I honestly think the big ag/big chem companies would be happy to depopulate the entire countryside of humankind, and also of all things wild and natural, so they can do as they wish with no concern or interference from people, trees, or wildlife that stand in the way of corn, beans, confinements, ethanol plants, and fast flowing pipelines of various wastes flowing into channelized ditches that once were streams and rivers. Make all the roads private - or replace them with conveyor belts.
How long before all of this so-called "farming" is just done with drones and robotic equipment?
When we make our work and the things we do isolated from the things we impact, it is too easy to forget the harm we can cause. That, and the common allergy many have for good, honest work, are part of what enables this behavior by corporate farming. Then, we have to consider how hard farm work and farming can be. There is truth that it can be a difficult and wearing profession - I know, I have lived it. There is a balance we should be seeking. It's there, I can feel it. But, we have to have more connection so everyone can feel it.
I tried to like your reply, but Substack® won't allow me to do that, probably due to some privacy setting I have set up or ???
I have watched a good friend here in central Illinois try to fight his own herbicide/pesticide battle on a small farm with a large garden and prairie restorations. He has been trying to do it the way the regulations prescribe and also in talking with neighbors - only to see his land targeted by the same neighbors and watched by the local ag chem dealers, with no meaningful action taken to help him by state ag regulators.
He is now trying to sell out to try to escape to the woods of southern Missouri where corn and beans do not dominate. He is older than even I am, and he and his wife are exhausted from the fight and the constant toxic trespass and damage on their own land. He is on the run . . .
I did farm work as a kid and some for a hybrid seed corn company after college - it is indeed hard work with at times more hours than a day seems to have. My own feeling is the "easy" is going to come to an end perhaps sooner than later - - - the hard way or a better way.
Thank you for seeking the better way and working to find and share that!
[ I am getting old and grumpy, I fear, and a bit worn down. ] Paul
I hear you. I understand the mindset that has your friend looking for a new home - we have thought about it ourselves at times. I also understand the feeling of being worn down. Even in those moments when you are feeling that you are getting old, grumpy and worn down, please know that I value you and your thoughts. It might not be enough to make a difference - but it is something to go on with.
Thanks for all this information, Rob. I, like many others I'll bet, know what ought to be done but have not worked hard enough to get the facts -- names and numbers and connections --- that you have provided. Your diligence and recommendations are greatly appreciated by those who know you as a sound thinker and a straight shooter.
Glenn, thank you for the kind words. I will admit that this is far from my favorite thing to do in this world. But since my work at PAN intersected it felt like I should do this, at the least. Probably should have done something along these lines sooner, but the Right To Know article just dropped. I know the author of that article was feeling the crunch. I guess we all do what we can.
I honestly think the big ag/big chem companies would be happy to depopulate the entire countryside of humankind, and also of all things wild and natural, so they can do as they wish with no concern or interference from people, trees, or wildlife that stand in the way of corn, beans, confinements, ethanol plants, and fast flowing pipelines of various wastes flowing into channelized ditches that once were streams and rivers. Make all the roads private - or replace them with conveyor belts.
How long before all of this so-called "farming" is just done with drones and robotic equipment?
When we make our work and the things we do isolated from the things we impact, it is too easy to forget the harm we can cause. That, and the common allergy many have for good, honest work, are part of what enables this behavior by corporate farming. Then, we have to consider how hard farm work and farming can be. There is truth that it can be a difficult and wearing profession - I know, I have lived it. There is a balance we should be seeking. It's there, I can feel it. But, we have to have more connection so everyone can feel it.
I tried to like your reply, but Substack® won't allow me to do that, probably due to some privacy setting I have set up or ???
I have watched a good friend here in central Illinois try to fight his own herbicide/pesticide battle on a small farm with a large garden and prairie restorations. He has been trying to do it the way the regulations prescribe and also in talking with neighbors - only to see his land targeted by the same neighbors and watched by the local ag chem dealers, with no meaningful action taken to help him by state ag regulators.
He is now trying to sell out to try to escape to the woods of southern Missouri where corn and beans do not dominate. He is older than even I am, and he and his wife are exhausted from the fight and the constant toxic trespass and damage on their own land. He is on the run . . .
I did farm work as a kid and some for a hybrid seed corn company after college - it is indeed hard work with at times more hours than a day seems to have. My own feeling is the "easy" is going to come to an end perhaps sooner than later - - - the hard way or a better way.
Thank you for seeking the better way and working to find and share that!
[ I am getting old and grumpy, I fear, and a bit worn down. ] Paul
I hear you. I understand the mindset that has your friend looking for a new home - we have thought about it ourselves at times. I also understand the feeling of being worn down. Even in those moments when you are feeling that you are getting old, grumpy and worn down, please know that I value you and your thoughts. It might not be enough to make a difference - but it is something to go on with.
Rob
Thanks for all this information, Rob. I, like many others I'll bet, know what ought to be done but have not worked hard enough to get the facts -- names and numbers and connections --- that you have provided. Your diligence and recommendations are greatly appreciated by those who know you as a sound thinker and a straight shooter.
Glenn, thank you for the kind words. I will admit that this is far from my favorite thing to do in this world. But since my work at PAN intersected it felt like I should do this, at the least. Probably should have done something along these lines sooner, but the Right To Know article just dropped. I know the author of that article was feeling the crunch. I guess we all do what we can.