Meat Makes Our Planet Thirsty

[Julius Skrrvin]

If the greedy capitalists weren't exporting it to make a profit would it be an issue?

Yep.

 

[88m3]

Yep.

So they would continue to grow more alfalfa even when there was no demand?

 

[Julius Skrrvin]

So they would continue to grow more alfalfa even when there was no demand?

Not sure what you want out of me here, friend

 

[DEAD7]

Not sure what you want out of me here, friend

I think he wants more baseless capitalist bashing...

Ignoring government subsidies for farmers who grow the water guzzling crop. You can blame them (growers) for accepting federal largesse (i personally dont), but there’s something truly wrong when we have federal policies that discourage farmers from conserving at a time when they need to be doing more of that.

I'll look for a link to the farm bill that passed last year, I think it outlines subsidies to alfalfa specifically.

 

[88m3]

I think he wants more baseless capitalist bashing...

Ignoring government subsidies for farmers who grow the water guzzling crop. You can blame them (growers) for accepting federal largesse (i personally dont), but there’s something truly wrong when we have federal policies that discourage farmers from conserving at a time when they need to be doing more of that.

I'll look for a link to the farm bill that passed last year, I think it outlines subsidies to alfalfa specifically.

link(s)?

 

[Julius Skrrvin]

I think he wants more baseless capitalist bashing...

Ignoring government subsidies for farmers who grow the water guzzling crop. You can blame them (growers) for accepting federal largesse (i personally dont), but there’s something truly wrong when we have federal policies that discourage farmers from conserving at a time when they need to be doing more of that.

I'll look for a link to the farm bill that passed last year, I think it outlines subsidies to alfalfa specifically.

Holy shyt, I think I agree with you for once.

 

[DEAD7]

link(s)?

https://agriculture.house.gov/sites...re.house.gov/files/pdf/legislation/HR2642.pdf

‘‘(c) ESTABLISHMENT OF DAIRY PRODUCER MARGIN
9 INSURANCE PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall establish and
10 administer a dairy producer margin insurance program for
11 the purpose of protecting dairy producer income by paying
12 participating dairy producers margin insurance payments
13 when actual dairy producer margins are less than the
14 threshold levels for the payments.
15 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBILITY AND REGISTRATION OF DAIRY
16 PRODUCERS FOR MARGIN INSURANCE PROGRAM.—
17 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBILITY.—All dairy producers in the
18 United States shall be eligible to participate in the
19 margin insurance program.
20 ‘‘(2) REGISTRATION PROCESS.—
21 ‘‘(A) REGISTRATION.—
22 ‘‘(i) ANNUAL REGISTRATION.—On an
23 annual basis, the Secretary shall register
24 all interested dairy producers in the mar-
25 gin insurance program.

19 ‘‘(C) The price of alfalfa hay for a month
20 shall be the price received during that month by
21 agricultural producers in the United States for
22 alfalfa hay, as reported in the monthly Agri-
23 culture Prices report by the Secretary.

 

[DEAD7]

Hopefully I dont have to explain why farmers choose to grow federally insured crops over other crops...

 

[88m3]

Hopefully I dont have to explain why farmers choose to grow federally insured crops over other crops...

It's a choice all the same.

This isn't a subsidy for alfalfa growers either, it's an insurance scheme for dairy farmers that choose to be part of the program to lock in prices to to feed their cows.

This also has nothing to do with the export of alfalfa to Asia.

http://dairy.wisc.edu/PubPod/Pubs/Goodlatte Analysis.pdf
http://www.dpac.net/publication_files/cost-by-state.pdf

 

[DANKTHRONE]

"The first rule for staying alive in a desert is not to pour the contents of your water flask into the sand. Yet that, bizarrely, is what the government has encouraged farmers to do in the drought-afflicted south-west. Agriculture accounts for 80% of water consumption in California, for example, but only 2% of economic activity. Farmers flood the land to grow rice, alfalfa and other thirsty crops. By one account, over the years they have paid just 15% of the capital costs of the federal system that delivers much of their irrigation water. If water were priced properly, it is a safe bet that they would waste far less of it, and the effects of California’s drought—its worst in recorded history—would not be so severe."



http://www.economist.com/news/unite...rners-consider-wasting-less-water-drying-west