13 Oct 2005
Hospital patient taken to face U.S. marijuana charge

Compassionate conservatives at work ...

An Army veteran who fled to Canada to avoid prosecution for growing marijuana to treat his chronic pain was taken from a hospital, driven to the border with a catheter still attached, and turned over to U.S. officials, his lawyer said.

(link) [CNN]

00:00 /Politics | 0 comments | permanent link

Beneficial effects of no-till farming depend upon future climate change

Well, here's a crock and no mistake... it assumes that no till is an environmentally friendly practice. But it's not.

"No till" means minimal soil disturbance, that is, reducing or eliminating plowing, disking and other tilling operations. This really does reduce soil erosion, and can also (as this piece points out) help the soil in retention of carbon compounds. But think about it: why do we plow fields in the first place? Why not just drop the seeds in a hole and let'em go to it?

You can try this in your garden next year. Don't turn anything with the roto-tiller - just drill and drop seeds. Then sit back and watch as your little bit of Eden is overrun by weeds. And bugs. You see, along with the dirt itself, tilling disturbs the pests in the soil. The truth is simple: tillage (be it by plow or hoe) is done to control weeds and pests - and no till farming depends on massive application of herbicides and pesticides to achieve the same production.

Worse, when applying herbicides to a tilled field there's the option of using soil-incorporated chemicals, but no-till systems place total reliance on herbicides applied to the soil surface or foliage. Multiple passes to apply herbicides timed to match weed growth is virtually required for no till. Which uses up all the fuel for the tractor saved by not plowing and disking!

No till farming is not the environmental panacea it's often made out to be - in fact, by pumping massive quantities of poison into the earth, it may be worse for the environment than the plow could ever hope to be. The most beneficial effect of no till farming is to the stockholders of Monsanto and other manufacturers of agricultural chemicals.

By storing carbon in their fields through no-till farming practice, farmers can help countries meet targeted reductions in atmospheric carbon dioxide and reduce the harmful effects of global warming. However, researchers say, the amount of carbon stored in soils depends on how the climate changes and how much carbon dioxide is in the atmosphere.

(link) [EurekAlert!]

00:00 /Agriculture | 2 comments | permanent link

Thanks! I Needed That!

This has not been a very easy week. I overslept on Monday and was almost late to a commercial delivery, then managed to screw up another commercial order - forgot the banana-mango yogurt!

Tuesday seemed like it was moving in slow motion - nothing readily identifiable was causing the slow down, but slow down it did. I didn't get back to the farm until almost 4pm - and I should've been back by 1pm. There were fewer stops than usual, too, as I've started to feel the effects of $3 a gallon gasoline. "Hmmm, do I want a quart of really good milk, or a gallon of gas? Lemme think about it - no gas, no work, no money, no milk anyway! I'll take the gas!"

Yesterday was par for the week: several customers were missing in action - not home to accept delivery or pay the bill. One really good customer (and very nice gal, by the way) forgot to leave a check for the second week running ... I hate to have to remind her, but I'm gonna have to sooner or later.

So I was a bit depressed when I sat down to check the blogroll last evening. I'm manually checking those blogs without RSS feeds, and one of them is the newest addition to the list: Dvalin Darkdale. The post that was at the top was simply titled Joy - and that's exactly what it is: a joy to read and ponder. It not only hits the nail on the head, it drives it right through the board with a single stroke. It's important enough to have caused me to save a text copy locally and print it out.

Go read Joy now. Bookmark it. If you're ever feeling overwhelmed by life's turmoils, read it again. Then you'll understand why I titled this post "Thanks! I Needed That!"

00:00 /Home | 1 comment | permanent link

R-CALF gets COOL disappointment, travels to Midwest

I think it speaks volumes about priorities (and political donations) when politicians fight COOL requirements. I want my customers to know the farm (mine) their meat is coming from, and I want them to be comfortable with how that farm is run and how the animals are raised - all COOL asks is that they be able to identify which country the animal was from! A tiny step in reconnecting consumers with their food supply.

R-CALF USA expressed disappointment after learning California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed country-of-origin legislation earlier this week.

(link) [The Prairie Star]

00:00 /Agriculture | 0 comments | permanent link

Oldest noodles unearthed in China

But did they come with a "flavor packet", and was it beef, chicken or pork?

The remains of a 4,000-year-old noodle meal are discovered in an upturned pot next to China's Yellow River.

(link) [BBC News | News Front Page | World Edition]

00:00 /Humor | 0 comments | permanent link