The Old Folks Home

The snow depth unshoveled is best described by mid thigh at the moment. This might be the last time I get out to the wild bird feeders this winter.

Came back inside couldn't find the dog after a few minutes of frantic searching she was on the bottom of a cat tree sleeping.
We hung our feeder on a clothes line so the bears couldn't reach it. I just go out to the porch and reel it in.
 

:lau:ya:yuckyuck

The snow depth unshoveled is best described by mid thigh at the moment. This might be the last time I get out to the wild bird feeders this winter.

Came back inside couldn't find the dog after a few minutes of frantic searching she was on the bottom of a cat tree sleeping.


she thinks the that is hers also that is good
 
I'm sorry, but I have to disagree on so many different levels when it comes to this discussion.

We have never been 'Big Ag' but we have been 'Small Ag'.

We do have experience with this. I don't like having any residue in anything I eat but I would rather deal with a bit of Roundup as a condiment than some of the now banned chemicals of the past or eating hamburger that has been imported from China that has been fattened on garbage dumps or fed or been injected with who knows what.

Before I launch into a lengthy tirade in support of America's underappreciated farmers and what it takes for them to feed the world, I'll just step back and not say any more.

:oops:
 
I'm sorry, but I have to disagree on so many different levels when it comes to this discussion.

We have never been 'Big Ag' but we have been 'Small Ag'.

We do have experience with this. I don't like having any residue in anything I eat but I would rather deal with a bit of Roundup as a condiment than some of the now banned chemicals of the past or eating hamburger that has been imported from China that has been fattened on garbage dumps or fed or been injected with who knows what.

Before I launch into a lengthy tirade in support of America's underappreciated farmers and what it takes for them to feed the world, I'll just step back and not say any more.

:oops:

hey I have to agree often I do not comment on all of it..
off track when I slipped the other night I was in my rubber boots but not the ones I put the screws in, been wearing those since no more fall so far
 
hey I have to agree often I do not comment on all of it..
off track when I slipped the other night I was in my rubber boots but not the ones I put the screws in, been wearing those since no more fall so far
Are you feeling better? I know when I fall I'm sore for days even when I don't hurt anything.

I have my studded boots and a pair of no slip sole New Balance sneakers that I wear. The latter I wear when there is just a bit of snow on the ground. Even with a light coat of snow, no slips. The no slip are industrial type of shoes. Ugly as sin but they are really stable. You can buy them on line at NB's website about 10-15%cheaper then at stores. I think I paid something like 69 dollars for them at the time.
 
I'm sorry, but I have to disagree on so many different levels when it comes to this discussion.

We have never been 'Big Ag' but we have been 'Small Ag'.

We do have experience with this. I don't like having any residue in anything I eat but I would rather deal with a bit of Roundup as a condiment than some of the now banned chemicals of the past or eating hamburger that has been imported from China that has been fattened on garbage dumps or fed or been injected with who knows what.

Before I launch into a lengthy tirade in support of America's underappreciated farmers and what it takes for them to feed the world, I'll just step back and not say any more.

:oops:
I appreciate farmers and commiserate with their problems. I just think soil has worked without added chemicals for hundreds or thousands of years. Why not now?
 
One word.

Population.

This is the ranking of food exports per country.

1 United States $149,122,000,000.00
2 Netherlands $92,845,387,781.00
3 Germany $86,826,895,514.00
4 Brazil $78,819,969,000.00
5 France $74,287,121,198.00
6 China $63,490,864,000.00
7 Spain $50,960,954,460.00
8 Canada $49,490,302,612.00
9 Belgium $43,904,482,740.00
10 Italy $43,756,176,567.00
11 Argentina $37,171,872,677.00
12 India $36,730,472,555.00
13 Indonesia $35,388,703,128.00
14 United Kingdom $32,254,855,325.00
15 Australia $31,983,827,777.00
16 Thailand $30,847,701,710.00
17 Poland $27,695,284,096.00
18 Malaysia $26,007,912,734.00
19 Mexico $25,096,945,000.00
20 New Zealand $24,349,794,600.00
21 Viet Nam $21,735,449,502.00
22 Denmark $21,257,823,712.00
23 Russian Federation $19,774,507,828.00
24 Turkey $17,758,630,434.00
25 Chile $16,969,836,538.00

If all farmers were like Amish farmers, they would only farm 3 or 5 acres at the most per year.

How many people do you think that would feed? How much animal feed would it produce? How much seed would it make available for the next season.

It's population and demand for food and ag bi products. My brother used to work at an Ethanol plant. He set one night and told me about the bi-products they manufactured at the plant and shipped out in tankers that ran on railroad tracks about a block away from my home at the time. Some of them were completely safe he told me but some were so toxic that if he told me what they were I wouldn't be able to sleep at night. All these chemicals were extracted from ethanol production and used in other manufacturing.

250 years ago, the population of the US was a lot less and not as much exported. Seeds have been hybridized, GMO (no, don't get me started with that, hate it), fertilizers and insecticides, herbicides too all been advanced with one thing in mind. Grow more food for a ever increasing demand.

I don't know if there is a solution. One day, DH and I went for a walk through our farmland after the farmer we employed to plant it for us had done the first round of tilling. The ground looked like scorched earth. It wasn't the rich solid black of Illinois farmland. We each had a handful of soil, crumbling it through our fingers. I remember saying that now I understood why the chemical bills were so high. The soil was worn out. Had we kept it we would have turned it into CRP for 5 years. Missouri pays farmers to let the land revert back to prairie and not till it for 5 years in order to let it recover some of it's nutrients and benefit wildlife. As it was we were made an offer for the land that we couldn't refuse and have been out of the Ag business since then.
 
Yes, always the almighty buck. There should be a lot less people on the earth. I hate to think of the mess our grandchildren will inherit.
The plastic also bothers me. It is so easy to use. People don't even think about what it does or where it goes. I try to avoid it but it is almost impossible! You can't buy meat without some form of plastic. Did you know there is also a chemical coating on receipts that gets into your bloodstream when you touch it? I always ask the cashier to please put it in my bag. Don't even get me started on the Pacific garbage patch.
Change needs to happen. Big companies are not going to change, because it costs money. People can change things through their buying habits. It is not easy , or even the cheapest option.
Oh crap, i am on a soap box here. But lets just try to reduce our foot prints on the earth, shall we?
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom