tree hugging city slickers createing rules for the farmers

[BarkerChickens]

I completely agree that the gov't is controlling too much of the farming industry, but I also think it is big ag that feed this to keep small farms out. CDLs for small trucks? That's crazy.

However, when it comes to water quality, I have to agree. I pay for my more rural lifestyle (garden, chickens, and commute into the city, so I don't have to live there), by working as a hydrogeologist. My career is solely focused on cleaning up contaminated soils and groundwater. While many things impact soils, ag areas have a serious water quality issue high levels of nitrates, pesticides, etc. in the water and I have seen many personal and municipal production wells having to be shut down due to contamination. The groundwater can become impacted by infiltration during watering (crops, etc being sprayed with pesticides causing impacts leached into the water), watering compost areas contribute heavily to nitrate impacts, ponds have an enormous amount of infiltration and can carry impacts, etc.

HOWEVER, Ialso do think that it is also the responsibility of the government to make realistic alternatives that are both financially feasible to the farmers as well beneficial to groundwater quality (a resource that is quickly becoming more and more scarce). To make up difficult and expensive rules defeats the purpose. There must be a balance to both preserve agriculture as well as water quality...the two most important resources we have in America (in my opinion).

 

[herfrds]

Alright lets talk about the regs they are trying to impose upon farmers and ranchers concerning manure in rain water run off.
Now I'm not talking the big operations or feed lots I'm talking about people like us who keep our cows within a pasture or first year heifers in a corral for calving.
The EPA wants to regulate the amount of manure allowed to be in any run off.
We are over 15 miles from the flipping river!!!!!!!!!!
We also have a reservior on our property that is 3 miles, by way of the coulee, from the barn.

They want to come out here and start telling us what to do about it and come on private property without a court order and without permission.

As for all the chemicals in the ground that is due to the push for everyone to go no-till and chem fallow their land.

 

[chickened]

In Oregon we test the waters in streams above and below forest operations, ag operations before entering cities and then below big cities and one guess who is the largest polluter... cities, yep yep.

 

[MammaBear]

We do have flea markets. The best ones are outside the livestock auctions. But you get better prices inside the auction, usually.

Quote:
If it is a Mexican grocery store, they probably sell them behind the store because the city doesn't let them sell inside. Here in Denver they made a big ruckus about that as part of the anti immigrant movement. They like to slaughter them fresh or sell them still alive so that they are fresh. very common to have live chickens in the back room waiting for live slaughter.

that is how it is here. we have a huge immigrant population. Not just Mexicans. But a local outdoor flea market where you can set up and sell for just two dollars, is a great place to sell your livestock. I sell my extra roosters there and 90 percent of the time they're bought by Hispanics. i can get twelve dollars a rooster there.

There are several Hispanics that sell a lot of their traditional vegetables for good prices. Today i sold my birds then bought some fresh chillies.

some people don't like this place because people buy sell and trade livestock at cheep prices. It is mostly small farmers and hobbiests though. You do run into some people who do not care for their animals well, but if you get to know the people out there they will let you know who to buy from and who to avoid.

It is one of the last places you can do that around here without going to a licensed auction house. If they banned the sale of animals there then I think a lot of people would hurt.

 

[Msbear]

thought you guys might want to see how the slickest of all city slickers house their poultry

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=546479

 

[NickyPick]

Farmers are annoying when they let more than 5 or 6 cars get stacked up behind them. Some are real courteous though and pull over the first chance they get. No worse than RV's going 45 in a 55 or a group of bikes doing the same.

"Wanna be a leader with a large following? Drive slow on a winding country road." Apparently they're not being annoying, they're having delusions of grandeur!!!

 

[serendipity22]

Yep,
In my neck of the woods, folks move here and then start changing stuff to be more like where they came from... Sure wish they had just stayed there.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
"Wanna be a leader with a large following? Drive slow on a winding country road." Apparently they're not being annoying, they're having delusions of grandeur!!!

I've been one of those "annoying farmers" with cars stacked up behind them on more than one occasion. What a lot of non-farmers don't understand is that they can't expect to pass a tractor and implement without having to slow down below the speed limit......zipping around any wide vehicle on the road at speed is dangerous.

I always move over into the ditch as far as I can possibly get without tipping either the tractor and/or the implement.

 

[Baymule]

Quote:
No what they want is the disneyfied "country life" with cute little ba lambs and itle little piggies and moo cows but none of the reality of the countryside they want disney and nothing is going to get in their way (as far as they are concerned) well if you want disneyfied world move to disney.

Right! And of course nobody actually EATS those cutie-pie lambs or Babe the pig or Elsie the cow. Oh NOOOOO!