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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2021 6:03:47 GMT -6
Corporate farming is fall tilling,Chemicals, Straightening and removing waterways,and the new thing in recent years of tiling fields. guess we forgot what bad farming led to in the 30s.
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Post by nextofkin on Apr 21, 2021 7:48:35 GMT -6
I wouldn't want to be around for a repeat of them day's Jimmy.
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Post by stiggy on Apr 21, 2021 9:05:20 GMT -6
What led to the dust bowl days of the mid 1930's is the universal use of the moldboard plow, which was invented right here in Grand Detour, Illinois by Mr. John Deere. Mr. Deere was not a native Illinoisan, he was born & raised in Vermont, but he built his empire during his days in Illinois and we claim him as our own much like we claim Abraham Lincoln, who was not born in Illinois, either. VERY little moldboard plowing has been done for the better part of 20 years now. Wind erosion as well as hydraulic (water) erosion is exponentially more severe when a moldboard plow is used.
However, I can not disagree that tillage practices used today are not 100% conducive to keeping the topsoil in place, the facts indicate that the widespread tillage practices of today are far less damaging than the days when moldboard plowing was king.
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Post by ironeagle on Apr 21, 2021 9:36:16 GMT -6
Today's farmers barely disturb the topsoil at all. Most of the plowing they're doing in the fall is discing in the corn stalk residue to allow easier planting the next year. Also most planters only go 1 to 2 inches deep into the soil max. Plus if they do anything else it's just running a field cultivatior through to break up the clumps and reduce soil compaction. All the tile they're putting in actually is a good thing it prevents the fields from flooding and washing out. The cost of tiling a field isn't as high as you think. My uncle just did close to 5k feet of new tile put in for less than he expected. My uncle owns about 2k acres in western Illinois.
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Post by stiggy on Apr 21, 2021 13:43:35 GMT -6
Farming without disturbing the soil can be done with minimal yield production reduction..............for several years. However, that scenario can't be sustained indefinitely. There has to be some deep tillage done from time to time or production numbers suffer.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2021 13:47:01 GMT -6
Today's farmers barely disturb the topsoil at all. Most of the plowing they're doing in the fall is discing in the corn stalk residue to allow easier planting the next year. Also most planters only go 1 to 2 inches deep into the soil max. Plus if they do anything else it's just running a field cultivatior through to break up the clumps and reduce soil compaction. All the tile they're putting in actually is a good thing it prevents the fields from flooding and washing out. The cost of tiling a field isn't as high as you think. My uncle just did close to 5k feet of new tile put in for less than he expected. My uncle owns about 2k acres in western Illinois. I know the price is reasonable for the work involved it just seems like the creeks rise quickly with any amount of rain nowadays to me.
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Post by stiggy on Apr 21, 2021 19:28:24 GMT -6
Today's farmers barely disturb the topsoil at all. Most of the plowing they're doing in the fall is discing in the corn stalk residue to allow easier planting the next year. Also most planters only go 1 to 2 inches deep into the soil max. Plus if they do anything else it's just running a field cultivatior through to break up the clumps and reduce soil compaction. All the tile they're putting in actually is a good thing it prevents the fields from flooding and washing out. The cost of tiling a field isn't as high as you think. My uncle just did close to 5k feet of new tile put in for less than he expected. My uncle owns about 2k acres in western Illinois. I know the price is reasonable for the work involved it just seems like the creeks rise quickly with any amount of rain nowadays to me. The way it seems is probably accurate. The silting is clearly apparent every time there is rainfall of any magnitude so it's inevitably going to end up in the creeks and rivers where it will ultimately restrict water flow. Most Midwestern farmers, and the larger corporate operations especially, are far more concerned with the size and frequency of government taxpayer subsidy handouts than they are about soil erosion. I won't even venture a guess as to the amount of money that has been given to operators as a result of the virus. I'm sure many farming operations have seen government payments well into six figures. Some may point out the payment limits that stop some from receiving more than their share but that is meaningless. Most of these large farming operations have paid accountants figuring how they can receive the maximum being offered without triggering payment limits. Wives, children and other family members are listed as operators to keep from hitting the payment limits. The virus payments are TAX EXEMPT, as well. To be fair, there are some of the big farmers who are genuinely concerned with environment impact and erosion but the operators looking for the last taxpayer dollar are usually not worried about that. They're concerned with gaming the system to go buy the next 1/2 million dollar combine.
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Post by super on Apr 22, 2021 3:42:48 GMT -6
I like riding on the Tractor đźšś
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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2021 5:39:51 GMT -6
I like riding on the Tractor đźšś Farming today at least in the corn belt is so much easier than in the past.Big equipment gps etc. Some plant cover crops over the winter which helps the erosion factor My concern with all the tiling is I have to wonder if it is depleting our groundwater. I see many homesteads hauling water all summer long now who never did in the past.
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Post by stiggy on Apr 22, 2021 7:53:35 GMT -6
I like riding on the Tractor đźšś Farming today at least in the corn belt is so much easier than in the past.Big equipment gps etc. Some plant cover crops over the winter which helps the erosion factor My concern with all the tiling is I have to wonder if it is depleting our groundwater. I see many homesteads hauling water all summer long now who never did in the past.
The plumber that I've contracted over the years for things I either didn't have time for or wasn't adept enough to accomplish has said there are wells around the country that either won't recover quickly enough or basically going dry. Wells that have been viable for literally hundreds of years. He deals with this stuff daily and has told me in addition to wells going dry he has seen evidence that over the past 20 years it has become necessary to drill new wells much deeper to get adequate water supplies. His assertion is that water demand and usage from the aquafer is depleting some of the water veins that were more than sufficient in the past.
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Post by super on Apr 22, 2021 13:40:49 GMT -6
Maybe too many tiles draining fields ? Not expert enough to figure this out?
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Post by stiggy on Apr 22, 2021 16:10:15 GMT -6
Maybe too many tiles draining fields ? Not expert enough to figure this out? You could be correct.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2021 21:34:12 GMT -6
By Jonathan Latham, Ph.D According to a new peer-reviewed paper, “The Myth of a Food Crisis,” corrupt philanthropic and academic sectors in agriculture and development perpetuate the lie that Big Ag is the only way to feed the world. Sustainable, local, organic food grown on small farms has a tremendous amount to offer. Unlike chemical-intensive industrial-scale agriculture, it regenerates rural communities; it doesn’t pollute rivers and groundwater or create dead zones; it can save coral reefs; it doesn’t encroach on rainforests; it preserves soil and it can restore the climate. Why do all governments not promote it?
www.naturalblaze.com/2021/04/what-big-ag-doesnt-want-you-to-know-small-farms-can-feed-the-world.html
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Post by super on Apr 23, 2021 3:40:35 GMT -6
What led to the dust bowl days of the mid 1930's is the universal use of the moldboard plow, which was invented right here in Grand Detour, Illinois by Mr. John Deere. Mr. Deere was not a native Illinoisan, he was born & raised in Vermont, but he built his empire during his days in Illinois and we claim him as our own much like we claim Abraham Lincoln, who was not born in Illinois, either. VERY little moldboard plowing has been done for the better part of 20 years now. Wind erosion as well as hydraulic (water) erosion is exponentially more severe when a moldboard plow is used. However, I can not disagree that tillage practices used today are not 100% conducive to keeping the topsoil in place, the facts indicate that the widespread tillage practices of today are far less damaging than the days when moldboard plowing was king. ,and you can find the topsoil where the Mississippi drains out into the Gulf. I suspect you could go down and dig it up and bring it back? lol Remember, it’s dirt, and it condenses out somewhere? Usually in my house.
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Post by stiggy on Apr 23, 2021 8:05:18 GMT -6
By Jonathan Latham, Ph.D According to a new peer-reviewed paper, “The Myth of a Food Crisis,” corrupt philanthropic and academic sectors in agriculture and development perpetuate the lie that Big Ag is the only way to feed the world. Sustainable, local, organic food grown on small farms has a tremendous amount to offer. Unlike chemical-intensive industrial-scale agriculture, it regenerates rural communities; it doesn’t pollute rivers and groundwater or create dead zones; it can save coral reefs; it doesn’t encroach on rainforests; it preserves soil and it can restore the climate. Why do all governments not promote it? www.naturalblaze.com/2021/04/what-big-ag-doesnt-want-you-to-know-small-farms-can-feed-the-world.htmlBingo!! I believe it has to do with control, Jim. The fewer farmers the easier it is to control them. The huge government hand out's that are heavily skewed in favor of the large operators is just one tool of governmental control. And it works quite effectively!
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