Crazy Iowans

[kraft-t]

Crazy math. Try telling a land owner that his land that is capale of grossing $600, $700, $800 per acre that he can approach those kind of numbers for pasture rent. $700 per acre is not difficult with $7 corn. Especially if your average rainfall will support decent yeilds

[weedman]

You definitely need to be the person in charge of central planning. Better yet let's just seize all the private property and then no one could be accused of felonious activity with their property. But wait, how would we pay for schools and county services?

[kraft-t]

You need to talk to our friend palouser that farms in the north western part of our country. The palouse is the same rich topsoil that is locate in the loess Hills of southwest Iowa. Prime Iowa farm land that was scoured off the topsoil of Nebraska

[hardnox]

Yes. The most disturbing element of the Farm Bill is that it represents the absolute primacy of market neoliberalism. Used to be that farmers needed some support from conservation/sportmaan's groups but now the economic interests are so powerful that there were just a few bones thrown there. As Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism always notes, the reason is........."the market."

"Ag" is now very comfortable under the protective umbrella with frackers, mountaintop miners, financial scammers and other rapacious, extractive elements.

The time is coming when nobody who doesn't either directly benefit from "ag" or isn't also under the same umbrella likes "ag."

Already somewhat true although it continues to benefit from the fragmentation of the opposition.

[kraft-t]

They would just prefer that we over produce and get  our profits out of the government.

[hardnox]

Yeah, corps win on both sides. High enough income assured that $100/acre can still be extracted for seed and equipment comapnies can continue to build tractors and combines that aren't needed (particularly if tax incentives are extended).

And the ethanol, integrated livestock interests etc. get the taxpayer to subsidize their input costs.

And....the bigs are most all in the crop insurance game so they get to rake off half the subsidy value there.

As I said, market neoliberalism. Channel money to those who can pay (and create jobs, jobs, jobs, or else) and put the tab on the credit card.

[hardnox]

Also kind of an example of the limitation of one size fits all farm policy.

48 row planters are probably appropriate in C. IL. Not there. It can be great farm country, but not that kind of farming.

[Panterafan]

Mr.Kraft, all I saw in those hills was thin crop residue and washouts, why treat the earth in this abusive way, when grass would protect some of these problems.

[hardnox]

If we wanted 15 b/g/y of ethanol in short order and, assuming that you didn't believe the Jack's Magic Beanstalk Seed story about perpetually accelerating yield trends then that ground getting farmed hard was baked into the policy cake. The math wasn't hard.

And even if it is true that there is some positive net energy from the best, blackest ground, that stuff was already being farmed. This stuff can't be returning more than .6 of .7 EROEI. And being the marginal acre that's where your analysis needs to look.

P#$%ing in a bucket with a hole in it is a poor way to run things.

Sensitive dirt is like tight gas and oil or mountaintop coal. Could be that we'll really need it someday and hopefully when we do we'll know better how to extract it with the least impact. Until that day, you can be comfortable in knowing that it has been there for thousands/millions of years and ISN'T GOING ANYWHERE.

[hardnox]

In my mind that represents the conservative viewpoint.

Not sure what you call the other side of the argument.