First Wheat Sample

[Oliver88]

Grass farmer, please explain what you mean by this statement.


"Never got handed a cent for "carbon capture" like you plow jockeys with your behemoth fossil fuel burners though."

[blackpowder]

Hes referring to the $1-1.50 / acre we get thru carbon credit program. For zero till. Industry funded by large net emitters.
Of course we would have done it anyway as we burn 1/3 the fuel we used to.
Deep down hes got a chip of some kind. Possibly a internal conflict from the fact he sells the worlds most expensive protein, beef.

[ajl]

Wheat turned valuable nitrogen fert. into cheap wheat protein. Can't win with wheat. Had that happen with CPS wheat once when in a dryer year had a smaller crop with higher protein and not a premium to be had anywhere for protein. Will need low protein wheat to blend that off.

[Klause]

The reason you don't get anything grassy is because while sequester in carbon you are emitting far more methane Than the carbon you sequester.

[tweety]

And there is a limit to sequestration too. If you are farming, its about ten years and you no longer are doing that either. In other words, as Klause has said, you are actually part of the problem.

[tweety]

Don't you mean 13.8 protein?

[FarmerSmuck]

Tweety 18.3 is coreect. I put a lot of groceries down. Started a new field last night and yield is up to 55 and pro dropped to 14.5. I'am very very suprised with my yields. A lot of people are in our area.

[grassfarmer]

Nice try Klause but your conclusion is wrong. Research in the northern Plains proved over 7 tons per acre/per year of CO2 could be captured with good pasture management. This was proven over a 5 year trial.

Methane emissions are generally reckoned to be equivalent to 2.5tons a year of C02.

Most cattle operations in this part of the world use 4-5 acres per year per cow so we can sequester about 12 times as much as each cow produces.

[TOM4CWB]

Grassy,

Do you drive vehicles that have the minimum pollution and C02 footprint possible?

I just leased a 2015 Golf TDI wagon for my parts vehicle. Using about 5L/100km diesel with minuscule Urea consumption. Does not use/burn oil between changes. I leave the pickup parked when ever it is possible to use a smaller parts wagon.

Have you done everything possible on your farm... or could I see the black smoke rising from your equipment from far away... as was the norm 15-20 years ago?

[furrowtickler]

That's about what we are runnin, 55 bus and 14 to 15 pro - 1 red , the Carberry yielding better and better color and grade than Goodeve . Goodeve was 45 and mostly 2 some #1 .

[freewheat]

Tom! I drive an Accord for parts. CHEAP. EFFICIENT. Get strange looks though when I pull up beside a one ton with a guy in it picking up a few guards and bolts. You should see what I can fit in that thing! lol.

[grassfarmer]

Tom, I was driving little diesel cars in the early 80s - 1.1 or 1.2 litre. Driving a Corolla currently which we use unless we need to be using a truck.
Not everyone grew up with the fossil fuel wastage of North Americans.
Making new cars has quite a carbon footprint too.

[Klause]

My wife wrote her thesis at the U of S on livestock, carbon sequestration, and methane emissions.


My post was tongue - in -cheek.... notice the wink faces.




All said and done livestock sequester 0.8 tonnes per year more than grain production however is 5% less efficient in a tonne per calorie comparison.


In other words, a toss up. South America I think the advantage was upwards of 6 tonnes per ha towards cattle.


Having to make feed and winter cattle really cuts into it the efficiency up here in na.

[blackpowder]

If my main driver were worth <6000$ and burnt 18 mpg. Why spend 25k to burn 50?

This site gets silly.

[grassfarmer]

Those are "mainstream commodity livestock" figures Klause, those of us practicing alternate ways of managing grass and grazing are getting results towards the S American figures. Feedlots and the grain feeding model leave a big carbon footprint.
We can't banish winter but we can have animals grazing forages for all but 100-120 days versus the 220 feeding day winters commonly practiced on the prairies using fossil fuel grown and harvested feed