Trudeau 2030

[jazz]

Crop farming really damages things.

Maybe before your time blaithin but ag had a near death experience in the early 90s and the intensive big all in industry is the direct result of that. Not the way any of us wanted but when survival is on the table.

It the consumer is so env conscious now then they should pay for that service. I don't think I should have to sacrifice my land for riperian areas and still gets 1970s prices.

We still don't even have a proper carbon credit program for ag.

[ajl]

I like neatly farmed well manicured fields and hate stuff left to nature. Looked at 80 acres up for auction this afternoon. Just over half was cleared and had tame mixed hay on it. Usually a bluff of trees hides a slough around here but was wondering why they left the bush in the SE corner. Would be the first item of business to find out why and if no good reason would push it in a heartbeat. Most bush is overgrown weeds around here anyways. Have natural gas so no need for a wood stove. Land clearing still get done around here. No money in bush land and I NEED opportunity. Sprayed 60 acres of 20 year old hay land out 2 years ago and had my best crop on that particular piece of land this year.

[Blaithin]

There’s lots of things that could be implemented to help farmers implement more environmentally sound techniques.

Unfortunately all those things seem to be on the Utopia List of Things That Would Be Great But Never Actually Happen.

Commodity prices, incentive programs, knowledge, carbon credits. It’s too bad most of them are out of farmers control, we can only work within the current limits and try and make a go of it. So there are farmers who make sacrifices in order to support the environment and there are farmers who sacrifice the environment to support their ROI. Neither are wrong, but it would be nice if they weren’t the only real options.

[TASFarms]

Don’t get sucked into the UN agenda. They only want us to go backwards not foreword.

[tweety]

Commodity prices, incentive programs, knowledge, carbon credits. It’s too bad most of them are out of farmers control,

If only there was a way you could tell your commissions these things need focus. Add to that public relations, food-safety messaging, biotech advocacy, and that generally you're not growing food that will kill the public. That sustainability and the environment, working with nature is important (ok so you'll have to lie about that) and renewable energy is important (maybe just lie about that one too).

That maybe going after more yield at all cost should move down the priority list, and whatever else they spend millions on. Your image is crap with the general public, time to fix that and that means now.

[jazz]

That maybe going after more yield at all cost should move down the priority list, and whatever else they spend millions on. Your image is crap with the general public, time to fix that and that means now.

Thats going to be a pretty uphill battle when joe public sees farmers driving combines worth more than his house. They dont seem to care much about their safe food after that.

I am afraid farmers are one step away from being tarred with the big corporation brush.

[Blaithin]

Wait.... how much do combines cost?!

Because housing here is just ****ed.

[farmaholic]

Thats going to be a pretty uphill battle when joe public sees farmers driving combines worth more than his house. They dont seem to care much about their safe food after that.

I am afraid farmers are one step away from being tarred with the big corporation brush.

Joe Public should be happy the house he's living in doesn't depreciate to scrap value in 15-20 years(generous ?).


In fact if regular maintenance is done to their house it should be worth more.

[GDR]

Blaithin, you likely know but the Rough Fescue you talk about is more likely better known by farmers as Prairie Wool.

I do agree that there is very little native land left. I have 90 acres that has never been broke, and never will as long as I'm around. I do use it for pasture but I kinda feel the beauty and diversity is worth something to me. Wild flowers of crocus, woodland lilies, lady slippers and many more endangered plants is pretty cool to have just outside my door. Having said that I also have some very high producing crop land that I would argue also supports nature from earthworms to birds and critters that all call it home. Nature is constantly changing, evolving and adapting. Biggest threat to nature is not farmers because we can work togeather, its urban sprawl that is the biggest problem.

[Hamloc]

If only there was a way you could tell your commissions these things need focus. Add to that public relations, food-safety messaging, biotech advocacy, and that generally you're not growing food that will kill the public. That sustainability and the environment, working with nature is important (ok so you'll have to lie about that) and renewable energy is important (maybe just lie about that one too).

That maybe going after more yield at all cost should move down the priority list, and whatever else they spend millions on. Your image is crap with the general public, time to fix that and that means now.

Tweety here is a good article for you financialpost/opinion/ross-mckitrick-ottawa-clean-fuel-standard-is-overkill-in-your-tank. The big take away in the article for me was that for every $1 of environmental benefit this policy will cost $6!! The question is when does the cost out weigh the benefits?!

[seldomseen]

Nature takes over very quickly here. If you stop farming a piece of land trees would be starting back in a couple years and after 50 years you would mature forest.
Most of the land around here has tree lines surrounding most fields that is tall mature trees. When this land was settled those lines were the first cleared and fences were built. As long as there was cattle the lines stayed clear but when the cows left the trees came back very quickly and young people don't even realize those tree lines were once cleared.
Urban people want to live in a developed world and so do I.

[seldomseen]

We own the land that once had the Two rivers Bible School on it. Built starting in 1934 and closed in 1957 because of flooding. At the time of closing 185 students and teachers all lived there with all the infrastructure that went with that.
Walk through there today and you would never know it was there. Nature has completely erased all signs of the once busy school and it only takes about 60 years!

[Blaithin]

Blaithin, you likely know but the Rough Fescue you talk about is more likely better known by farmers as Prairie Wool.

I do agree that there is very little native land left. I have 90 acres that has never been broke, and never will as long as I'm around. I do use it for pasture but I kinda feel the beauty and diversity is worth something to me. Wild flowers of crocus, woodland lilies, lady slippers and many more endangered plants is pretty cool to have just outside my door. Having said that I also have some very high producing crop land that I would argue also supports nature from earthworms to birds and critters that all call it home. Nature is constantly changing, evolving and adapting. Biggest threat to nature is not farmers because we can work togeather, its urban sprawl that is the biggest problem.

Yes, I grew up with it as Prairie Wool. It wasn’t until I moved away from the farm that I learned it was a fescue.

Urban sprawl is terrible of course. But I don’t think the fact that something is more damaging should prevent farmers from working to improve methods. The last few decades have seen huge changes that benefit the environment, there’s no reason it can’t keep happening. The hard part is making the changes beneficial economically as well. As soon as something makes economic sense a farmer is more likely to try it. If it only makes sense environmentally then it’s less likely. Can’t blame them for that, just need to figure out a way to get environment to translate to economic.

[AlbertaFarmer5]

This conversation about improving land has to start from the premise that it is a zero sum game. Any acre I reclaim from Bush or Slough is an acre that doesn't need to be taken from a rain forest, or irrigated with unsustainable water supplies, or 3 or more acres of arid dryland prone to erosion.

[Oliver88]

There is a quarter near here which was taken out of production 25 or more years agoby a conservation group to protect the sensitive springs within. It was very productive farmland, great deep black mellow soil. After all these years it is still mostly thistles, and a few random trees that they have been planting.

I wonder what this conservation group was trying to accomplish by allowing the land to be taken over by thistle? Sound almost as competent as DU.

Why didn’t conservation groups buy more land in the southern prairies for Prairie Wool habitats when Land was cheap? Now after the rise in land costs this will be quite a challenge but for the right price I’m sure many 60-90 year old ranchers without children interested in agriculture will be interested in selling.