years until production gets low, and then "deep root mine" the soil by a forage for the next half dozen years."

XXXXX I have this piece of land I own, been in my family since 1883. My cousin farmed it for quite a few years, such an efficient guy he was, and he sprayed and 'replenished it,' and sprayed some more and fertilized it, until the parcel simply refused to grow any crop worth combining, so exhausted it was,. And it sported weeds that wouldn't die.

So, I had it planted to sainfoin. The hills actually grew in instead of being white and powdery!

Yes, well. I own those facts.


"Leave hard to manage areas as waste ground"
XXXXX Often true. Wildlife thrives.

"spend as little as possible everywhere else."
XXXXX Forage resting means halving your production" So it can be an expensive way to ferilize.

"Extract the maximum revenue as possible locally."

XXXXXI make NO apology for getting top dollar. I charged $4.00 a pound for baby washed potatoes. Which is prob four chocolate bars. I value food highly. You don't. Regretable. Can't get good price for what you don't believe in, I guess.

"Avoid others."

XXXXX My fav.

I've been on AV writing for prob ten years. Belonged to both WBGA and WCWGA even though organic, but they advanced some issues of mutual interest. Had an ag blog and wrote about ALL ag issues, not soley organic. Most would consider me "invasive"!
LOL Even cajoled a friend to fly over to the Barley Growers Convention TWICE to speak for free. LOL Lawsey. Where have you been? In a mole nest?

Now, farmranger, that's one you simply have to concede.LMAO

2.Farming 102 System

"Replenish nutrients back into soil that you've taken out with your crops"

XXXXX Agree

"Make use of crop rotations to keep disease down, and diversity in the system."

XXXXX Agree. Organics often plants several crops in one field for the same reason.

"Carefully manage your crop protection inputs"

XXXXX Yes well. That one is tenuous. Someone today mentioned how too many farmers spray right before harvesting, without waiting, hence this conventional farmer eat organic.

"find industry partners who will work with you to help increase production and profits."

XXXXX Head scratch. Hmmm. Is industry why conventional grain is so consistently sustainably high priced?


"Make use of government expertise and programming to smooth out periodic downturns due to circumstances beyond your control."

XXXXX Ouch. Translation: You think the world owes you a living. You want your government blankey.

;-) Pars

[FarmRanger]

Thanks Parsley,

I'm glad you took my post positively, and it was definitely meant that way. Sometimes our words without expression can be misinterpreted.

I'm glad that organic is working for you, and I have no doubt that you are doing it as sustainably as possible. You definitely write here on agri-ville like you know what you're doing.

There are farmers who call themselves “organic”, as well as “conventional” farmers who are harming their soils, and doing unsustainable, and/or harmful things. I don't think you, or I fall into that category. I do know that my soils are improving in quality and productivity, even though they are far from organic.

I would also be willing to put the nutritional quality of my farms production up against anyones, but thats because I use chemicals properly and sparingly, and crops growing on my farm are healthy and productive because of it. The soils on my farm have water absorbing and holding capacities that far exceed their pre zero-till days. When you dig up a handful of that soil its full of life, and smells of the humus that has been increasing in it over time.

My grandfather sold organic bread wheat in 55 pound bags for 3 times what commodity wheat was selling for at the time. I still think I'm better off farming the way I am, and I do know that the soil is in better shape now. As far as the security blanket, sure, I'll take gov't money if it's offered, (kinda like a tax refund), but I've paid a LOT more into crop insurance than I've ever collected from it. At least this has reduced my premiums enough that my hail rider is giving me some cheaper hail insurance now.

Maybe some day we'll meet in real life, but for now, I enjoy my anonymity. Take care Parsley!

Back to my mole nest now. ;-)
FarmRanger

[allspice]

Thanks for your reply FarmRanger ... and your additions parsley. Another question ... if 96% of the weight of a calf comes from atmosphere and water, what percentage of our crops come from those same 2 sources?
Regarding sustainability, is it really sustainable to keep adding ever greater fertilizer quantities? Are we moving a product from one place, where it will eventually be in short supply, to our farms, which depend on it to produce crops? The most alarming part of this process is the trend we see on our farm to greater fertilizer need (according to soil test results) and an increase in soil salts (also according to soil test results). The soil appears healthy ... smell, texture, earthworms, etc. ... and there has been a wide variety of crops grown, with a substantial percentage of pulses, so I question the supposed sustainability of this "replace" system.
We have been injecting the tractor exhaust into the ground with the seeder. This seems to allow us to use less fertilizer, but will that improvement be increased or decreased over a period of years?

[checking]

Injecting tractor exhaust, if it works, could be the ticket for summerfallow crazy tripping organics. One pass per year on a no till farm doesn't sound like much of an input on 6-7-8/10th gallon/acre.

Organic (salt mine) producers need to be friendly people. Why?, well they want to see what you carry in your wallet. Otherwise, it's "get out of my store" which would be my first comment if I was required to work as hard as those folks do!!!!