I read something the other day about not enough whales in the sea shitting in deep water is affecting the deeper waters but scientists don't really understand how yet.
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how long before we're all organic?
- Thread starter Neddy flanders
- Start date
- Location
- West Yorkshire
I read the same article. BBC news I think
- Location
- Devon
Ours get several waste apples, some garden waste, and a few spuds. Have used waste milk for fattening too.
Scribus
Member
- Location
- Central Atlantic
Just as the Japs decide to go hunting them again.
glasshouse
Member
- Location
- lothians
Well the whales were wiped out 100 yrs ago.
Cant do much about it now.
Maybe name and shame those respinsible?
- Location
- East meath/dublin
Was at a funeral yesterday of a local retired farmer and after the graveyard service adjourned to a local pub for a spot of lunch and a few drinks. Got talking to an old farmer who farmed before widespread use of artifical fert and chemicals for weed and disease control. His response to my question on whether he thought organic was the way forward was colourful to say the least!! He maintained that " if them gobshites spent a few days hoewing beet by hand or rooting for spuds in weedy and grassy drills the wouldnt be long changing their minds " . Time enough to be organic when youre planted in the boneyard and you can feed the worms was his parting shot. Maybe i had to much whiskey but i couldnt help agreeing with him .
glasshouse
Member
- Location
- lothians
He was right of course, but also wrong.
Production is too easy, =surpluses=bad prices
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
Not everybody does.
Most people agree there are 5 principles to a healthy soil, when you get enough rainfall you can usually skip one and still have a sustainable operation (sustainable for some length of time, maybe not forever?)
If you are not removing huge amounts of carbon and keep those living roots then things will stay relatively balanced, so long as there is diversity.
By contrast, in a more brittle environment then grazing livestock become more crucial as the plants aren't putting so much carbon there themselves, using more for their own survival.
Hence you can still get away with tillage/herbicides in damper parts of NZ + UK as there is enough moisture to quickly recreate a carbon flow and keep the soil alive. You eventually reshape the soil biome all the same!
Still, his work is fascinating to me, because it is as much about doing better instead of more, which is the natural human response.
that would be us then.
- Location
- Hampshire
It was like that in his day, but who now would be happy spraying DDT driving an open tractor?
We now have the technology and machinary to do the backbreaking hoeing etc.
glasshouse
Member
- Location
- lothians
I didnt kill any whales
But i know people who did
glasshouse
Member
- Location
- lothians
I used to grow 15 ton per acre of organic spuds, with only dung and rape eaten off before it, after grass.
I really enjoyed grubbing them and ridging up
The neighbours thought they were too good and accused me of cheating.
farmerm
Member
- Location
- Shropshire
Has anyone heard of this wonder chemical approved widely elsewhere in the world and used on many products we import, its called Paraquat....
https://paraquat.com/
(thanks to @Guy Smith for bringing this, strangely anonymous, gem of a website to my attention...)
This Paraquat product is so great it can be applied to surgar cane as a desiccant, form the air, with in some instances just a 3 day harvest interval....
Indeed it is such a safe product the only PPE necessary is a long sleeve shirt and a pair of cotton trousers.
https://paraquat.com/en/safety
As the chemical options for growers in the UK declines it seems many of our competitors use of long banned chemicals is on the increase.
If we are to become a tariff free trading nation, we should enforce a zero detectable residue level for chemicals not licenced for use in the UK, in all imported food produce... This should also demand a zero detectable level of GM contamination whilst UK producers are not permitted to grow GM crops....
https://paraquat.com/
(thanks to @Guy Smith for bringing this, strangely anonymous, gem of a website to my attention...)
This Paraquat product is so great it can be applied to surgar cane as a desiccant, form the air, with in some instances just a 3 day harvest interval....
Indeed it is such a safe product the only PPE necessary is a long sleeve shirt and a pair of cotton trousers.
https://paraquat.com/en/safety
As the chemical options for growers in the UK declines it seems many of our competitors use of long banned chemicals is on the increase.
If we are to become a tariff free trading nation, we should enforce a zero detectable residue level for chemicals not licenced for use in the UK, in all imported food produce... This should also demand a zero detectable level of GM contamination whilst UK producers are not permitted to grow GM crops....
- Location
- Cornwall
If we are to become a tariff free trading nation, we should enforce a zero detectable residue level for chemicals not licenced for use in the UK, in all imported food produce... This should also demand a zero detectable level of GM contamination whilst UK producers are not permitted to grow GM crops....
Zero detectable residue doesn’t mean the product hasn’t been used. You’d be hard pressed to detect any Paraquat residue if the user had stuck to the label.
Most countries we export to, particularly the EU and China, already have very strict or zero residue tolerances on Ag chem and veterinary products. Those product residue limits are researched exhaustively and labels produced accordingly.
Countries whose economies rely on them being net exporters are pretty good at complying with even he most whimsical importation laws I’m afraid.
That’s not to say we’ll keep all the actives you’ve already lost of course, we’re losing actives all the time. We nearly lost 2,4D last year due to its risk to fruit and cotton crops. There’s as much pressure here to lose certain products as anywhere, there just seems to be a less opinion based and more evidence based approach to registration.
- Location
- NSW, Newstralya
Before you consider using any nitrogen, watch this incredible talk by Dr Christine Jones.
Christine shares so much valuable information here about how to rapidly grow soil, how to have flourishing plants even in drought, and how to boost production and health. For the benefits of inoculating seeds with a vermi-liquid see 41:40.
Highly recommended viewing!
Christine shares so much valuable information here about how to rapidly grow soil, how to have flourishing plants even in drought, and how to boost production and health. For the benefits of inoculating seeds with a vermi-liquid see 41:40.
Highly recommended viewing!
- Location
- NSW, Newstralya
Guess what - she's an Aussie
Has anyone heard of this wonder chemical approved widely elsewhere in the world and used on many products we import, its called Paraquat....
https://paraquat.com/
(thanks to @Guy Smith for bringing this, strangely anonymous, gem of a website to my attention...)
This Paraquat product is so great it can be applied to surgar cane as a desiccant, form the air, with in some instances just a 3 day harvest interval....
Indeed it is such a safe product the only PPE necessary is a long sleeve shirt and a pair of cotton trousers.
https://paraquat.com/en/safety
As the chemical options for growers in the UK declines it seems many of our competitors use of long banned chemicals is on the increase.
If we are to become a tariff free trading nation, we should enforce a zero detectable residue level for chemicals not licenced for use in the UK, in all imported food produce... This should also demand a zero detectable level of GM contamination whilst UK producers are not permitted to grow GM crops....
All laudable demands given they just ask for a level playing field and equal treatment but the WTO doesn't like what they call phyto-sanitary measures that restrict trade. How this gets applied is very complex. For instance the WTO SPS committee has ruled that the EU ban on beef imports that has had growth hormones used in its production is not legitimate under SPS rules and this consented the US to apply E117m of tariffs on EU imports into the US.
Restricting or banning ag imports because ag-Chems banned in the UK were used in their production come up against similar problems. This is something regulators should take more consideration of before they make knee jerk bans that reduce our own farmers to combat weeds, pests and diseases and reduce our competative position.
As for banning GM. Again it's a fair point but again the WTO wouldn't like it and nor would many in our own livestock industry who like the cheap protein - that's why we import millions of tonnes of GM soya every year.