General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFarmers might consider not planting beans or corn and
look into going to clown school and planting wheat.
We are well on our way to only bread and circuses.
you have been warned.
ProudLib72
(17,984 posts)to small farmers who will practice sustainable farming techniques and not devote a bazillion acres to a single crop that gets boycotted by Mexico or China.
Just saying...
"But, but, but, my granddaddy built that farm..." So much for progress.
Kaleva
(36,147 posts)ProudLib72
(17,984 posts)And for whom are they growing, American families or foreign sales?
Look, I don't have a problem with foreign sales until you get massive scale farms growing a single crop for the explicit purpose of selling to Mexico or China when we have dumbass in the WH.
I met one of the sisters who put this together. I'm in complete agreement with their philosophy: https://www.foodnotfuckboys.com/
Kaleva
(36,147 posts)So we do export food products. As it is, we as a nation throw away about 1/2 of the food grown here.
"Half of all US food produce is thrown away, new research suggests "
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/13/us-food-waste-ugly-fruit-vegetables-perfect
ProudLib72
(17,984 posts)I'm arguing against large scale farms (be they family or corporate owned) focusing on a single crop that is meant only for export. That sort of farming leads to failure on a massive scale. And I'm not just blaming the farmers. This practice has been going on for decades. All it took was for dumbass to come along and screw up the balance. "We don't need NAFTA! We should place tariffs on Chinese imports!" Dumbass! But is has exposed, bolded, underlined, and highlighted the problem.
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)The situation is not what you imply that it is. Organic farmers, who most would view is the most sustainable actually are not. Big mega farms have embraced no-till or minimum-till agricultural practices, organic farmers have not. No-till saves gobs of energy due to reducing redundant plowing of soil, it also uses less pesticides and herbicides. The downside is that the big producers are embracing no-till because it allows them to use GMO seeds that are optimized for no-till fields.
There is a very small group of farmers (really tiny) that use no-till or low-till farming combined with cover crops and companion plants. That group use no herbicides or insecticides and have minimal use of fertilizer. The group is what is considered "sustainable agriculture practitioners", but they are a minute dot of producers. Their harvests are somewhat more complex due to the mix of a main crop and companion plants (all of which can be harvested as food or herbs), but in theory if practiced right, such farms can have several simultaneous income streams from one field.
ProudLib72
(17,984 posts)that use combined crops?
Also, not to sound combative, but did the article say anything about no-till versus crop rotation and leaving fields fallow? That's something I would like to know about. If it does and you can find the article, could you please post it?
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)Yes, that group use crop rotation. Some are big operations. Surprisingly, the USDA is big on that group.
I found the article that I mentioned while doing research for a project that I have planned. I did not record the url because I only needed ideas. The article was a detailed summary of what is considered sustainable farming. Below are two links that go into what the one summary covered.
Www.no-till farmer.com
Www.peakprosperity.com
stopdiggin
(11,095 posts)Yeah. And Walmart was originally a family business.
If you have multiple non-family employees (and managers) working below you ... I guess it kinda' depends on your definition of "family farms." But this is not a new discussion or argument.
Kaleva
(36,147 posts)The large family farms are incorporated mainly for management and tax purposes.
"Family Farms
The vast majority of farms and ranches in the United States are family owned and operated. USDA classifies family farms as any farm organized as a sole proprietorship, partnership, or family corporation. Family farms exclude farms organized as nonfamily corporations or cooperatives, as well as farms with hired managers."
https://nifa.usda.gov/family-farms
Numbers of employees has nothing to do with how a farm is classified.
stopdiggin
(11,095 posts)Yes. I know. I was making an attempt to distinguish between "family owned" and the true Mom and Pop outfits. I think this is fair because agriculture gets a great deal of mileage out of the imagery of "just plain folks" pictured in blue jeans and a seed corn hat. As you point out, family owned often means something far different than that homespun image (for better or worse).
gordianot
(15,226 posts)Too bad it is happening to Trump supporters.
lunasun
(21,646 posts)China is interested more in pork producers here
But since the USDA report was published, New Food Economy found that Italian buyers have purchased 102,000 acres, New Zealand has bought around 18,000, and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have gone in on more than 15,000 acres
Thats from a 2017 article I am sure there are more that sold to foreign investors since then not less
https://www.motherjones.com/food/2017/08/foreign-investors-are-snapping-up-us-farms/
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)They are likely government back to some level and view their buys as in their national interest. So if they buy up pork producers, Chinese firms buying up feed stock producers won't be far behind.
I also expect China to move into poultry in a big way. Many don't realize it, but big US poultry producers use contract growers, a lot of whom are Chinese, Vietnamese or Cambodian. It would be relatively easy for China to slip in there because of their crafting recent better relations with southeast Asian countries, especially now with us under Trump.