Videos (40) | Sift Talk (0) | Blogs (0) | Comments (132) |
Videos (40) | Sift Talk (0) | Blogs (0) | Comments (132) |
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Monsanto, America's Monster
I think I see part of the problem. The other option you wondered at is you are comparing(literally) apples to grains.
If your lucky enough to live in a climate that can support orchards and vegetables that's an entirely different story. Grain farming is a different beast and you can't farm canola and wheat the same way you'd farm apples or tomatoes.
As for out here on the prairies, the average family owned and operated farm is on the 1k acre mark. Of the 20k farms in my province, more then 90% of them will be under 2k acres and virtually none of them hire more than 2 people outside their immediate sons and daughters to work there.
As for over production, the grain vs vegetables thing still hits. Crop rotation matters with grains, over production simply doesn't. Most of the land here has been passed down from parent to child for 100 years and they've always been quick to pick up on the latest innovations from new equipment to man-made fertilizers to round-up ready crops. The only consistent theme has been greater(and more consistent) yields per acre each year and correspondingly better profits for the farmer. Your gloom and doom scenario just isn't the reality for current grain farming techniques.
There are hundreds/thousands of farms in my area. I don't think a single one is >1000 acres. Hundreds of families support themselves relatively well on the income they make from the smaller farms. True, you probably can't send 3 children to college on that money, but hardly anyone could these days...that's around $150k a year for 4+ years JUST for their base education. Be real, mom and pop store owners can't afford that either.
EDIT: Oh, I see, the AVERAGE is about 1000 acres....but that includes the 1000000 acre industrial farms. What is the average acreage for a "family farm" (by which I mean it's owned by the single family that lives and works on the land and supports itself on the product of that work)?
EDIT: Actually, there are thousands of 'family farms' in my area that produce more than enough product to send 3 kids to college on >5 acres with no industrialization at all (and many many more that do over use chemicals and have destroyed many of our watersheds with their toxic runoff)....I live in Humboldt county, it's easy to make a ton of money on a tiny 'farm' here...for now.
My idea of what's sustainable or good practice is based on long term personal (>33 years personally growing vegetables using both chemical and natural fertilizers) and multiple multi generational familial experiences (both mine and neighbors) AND all literature on the subject which is unequivocal that over use of chemical fertilizers damages the land and watersheds and requires more and more chemicals and excess water every year to mitigate that compounding soil damage, or leaving the field fallow long enough to wash it clean of excess salts (which then end up in the watershed).
Fertilizers carry salts. With excessive use, salts build up. Salt buildup harms crops and beneficial bacteria. Bacteria are necessary for healthy plant growth. If you and yours don't know that and act accordingly, it's astonishing your family can still farm the same land at all, you've been incredibly lucky. You either don't over use the normal salt laden chemical fertilizers on that land, or you're lying. There's simply no other option.
Robot Chicken: Up & Down -- "Well, that was fast."
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New Apple Headquarters at One Infinite Loop coming along
Is Apple developing cyclotronic computing now? The entire thing looks like a cyclotron.
Is this the bay area? If so, I'm with @artician, terrible timing, and huge waste of money. 1/4 acre lots can go for $2million+, $4 million if there's a 2K sq ft house. Not the place to build a 'campus' right now.
How Digital Light Processing (DLP) Works
Lol. Right. I was curious and tried to Google the price of one and didn't have much success... admittedly I spent like less than 2 minutes before giving up (aka I scanned the first page and first page of shopping), but near as I can see, a good optical microscope will cost $2-4k, with most high end hobby ones around $3-500 range. I doubt there's a hobby range in SEMs. The only one I saw during that minute and a half search was a used one for $25k another for $27k and an auction listing that went for $2k (which compared to others seems out of price). Anyhow, between the auction price and the used listings, I figure roughly you are looking at $5-25k if you know where to look... Who knows what actually spending more time would have given me, but either way, I'm fairly sure a SEM is beyond most people's budgets.
Dang, I never thought of looking at my DLP projector chip in my SEM.
Hypnotic Ink Physics in 4K Slow Motion - The Slow Mo Guys
4k should be called 4x (4 times) or better - 2160p to be in line with every previous standard of video resolution. Why does everyone call it 4k? Are we rounding the width measurement up now (3840)? When do we ever round pixels? When did we switch from vert to horizontal pixels? I guess i have to start calling 1080 2k since its about twice as many mega pixels as 720.
... oh yeah, cool video.
CBS: Jon Stewart Is Right
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Jimmy Carr on Scientology and Christianity
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Adam Gonsalves on how to cut a vinyl record master.
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Animal House "Was it over when Germans bombed Perl Harbour?"
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Scientology - Above the law?
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Norm Macdonald - Me Doing Stand-Up (full show)
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Space Shuttle Enterprise Tour
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Hitler tries to rent an apartment in San Francisco
Is San Fran still under rent control? Had on Market at 6th 2nd floor studio bills-paid $690-per-month in the late 90s-Same place is probably $1700-2K a month now, if I'd only stayed....
The Onion Looks Back At "Saving Private Ryan"
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Norwegian Cops Arrest Angry Drunk Demon
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