Nad R wrote:
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote:
"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...
VickyN wrote:
Farmers found out a long time ago that critical feeding (feeding
excessive amounts of 'synthetic' fertiliser) results in bumper
yields. So who can blame them, when the world is run by the
dollar, when they do exactly that year after excruciating year.
Counting the dollars whilst the land behind them pays a
devastating cost.


The cost in buying fertiliser and applying it is not always
justified by even the short-term returns, that is it is applied in
excess of the optimum in some cases for reasons other than being
demonstrated to be cost effective. OTOH I know of no analysis that
shows we could feed the world's population by organic methods.

I saw something just recently that said it could be done. I was
surprised by the comment and meant to follow up on it, but didn't.
I'll have to try to figure out where I saw the comment and let you
know. I do remember thinking that the source wasn't silly so it was
worth following up on.

Hydroponics has shown us that sterile growing and artificial
fertilisation in the form of synthetic nutrients will result in
amazing harvests. Maybe we should just get out of soil altogether?


Please provide some evidence for that claim. What are the costs of
that method compared to others? How do you feed cattle or sheep
hydroponically? Would that be cost effective?

It ain't, so we'd all have to be vegetarians/vegans and I'm a
confirmed carnivore.

I know there is one cattle feeding hydroponicy gizmo out there as a
neighbour bought one. He's one of those dopes who buys every
possible thing that could ever be needed on a farm including a 150K
John Deere Tractor (for a cattle farm!!!). Even he found the
hydroponic unit was too expensive to run to feed his cattle from it.

Hmmm... How about laboratory meat?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_vitro_meat

Could be perfected someday. Who needs nature? See the movie "Silent
Running"?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Running

I know, I know, I have been reading too much science fiction, way too
much science fiction

The future is a hard one to predict.

Any laboratory grown meat has to have an energy source to build the tissue.
Theoretically it could come from come atomic reactors but would that be more
efficient than taking it from the sun? Farmers spend their lives bottling
sunshine. We need to learn how to do it sustainably.

D