IOWA - Water pollution & Livestock

[Iowafarmer]

The biggest problem in agriculture lies in the fact that decades ago farmers were fed some shit about magic seeds, sprays and fertilizers. And once they hopped on the wagon, they have had no choice of hopping off of it without going bankrupt. Anyone who left the organic world has had no other choice but to keep up with the times and pump the ground full of shit or basically not be ablet to make ends meet. Just a harsh reality. They were lied to and tricked and now they're stuck. Guys that stayed organic may produce 1/5th the yield, but they have what seems like 1/10th of the inputs. Smaller machinery, no spraying, no synthetic fertilizer, and their soil isn't chalk and would actually grow if SHTF. If there were a federal program that I could go along with, it's that farmers should be subsidized for losses if they want to go back to organic for the time (5 years I believe) it takes to re-certify the ground organic. And make it at least a 10-year commitment. I know plenty of guys that would gladly pull the plug on their reliance on synthetic fertilizers, sprays, and seeds if that were an option. If there were an attack on our synthetic fertilizer plants in this county, the chalk that is half our farm land in America wouldn't produce anything more than weeds. We desperately need to restore our soil if we want this country to survive and if we want to slow down the need to destroy more and more habitat for these guys to make ends meet. Having 1/5 of the corn and soy products in this country would probably be a massive benefit. If it wasn't clear, I'm not blaming farmers. They were sold a package and now they're stuck and have no other choice but to go along with it; and I wish they were provided a way out.

It's absolutely incredible to me that the same demographic that stringently refused covid vaccines because the pharma companies were in bed with politicians and the fact there were no long term studies are also the ones that will defend theses massive seed, pesticide, and fertilizers companies tooth and nail even though they're all in bed with politicians and there are no long-term studies on health hazards. Brilliant. All the guys my age went to college (funded by these companies) and came home brainwashed into thinking more fertilizer, more spray, less cover, and the desire to do whatever it takes to have the highest yield; no matter what the inputs are, seemingly. All my buddies that farm organic have the same brand new vehicles and winter homes in Arizona that the guys in bed with big ag have. And they have a whole lot less stress and have eliminated the chemical exposure to their children.

Human civilization relies on two things: three inches of topsoil and the fact that it rains. We need to do something about that topsoil and runoff ASAP.

Oh organic farming huh so then applying manure is a good thing?

 

[FatCampzWife]

Organic production systems can be real bad when not thought out:

Not keen on green: South Dakota organic farm criticized for harming land

Some of Gunsmoke Farms’ neighbors say that the farm is doing more environmental harm than good, Minnesota Public Radio News reported.

www.farmforum.net

I dodged the bullet when they first started this farm. I worked for SDSU & was urged by my supers to get involved. Lucky for me, GM saw me as more of a nuissance & I didn't get involved in the debacle. GM messed up big time by not consulting people who knew the land, instead, hiring consultants from "away."

Organic deals with weeds like any other producer, only they have a very limited set of tools to do so. No-till works becase we can use herbicides...

Organic is great for some crops, imho, just not row crops.

I urged my ag students to look at niche-crop production, as the capital required for start up is not sky-high, and the "eat local" movement is growing (as it should). You want to cut out HFCS & soy oil out of your diet as a quiet protest of those "big ag" farming practices, try ONLY eating local for a month, or 6. I teach a course on food preservation you may be interested in at our local liberal arts college...

 

[hardincobucks]

I grew up in Hardin County. Maybe one of the most dense concentrations of confinements in the state. It is a no brainer that this is not good land practices. Good luck with changing it though. The money keeps pouring into the political system, they ain’t changing shit.

I’m from Hardin County as well. Small world. I just happened across this thread. You’re right about the land practices and hog confinements that’s for sure. We have maybe 1-2 public spots in the whole county you can pheasant hunt.

 

[MattB]

The way they pump liquified pig $#!+ into the ground to try and mitigate the smell, I doesn’t surprise me in the least.