A good counterpoint to some of your delightful personal musings, Rob. I always enjoy your knowledgeable, thoughtful, research-supported essays. It's interesting to note how often the best practices are not only best for the land, but less costly as well.
I am old enough to remember crop rotations (at least minimal ones!) here in corn and bean land, when some actual "farmers" still had a few animals on the farm. This was before high-tech genetic engineering for pest management and advanced chemical cultivation (stack those traits!) became the norm for the current agri-industrialists out there. Certainly was better for wildlife diversity as well, especially if there were some hay/clover or fallow fields in the rotation.
PB, who is looking out my office window at a big field with 4 years of consecutive soybeans, sprayed with yet another round of PGR herbicides on a windy 90°+ day earlier this week.
This was an interesting/educational read. We can do so much better with not much cost, so why aren't we?
A good counterpoint to some of your delightful personal musings, Rob. I always enjoy your knowledgeable, thoughtful, research-supported essays. It's interesting to note how often the best practices are not only best for the land, but less costly as well.
Great piece Rob! Thanks much!
I am old enough to remember crop rotations (at least minimal ones!) here in corn and bean land, when some actual "farmers" still had a few animals on the farm. This was before high-tech genetic engineering for pest management and advanced chemical cultivation (stack those traits!) became the norm for the current agri-industrialists out there. Certainly was better for wildlife diversity as well, especially if there were some hay/clover or fallow fields in the rotation.
PB, who is looking out my office window at a big field with 4 years of consecutive soybeans, sprayed with yet another round of PGR herbicides on a windy 90°+ day earlier this week.