Cycling Mob Cycling Forums - View Single Post - "Humans 'very likely' making earth warmer" is wrong

02-07-2007, 11:56 AM

On Wed, 07 Feb 2007 19:26:45 GMT, "no spam" <no@spam.net> wrote:

>And yet the price of food hasn't gone up the much. . .hum. Could it be the
>fact that today the crop yeild per acre has risen? When I was a kid you go
>one ear of corn for each corn seed you planted. Today you get two or three.
>That in means in effect that you can sell 2/3 of your farm to the developers
>and still make the same amout of corn.

You got one ear of corn for every corn seed you planted? Speaking as a
person that grew up as a kid in Kansas and was there long enough to
follow the Ag Bureau reports on the radio, no one ever reported corn
per corn seed. Ever.

Farmers separated the two - seeds planted per acre and germination
speed and density (usually in very general terms as farmers) and the
yield per acre at the end - which was more related to what happened
between planting and taking the crop.

In any event, you must be in your 70s to have seen a three fold
increase - and this is an increase that is not generally expected to
continue into the future. The period of 1930 to 2000 saw the massive
multiprong change of seed types that addressed resistance to the most
common diseases and pests, as well as greater alignment with the
environment where they were grown, followed with massive amounts of
fertilizer and crop treatments and the change from small and medium
sized farmers to megafarms that run combines where there used to be
fences. There isn't that type of low-hanging fruit left. Hell, they've
worked their way most of the way up that tree - now the changes in
those areas that produce the world's excess will be harder to create.
Indeed, some of the treatments may be pulled back, especially in areas
that see relatively small benefit in increased production.

So if you are selling 2/3 of your farm, you may grow as much corn as
your great grandfather or grandfather, but you sure as hell won't be
selling anywhere as much corn as last year for the rest of your
lifetime.

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...

02-07-2007, 11:56 AM	#419 (permalink)
Curtis L. Russell Posts: n/a	Re: "Humans 'very likely' making earth warmer" is wrong On Wed, 07 Feb 2007 19:26:45 GMT, "no spam" <no@spam.net> wrote: >And yet the price of food hasn't gone up the much. . .hum. Could it be the >fact that today the crop yeild per acre has risen? When I was a kid you go >one ear of corn for each corn seed you planted. Today you get two or three. >That in means in effect that you can sell 2/3 of your farm to the developers >and still make the same amout of corn. You got one ear of corn for every corn seed you planted? Speaking as a person that grew up as a kid in Kansas and was there long enough to follow the Ag Bureau reports on the radio, no one ever reported corn per corn seed. Ever. Farmers separated the two - seeds planted per acre and germination speed and density (usually in very general terms as farmers) and the yield per acre at the end - which was more related to what happened between planting and taking the crop. In any event, you must be in your 70s to have seen a three fold increase - and this is an increase that is not generally expected to continue into the future. The period of 1930 to 2000 saw the massive multiprong change of seed types that addressed resistance to the most common diseases and pests, as well as greater alignment with the environment where they were grown, followed with massive amounts of fertilizer and crop treatments and the change from small and medium sized farmers to megafarms that run combines where there used to be fences. There isn't that type of low-hanging fruit left. Hell, they've worked their way most of the way up that tree - now the changes in those areas that produce the world's excess will be harder to create. Indeed, some of the treatments may be pulled back, especially in areas that see relatively small benefit in increased production. So if you are selling 2/3 of your farm, you may grow as much corn as your great grandfather or grandfather, but you sure as hell won't be selling anywhere as much corn as last year for the rest of your lifetime. Curtis L. Russell Odenton, MD (USA) Just someone on two wheels...