Minnesota Waterfowl Hunting

[quote="get-n-birdy]big ag is going to have a lot of spin doctoring to do .[/quote]
They've already started with the commercials and bill boards where they lie about the good farming practices that they supposedly do... "preserving wetlands for better water quality... farmers do that." Bullllllllllll crap!

Trigger now you are talking what I am thinking for years about their slick commercials.

But to be fair, there are a minority of farmers that are indeed good land stewards who for example have planted shelter belts, not drained their wetlands, are still enrolled in CRP, etc. And to these people I tip my hat.

I understand where Mr Lee and farmer defenders are coming from. But there's a bigger picture. It's not that conservation for ducks sake is the answer. Farming and the market will always fluctuate. Sustainable farming practices for the good of the farmer, imo, will also benefit wildlife. People come first, period. The long term practices of farming right to the road and ditching everything has proved to be fatal to the farmers long term vitality. It's like an addiction. You can do cocaine for a while, but eventually there are going to be consequences to the body. The land health is vital to a farmer's economic health and well being. If you are using more and more resources in fuel and fertilizer to keep doing what they are doing, there is going to come into play the law of diminishing returns. I think that has come to a head with ethanol, yuck I hate that word. It is plain and simple unsustainable. That is not the farmers fault directly. But indirectly they did take the bait. And God bless them for the faith they've put in the powers that be to keep dropping their trousers and grabbing their ankles.

As a farmers son and a farmer myself we don't have any land near wet lands but we do the river and just about every year the field floods accepts the middle as the river bends around it, and because it does that we purposely don't fertilize the field just to try and keep the levels down in the river the best we can help.


W

dwendt wrote:As a farmers son and a farmer myself we don't have any land near wet lands but we do the river and just about every year the field floods accepts the middle as the river bends around it, and because it does that we purposely don't fertilize the field just to try and keep the levels down in the river the best we can help.


W

Awesome! And I applaud you guys for it!

My dad is 80 and wants a green law. He is still learning and using more green friendly fertilizers. All this stuff is a learning process. I think the process of ethanol production was a huge step backwards in many ways. There was a push away from fossil fuels when it was expensive. I hope we can find alternative fuel sources, but ethanol is just a terrible product from production to using.

dwendt wrote:we purposely don't fertilize the field just to try and keep the levels down in the river the best we can help.
W

And that my friends is what a land steward is, taking direct action (or inaction in this case) to limit run off of chemicals. It is about caring how ones actions effect the land and waters. I wish we had a clapping hands smiley.

h2ofwlr wrote:Trigger now you are talking what I am thinking for years about their slick commercials.

But to be fair, there are a minority of farmers that are indeed good land stewards who for example have planted shelter belts, not drained their wetlands, are still enrolled in CRP, etc. And to these people I tip my hat.

That is why I get so upset over these threads. I'm the fifth generation and we're planting grass and trees etc., while neighbors are ripping it all out. I understand it's easy to lump everybody together though.

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h2ofwlr wrote:

dwendt wrote:we purposely don't fertilize the field just to try and keep the levels down in the river the best we can help.
W

And that my friends is what a land steward is, taking direct action (or inaction in this case) to limit run off of chemicals. It is about caring how ones actions effect the land and waters. I wish we had a clapping hands smiley.

I am a citiot. I spray my yard about 5 times in the summer with weed killer, and load it up with fertilizer. A pond is right in my back yard and it drains right into this pond then a small stream right to sippi.

How many other are like me. I am sure not to many guys on this site but all my neighbors do this as well.

D.T. Hammer wrote:I am a citiot.

I do not think anyone will argue with you on that point.

1) whether farmer or citiot, economic benefit wins out every 9 out of 10 ..... it is called "self interest".... not "best interest"

2) Pareto Principal~ anticipate 80% of outcomes occur due to 20% of actors. This is typically used in customer analysis, but it applies in any open market. 20% of the production is causing 80% of the problems.

3) Cost of Change~ sure, everyone agrees 20 years later Ethanol can't make it on it's own, but you now have Ethanol plants in small towns, providing jobs, etc. Whoever kills this, whether by guillotine or 1, 000 lashes, will need a big set.

4) The Cost of Doing Nothing~ far too many things are done for lack of a better alternative, even if those actions are crap. If ethanol hadn't been done, then it's "there are viable fuel alternatives and the US is so beholden' to big oil they won't use it!" Insert wind/cellulose/solar/bike lanes whatever.

5) History Repeating~ it is a generational issue that is affected by the magnitude of failure. Generational poverty is quickly repeated because the cost of remaining in a negative system are low. "The Great Recession", a looming ag land value bubble/market price deflations, and associated economic fall out will happen every 2 to 3 generations.... the folks most affected got OUT, those that made it through build stronger immune systems. Add hubris development from short term reinforcing factors, like a decade worth of growth, and things get tippy.