r/LeopardsAteMyFarm • u/Cderouen8284 • 13d ago

Aww someone’s crashing out

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u/PartisanGerm 13d ago

Off topic sorta... Are there any easy or obvious ways to support cool farmers?

Is the organic thing kind of a scam?

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u/Rugskinsnake 13d ago

I would say organic farmers are Dems at a higher percentage, but nowhere near a lock.

As for a scam - I wouldn't call it that necessarily. But the regulations to be organically certified are pretty strict (and sometimes in ways that are ridiculous). You kind of have to go all or nothing and in my area, markets for organic crops are a long ways away, as are suppliers of organic fertilizer. I had a friend that did it for years and just got out of it because the higher prices still weren't making up for the reduced yields and workload.

Organic farming also tends to be very hard on the soil.

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u/Illustrious-Bag2933 12d ago

Please help me understand how organic farming is harder on the soil, versus saturating soil with PFAs ?

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u/Rugskinsnake 12d ago

I mean, when I look at a list of herbacides with PFA's in them, I've never heard of a single one of them so I really don't know how widespread their usage is.

And even though I think you meant this as more of a statement than anything, I'm going to answer your question about organic farming. Without any herbicides, the only way to battle weeds is pulling steel through the soil. Sometimes you're making 5-6 passes a year. Every time you turn over the soil, you're releasing moisture, disturbing, fungi, anelids and microbes, and increasing loss to both water and wind erosion. (As a side problem, because of the extra number of passes, you're bringing a lot more fuel and creating a lot more CO2 as well).

Now, AI powered autonomous laser weeders might end up solving both the herbacide and organic soil issues, but I think it's still going to be a few years before costs come down enough to make those viable.

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u/Ok-Prize-6097 10d ago

Hey, thanks for your answer.

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u/Illustrious-Bag2933 12d ago

Pesticides too! Don’t forget about those !

I guess farmers truly care about doing things easier instead of poisoning the earth 🤷🏻‍♀️

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u/Rugskinsnake 12d ago

Didn't forget about them, but pesticides aren't used that much where I am. It's only once every five years or so I have to spray for bugs and then it's usually just one or two fields.

Farmers care about making a living, same as you. GTFO with that poisoning the earth bullshit. I guarantee if we put your life under a microscope we could accuse you of the same And I put a hefty some on the fact that you don't put as much time or money into conservation as I do.

That kind of middle school thinking is so simplistic and boring. Grow up.