Worst Drought Since the Dust Bowl

know1

riotgrl wrote:

Yes we've only mowed once in the past 3 weeks. I'm in Louisville, where are you in KY? We had a bit of a storm last night and it blew the roof off the Crowne Plaza by the airport. Talk about weather extremes :(

I'm close to Lexington. The storm that came through last night around 8PM looked as ominous as any that I can remember as it approached. There were thousands of pictures of it sent in to the local news. When it arrived, it really wasn't all that bad - a lot of rain and lightning, but not that much wind.

snow_board_rider

It's pissing here in Seattle, I wish I could share with the rest of the country.

Jason P

polaris_x wrote:

[
sorry ... i'm not really keen on arguing against a monsanto PR piece ... nothing you said is true ... nothing ...

edit: sorry ... nothing in your first 3 sentences ... the part about raising the price is definitely true ...

It's not a Monsanto PR piece. And I don't care for Monsanto's business practices so you won't find me raising the pom-poms for them.

That said, bio-engineered seed plays a very important role and without it starvation would be more rampant in today's over-populated world. There used to be a phrase "knee-high, by July" which indicated if corn was looking good. It's now "head-high, by July".

In 1960, average yield per acre was 60 bushels.

In 2010, average yield per acre was 160 bushels.

But to an environmentalist that holds corporations and bio-enginering as a boogyman, this increase has no effect on the world food supply.

:fp:

brianlux

Jason P wrote:

polaris_x wrote:

[
sorry ... i'm not really keen on arguing against a monsanto PR piece ... nothing you said is true ... nothing ...

edit: sorry ... nothing in your first 3 sentences ... the part about raising the price is definitely true ...

It's not a Monsanto PR piece. And I don't care for Monsanto's business practices so you won't find me raising the pom-poms for them.

That said, bio-engineered seed plays a very important role and without it starvation would be more rampant in today's over-populated world. There used to be a phrase "knee-high, by July" which indicated if corn was looking good. It's now "head-high, by July".

In 1960, average yield per acre was 60 bushels.

In 2010, average yield per acre was 160 bushels.

But to an environmentalist that holds corporations and bio-enginering as a boogyman, this increase has no effect on the world food supply.

:fp:

But those figures don't indicate the unknown consequences of messing with genetics/DNA, do not address good nutrition and loss of aquifers and top soil. The only reasoned, long-term solution to world food shortages are local agriculture and reduced population.

Jason P

brianlux wrote:

But those figures don't indicate the unknown consequences of messing with genetics/DNA, do not address good nutrition and loss of aquifers and top soil. The only reasoned, long-term solution to world food shortages are local agriculture and reduced population.

Well, that would reduce the population.

riotgrl

Jason P wrote:

brianlux wrote:

But those figures don't indicate the unknown consequences of messing with genetics/DNA, do not address good nutrition and loss of aquifers and top soil. The only reasoned, long-term solution to world food shortages are local agriculture and reduced population.

Well, that would reduce the population.

But conventional agriculture is unsustainable and will destroy (and in some areas has already done so) the environment (which will also reduce the population). Why not a new food revolution in which we shift our American farmers away from an overabundance of (GMO) corn and soybeans and put them on the path of fruits, vegetables, and small scale herds?

DriftingByTheStorm

The Power Of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil - Hour long documentary about how the collapse of the Soviet Union collapsed Cuba's oil based agricultural model, and how, through the power of community, they restructured their food supply through the use of out-of-work laborers, inside-city-limits farming, alternative nd more sustainable agricultural practices etc...

In Grave Danger Of Falling Food ...a good old hour long video introduction to "permaculture" by the man who coined the term, Bill Mollison (a fucking genius\revolutionary\visionary). [also check out "Global Gardener" series]

Just trying to contribute something productive on this otherwise shit of a day.
:(

riotgrl

Another article about the drought and ensuing rise in food prices. Although, if you buy beef that is not given grain food prices might not be quite as high.

http://www.economist.com/node/21559381?fsrc=scn/tw/fb/pe/Americandroughtworldprices

brianlux

DriftingByTheStorm wrote:

The Power Of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil - Hour long documentary about how the collapse of the Soviet Union collapsed Cuba's oil based agricultural model, and how, through the power of community, they restructured their food supply through the use of out-of-work laborers, inside-city-limits farming, alternative nd more sustainable agricultural practices etc...

In Grave Danger Of Falling Food ...a good old hour long video introduction to "permaculture" by the man who coined the term, Bill Mollison (a fucking genius\revolutionary\visionary). [also check out "Global Gardener" series]

Just trying to contribute something productive on this otherwise shit of a day.
:(

Sorry to hear your day is the shits, Drifting... maybe a good time to step into the Lounge Car!

Thank you for posting these links! I'll check them out when I can give them undivided attention. I'm especially very much looking forward to seeing the Mollison permaculture video. The book is excellent but the full version ( Permaculture: A Designers Manual, ISBN 0908-22801-5) is still very expensive so if any of you out there are interested in this subject and find one for under $100, grab it- that's where they generally start at in used bookstores or on line.

DriftingByTheStorm

brianlux wrote:

Sorry to hear your day is the shits, Drifting...

Mostly meant re:colorado just has me foul\depressed generally. But i have sort've been taking it from all sides ... oh well. yeah. lounge car maybe. Or i may just go get a beer before the night shift!

brianlux wrote:

Thank you for posting these links!

you know i TRY to be productive.

brianlux wrote:

The book is excellent but the full version ( Permaculture: A Designers Manual, ISBN 0908-22801-5) is still very expensive so if any of you out there are interested in this subject and find one for under $100, grab it- that's where they generally start at in used bookstores or on line.

I don't want to knock the PDM because it is one heavy book FULL of shit, but I think practically speaking it is probably of little value to most western world homeowner types. Even an alternative farmer could probably do better. Again I'm not trying to knock it. I own it (along with i think EVERY mollison book, including the stupidly hard to find Ferment & Human Nutrition, and probably every other book on permaculture that was released in the last 10 years) but it is dense, "all over the place", his writing style is not easy to follow, and a lot of it (most of it) has to do with arid regions and extreme poverty type situations (and has a bad Australian bent all around). My favorite part of the PDM is actually the political section towards the very back where you finally get a true glimpse of just how anti-establishment his thinking really is. God i love him for that!

Anyway,
if i WAS suggesting books for the typical western world home gardener interested in doing some creative food type stuff at home, these are by far my four favorite books, in no particular order:

Designing & Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally - Robert Kourik
worth the price for the charts and lists by themselves. ridiculous amount of data\info but surprisingly really not a very good book for *designing* an edible landscape. lol.

Landscaping With Fruits And Vegetables - Fred Hagy
by FAR the best book on *designing* edible landscapes i have EVER read. Multiple colored perspective drawings of fully installed edible landscapes with numbered plant lists, a few good example design plans, and just a really good *colorful* graphically oriented book about edible landscape design.

How To Grow More Vegetables* - John Jeavons
Pretty much THE "go to" classic for alternative \ biodynamic farming practices. Has full charts & planting schedules for a 1 person garden and a 4 person family garden. If you just want to learn how to grow your food in regular old rectangular garden beds and don't care much for a full site design, just get this book.

The New Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency - John Seymour
If you're ready to start homesteading and have no idea how to farm - i'd say grab this book. I mean tools, animal husbandry & slaugher, vegetables, bread, cheese, beer & wine, basketry, etc.etc.etc. fucking EVERYthing is in this book. WELL illustrated too. Love it!

Thats all folks.

brianlux

Drifting, are you familiar with Masanoba Fukuoka's book, One Straw Revolution? I haven't read it in some time but the general feel of it has stayed with me. The whole concept of living simply and lighter on the world- it's all there.

And yes, Jeavons' and Seymour's books- GREAT WORKS!

DriftingByTheStorm

brianlux wrote:

Drifting, are you familiar with Masanoba Fukuoka's book, One Straw Revolution? I haven't read it in some time but the general feel of it has stayed with me. The whole concept of living simply and lighter on the world- it's all there.

And yes, Jeavons' and Seymour's books- GREAT WORKS!

Uh. I mean, I know OF Fukuoka. He's like a legend.
I have not read that book though (I know i should be shot) as I understand (have heard) it is of little practial value to a diversified western farmer.

Isn't it mostly about rice farming?

The "seed balls" idea is great though, and i have seen some videos of taking this idea and using it in forestry to re-seed deserts, etc. But again, i've heard from most actual modern sustainable\alternative farmers that 1StrawRev is really more an inspirational treatise than a practical guide of any value. Sort of the same way Reminiscenses Of A Stock Operator is like THE classic about stock markets \ trading, but is functionally useless in the modern markets. (i've actually read that one!)

brianlux

DriftingByTheStorm wrote:

brianlux wrote:

Drifting, are you familiar with Masanoba Fukuoka's book, One Straw Revolution? I haven't read it in some time but the general feel of it has stayed with me. The whole concept of living simply and lighter on the world- it's all there.

And yes, Jeavons' and Seymour's books- GREAT WORKS!

Uh. I mean, I know OF Fukuoka. He's like a legend.
I have not read that book though (I know i should be shot) as I understand (have heard) it is of little practial value to a diversified western farmer.

Isn't it mostly about rice farming?

The "seed balls" idea is great though, and i have seen some videos of taking this idea and using it in forestry to re-seed deserts, etc. But again, i've heard from most actual modern sustainable\alternative farmers that 1StrawRev is really more an inspirational treatise than a practical guide of any value. Sort of the same way Reminiscenses Of A Stock Operator is like THE classic about stock markets \ trading, but is functionally useless in the modern markets. (i've actually read that one!)

A lot of it is about rice farming and includes some data about increase yields through his low-impact methods but what interested me most was that a lot of it is about living simply, appreciating what you have, being content. The book is like a meditation. It's been several years since I read it yet still it's a book that, if I'm thinking about it even, I feel more at peace. It's one of those books that beats Xanax hands down.

Jason P

The US Government Is Buying $170 Million Of Pork, Lamb, Chicken And Catfish

http://www.businessinsider.com/government-buying-170-million-pork-lamb-chicken-catfish-2012-8#ixzz23SDWsLR7

Thoughts?

The drought is impacting farmers and livestock producers, especially in Iowa ... which is where Obama was campaigning when he announced the emergency declaration.

It could have an impact on helping livestock producers. It could also have an impact on winning the state of Iowa using a taxpayer funded declaration.