Is the organic food movement the most anti-science social movement out there?

[MrFun]

[Seriously]?

[ShaneWalter]

Most of the evidence I've seen is that the yield for organic is about 60%-70% of traditional in most cases. There are some cases (like drought or pesticide resistant pest outbreaks) where it can out perform (lots of organic matter in the soil tends to hold water better) but usually it is not as productive. That's why I'm not advocating farmers go whole hog organic.

That said we have serious problems not least of which is vast amounts of ground water being made unusable do to excess chemical fertilizer leaching into ground water. It's a huge problem here in California and it is costing cities hundreds of millions of dollars to try to clean water up so it becomes drinkable again. The link I provided in my previous post said that about 50% of the chemical fertilizers sprayed don't get picked up by plants and instead evaporates or runs off or leaches below the roots of the plants and thus ends up in groundwater. That means we're over using fertilizer by about 50%. If we can find ways where farmers can easily & quickly test the nitrogen content of their soil then we can help prevent over spraying which saves the farmer money and prevents the environmental damage. The key is to teach farmers how to tell when they really need the fertilizer and when they don't so they can avoid over spraying.

That kind of testing is neither expensive nor uncommon (at least around here). I don't know how much fertilizer you guys use in California, but a single farm up here could use well in excess of $100,000 worth of fertilizer. When you're talking about that kind of money, you'd be stupid not to get an agrologist out to your farm to run some tests to tell if you are using too much (or not enough) fertilizer.

I can't think of anybody I know running a major farming operation (major farming operation in the context I am using it means a person that derives their primary income from their farm) that doesn't have an agrologist test their soil.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Assuming I don't find it, your number or 4000 sq. ft. proves my point all the same.

No it doesn't.

You're supposed to be doing a PHD in this nonsense, and you're on the brink of conceding to a figure 40 times the one you claimed, to one whose entire qualification in the subject is a functioning bull**** detector and the ability to buy carrots.

[Al B. Sure!]

Edit: I stand corrected.

[Kuciwalker]

You're off by several orders of magnitude, AS.

[KrazyHorse]

The land surface area of the Earth is approx. 303,600,000,000 square feet.

No.

[Al B. Sure!]

Umm... I'm aware and fixed my mistake. Damn yall are fast.

I fixed it fast enough that the Editing thing didn't come up.

[Drake Tungsten]

If there is a triad, I am its apex

I don't want to share the bottom with Asher. I want that position all to myself.

Incidentally, I'm giving serious thought to putting that in my sig.

I wouldn't be too excited about that. Jesus' super-carpentry is the lamest superpower of any member of the Super Best Friends.

[KrazyHorse]

Found ecotard's department:

http://snre.ufl.edu/

Headlines on front page:

SNRE grad educates Raleigh on sustainability
How local food can save lives and unite communities
The summer of salamanders



As for his master's thesis:

The technologic, imperialist mandate of international agricultural development disempowers developing world smallholders and nations, and has its roots in colonialism. Through this concept of development, techniques and resources of the south are devalued, resulting in such terms as “developing” and “third world”.

[KrazyHorse]

No wonder he isn't learning ****. He's in an echo chamber with other *****.

[Al B. Sure!]

wait, what is EcoFarm trying to do? Work for the NOAA?

[KrazyHorse]

His master plan is to eventually work his way up to teaching in a public secondary school. He ought to get started on that career while he's still a spring chicken of 50 or so.

[Al B. Sure!]

high school teacher? Like Bill O'Reilly or Benito Mussolini?

[KrazyHorse]

More like Debbie LaFave

[Drake Tungsten]

No wonder he isn't learning ****. He's in an echo chamber with other *****.

That's true of 99% of universities.