Lunch time musings

TomK · Post by **TomK** » Fri Mar 04, 2016 1:16 pm

OC..no need for apology...i feel that way all the time...its maddening that these things are a constant rather than an occasional irritant..it seems never ending so after a while we just want to throw up our hands and opt for hermitage...in a way i almost understand the 'survivalists' in the states, nutty as they are...

Brebis · Post by **Brebis** » Fri Mar 04, 2016 1:34 pm

I live in a place with a long agricultural history of ups and downs but these days it's got me worried about its future.

Prince Edward County ("the County) was at one point the largest producer and processor of canned vegetables in Canada but you wouldn't know it now because like others have noted in their areas every spare inch of land is being ripped up and used for corn and soy. Though there are quite a few wineries starting up they employ cheap foreign labour and produce an expensive product only a fraction of the population can consume. They have increased its tourism but again the jobs are seasonal and low paying.
The farm we rent has a wonderful farming history going back to the 1830's, and once had a beautiful orchard that was the envy of many. That is long gone and the fellow who rents the land now has only grown corn and soy for the last 4 seasons we've been here...
My degree is in agriculture and what I see happening is most distressing and having tried to buck the trend and farm a different way without success, I'm not optimistic most days but am always hoping! And don't get me started on the food processing side of it!!

WaupoosCowgirl · Post by **WaupoosCowgirl** » Fri Mar 04, 2016 4:13 pm

I am not sure I want to even comment. I am Teacher and I don't read the comments left after articles anymore if I did I think I would need to be monitored for my own wellbeing. Now as a farmer I feel under attack as well. At the end of the day I want what is best for the kids in my care and I feed my family the food we grow and I pay the bills to keep this 8th generation farm going with the money that is earned from growing soy and corn. We have diversified here on the farm several times over, you have to, to stay alive and both my husband and I work off the farm to keep it going. We run old equipment, grow cash crops and we do trim fence bottoms. I don't feel like we are a greedy, dirty blight on society, I trim fence bottoms because those extra couple of acres may very well cover a mortgage payment or part of my child's tuition or heaven forbid pay the taxes that have increased because of the spike in land prices caused by people from the city wanting to get away from it all. Also in strategically doing so we cut down on our fuel consumption and run the tractors less. We are aware of the erosion factors involved and as such use a no-till drill. This year we have only bought conventional soybeans to try and get out from under the clutches of Monsanto but it is a trade off, the chemicals involved with growing conventionals can be worse if applied incorrectly. No my cows aren't 100% grass fed, it is cold in the winter and corn keeps their bellies warm and helps replace calories that are lost feeding their calves and I shouldn't be made to feel guilty because of that. Our neighbour is 79 years old and he took out his orchard two years ago, yes it was sad to see the trees that had been there all of my husbands life disappear but they were past productivity and at what point did it become o.k. for us to tell him he has to keep paying to keep his geriatric trees going with zero chance of re-cooping any money for the time he has left. I think he has earned the right to look out his window and not feel guilty that the trees didn't get trimmed this year or that they are calling for rain and he couldn't climb in his tractor to get out there and spray for mildew. I just wish that before people typed their thoughts onto a screen they would remember that at the end of a day a farmer is a dad, husband, mother etc who isn't going to wake up the next morning wondering how they can sabotage the consumer food chain, destroy the environment and piss of their neighbours.

Bayvistafarm · Post by **Bayvistafarm** » Fri Mar 04, 2016 5:10 pm

I sure don't love money, more than other things. I just want enough to pay the bills, and like WaupoosCowgirl says... keep the farm going. Thus 2 off farm jobs. We love what we do. Yes, over the years, more and more is dictated to us. And we do it. Agricorp knows how many cows we have, how many acres we plant, and what we plant... and all the seed we buy is recorded somewhere. They know your acreage and yields. If something doesn't jive... well then, maybe they assume you kept your own corn for seed. Against the law. Even keeping conventional corn seed back, which is allowed, would be tested for GMO's, which can happen with wind pollination, and then you are sued by, yes, you guessed it, Monsato. They want to control the food supply.

And like she said. Go back to all conventional, and back to those nasty chemicals, or chemical cocktails to make it work? What is worse? BT corn/Round up ready corn/beans. It all gets put into the earth/air/water/body.. no matter what is decided. With grain prices the same they were 40 years ago.... of course, its in the best interest of the farmer, to try and boost his yields.

What was this topic again? lol. Its a rat race, I feel bad for all the animals in the world that were killed to extinction because of man's need to be bigger and better. And I feel bad for us. Frack the land for oil. Pollute the air/water. Hide the cancer cures, because the drug companies would suffer. Extort women and children in 3rd world countries to work for nothing, so someone else can benefit. All for money. WTF is everyone going to spend this money on, if you can't drink the water (cause maybe there won't even be any), or eat properly.

Ok.. I'm just rambling.....

baronrenfrew · Post by **baronrenfrew** » Fri Mar 04, 2016 11:29 pm

Folks, my heart goes out to all of you. We have visions of what the world should be, and live in the world that is. As long as we compete with the subsidized Americans, we're stuck in a crummy system. The stories of the reality of the farm is what we want to hear.
So my dad bought this place in 1973 (and sold it to us for a price we couldn't refuse). 30 acres tillable, 30 acres rocky pasture, 140 rocky forest, rolling hills, two creeks, swamps, great recreational place, miserable for modern farming. All similiar places nearby either gave up farming or got rented to bigger operators. I just rented to my neighbours. I'm carving out 4 acres for an orchard and rebuilding fences. I'm a tree guy more than a tractor driver anyway. I'm kicking around ideas: korean pines (pine nuts), nut trees: hazelnuts, heartnuts, etc. so far on a hobby level not a business one. Chickens, ducks, geese under the trees.
Adapt and survive...

SandyM · Post by **SandyM** » Mon Mar 07, 2016 8:48 am

: image.jpeg (41.58 KiB) Viewed 3195 times

The truth hurts. It sucks. But it's reality. We are a catastrophic environmental disaster to our own planet earth, in which we need to survive off of, which also encompasses every single living cell. We can't lie to each other or ourselves and justify toxic chemicals. Ever. That's why we are in the state we are in. Breaking point. The point of no return is within our reach, but the point of recovery is as well. We, the consumers and producers need to decide which route we want.

Its a very political topic and I could go on and on because I am very, very opinionated with this topic. I have a friend who is a cash crop farmer. He works 3 jobs to support his toxic farming practice. Soy and corn. Feeds for animals and the cancer ridden North American diet. He will tell you everything that is wrong. He will tell you when he sprays the fields he won't do it on windy days and won't let his family or pets outside. Wrong is wrong. He is stuck. That is wrong; that he is stuck. It takes too much money to dig out of where he is. The government and seed companies own him. There is so much wrong one simply can not put it here, in one thread.

Everyone who posted here has great insightful valid points. People are so very smart. Yet, we make some of the worst decisions that we haven't even begun to feel the true impact of.

DDT. No one can ever justify to me toxic chemicals. Ever.

Post by **Home Grown Poultry** » Mon Mar 07, 2016 8:54 am

My Landlord is a big conspiracy nut just like me... he plants rr soybeans every year... hes stuck as well and hates it. but if hes guna keep farming he has no other options. rr soybeans only as it turns the most profit.

SandyM · Post by **SandyM** » Mon Mar 07, 2016 9:09 am

We have trees protecting us (somewhat) from The fields of soy and corn that surround our property. When the fields are sprayed I have dead bees showing up for days on my deck. Imagine the ones around my property that I don't see. In 2014 I handed over a dozen dead bees over the course Of 2 days that died after a spray. My dog foams out his nose. I can't even express in words my concern. My fear. My anger. My frustration. My acknowledgment of control and manipulation over the farmers, over our food system and over science. Science isn't science when it is controlled and manipulated.

Who ever said money doesn't matter had no idea how much it really does matter.

I just want to scream WTF from my roof top!!

G Williams · Post by **G Williams** » Sun Mar 13, 2016 12:52 pm

WaupoosCowgirl wrote:QR_BBPOST I am not sure I want to even comment. I am Teacher and I don't read the comments left after articles anymore if I did I think I would need to be monitored for my own wellbeing. Now as a farmer I feel under attack as well. At the end of the day I want what is best for the kids in my care and I feed my family the food we grow and I pay the bills to keep this 8th generation farm going with the money that is earned from growing soy and corn. We have diversified here on the farm several times over, you have to, to stay alive and both my husband and I work off the farm to keep it going. We run old equipment, grow cash crops and we do trim fence bottoms. I don't feel like we are a greedy, dirty blight on society, I trim fence bottoms because those extra couple of acres may very well cover a mortgage payment or part of my child's tuition or heaven forbid pay the taxes that have increased because of the spike in land prices caused by people from the city wanting to get away from it all. Also in strategically doing so we cut down on our fuel consumption and run the tractors less. We are aware of the erosion factors involved and as such use a no-till drill. This year we have only bought conventional soybeans to try and get out from under the clutches of Monsanto but it is a trade off, the chemicals involved with growing conventionals can be worse if applied incorrectly. No my cows aren't 100% grass fed, it is cold in the winter and corn keeps their bellies warm and helps replace calories that are lost feeding their calves and I shouldn't be made to feel guilty because of that. Our neighbour is 79 years old and he took out his orchard two years ago, yes it was sad to see the trees that had been there all of my husbands life disappear but they were past productivity and at what point did it become o.k. for us to tell him he has to keep paying to keep his geriatric trees going with zero chance of re-cooping any money for the time he has left. I think he has earned the right to look out his window and not feel guilty that the trees didn't get trimmed this year or that they are calling for rain and he couldn't climb in his tractor to get out there and spray for mildew. I just wish that before people typed their thoughts onto a screen they would remember that at the end of a day a farmer is a dad, husband, mother etc who isn't going to wake up the next morning wondering how they can sabotage the consumer food chain, destroy the environment and piss of their neighbours.

35 years ago when I came to our place there was 4-5 acres of sandy and environmentally sensitive land that had some small cedar trees on it. I could have easily plowed them under and grew some crops or pasture, but I let them grow. After years of thinning and some limited management I have some good wildlife habitat and I am starting to get enough posts and poles to keep a small cow calf operation fenced indefinitely.
Technically I need a permit to harvest these trees. THE POINT IS THAT THEY ARE MY TREES. I don't feel the need for a civil servant working for an urban based government to tell me what to do with my life's work!

ross · Post by **ross** » Sun Mar 13, 2016 1:16 pm

The way I see it ... Self induced .